"In the first book of a visionary African and Arabian-inspired fantasy trilogy, three women band together against a cruel Empire that divides people by blood"
This book was amazing, I can't wait for the next two!

The writing in this book is exceptionally intricate and detailed. You can easily envision what this world looks like, smells like, etc. This is really beneficial too when it comes to descriptions of characters as we build out who they are.

Sylah has pretty much given up. She was stolen from the keep as a baby by revolutionaries who believed raising these "red" children and then bringing them back to take over the government would spark the change necessary for the world. People in this world are separated by blood color. Red are treated better than the others (especially the ghosts, who are slaves and their hands are chopped off and their tongues disfigured.)

It's a brutal world. But when someone Sylah thought was dead turns up alive, she gets swept into the revolution all over again.

Really my complaints are this–this book is about 200 pages too long. It needs some editing to cut out some of the slow parts and make some of the writing more concise. It's not an easy book to read or get through simply because of how much content is there.

This is such an epic astonishing fantasy debut, a masterclass in building tension, and revealing plot twists, in secrets and in power. Its the story of Sylah, who was stolen as a baby from the heart of a brutal regime and raised to bring that regime down. Its the story of Anoor, who grew up in the wrong place with the wrong people, hated and hidden and shamed. And it's the story of Hassa, whose words were stolen from her but who found her power anyway.

I loved the three different heroines and the different ways that they subverted their tropes. The whole story is so clever and sweeping and epic. I'm already counting the days until the next book releases and I can spend time with these fantastic characters again.

Thank you to the publishers for this eARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

The Final Strife is the story of Sylah's struggle with the enemy of both the world around her and the enemy within. The writing is great, sharp-tongued and witty. The world building is brutal but also vivid and beautifully created.
The subjects in this novel touch upon; addiction, betrayal, race, dictatorship, sexuality and love. The characters in this novel are LGBTQ+
The Final Strife is an epic fantasy ride and a real page turner. The first in it's trilogy, I'm intrigued to read the next.

I am so thankful that I was invited to read this book! I had my pre order in before I even finished. I loved it what an epic fantasy book!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the invitation I was so excited for this book and to get it early was such a treat!

I was no sure about this book, it took me a while to warm to it. However as I moved on into the story I have to say that I was totally hooked. It is rare for a fantasy book to have something really different in it and this one does. Yes, it has the usual good vs bad. The privileged and the unwarranted underdogs but there are many original elements in here that were both interesting and compelling. I liked the way the different characters were drawn and developed through the story. I look forward to the next one. Highly recommend.

HarperCollinsUK for this eARC of 'The Final Strife' by debut author Saara El-Arifi. My review is purely my own opinion.

I loved this book. A beautifully realised world and such a good read, I'm glad I took my time with it. Looking forward to more from this author, they are such a good writer and the main character is so strong, powerful and well developed.

This was an enjoyable read, It was well written with a compelling and brutal plotline and well developed characters. I also really liked the world building in this book which I thought was really well done and full of vivid descriptions and rich imagery. I really liked this book and I read it so quickly. I can't wait to read more by this author.

The Final Strife is a dystopian fantasy set in The Empire . Which is ruled by blood. There are three different types of blood in the Empire. Red is the blood of all those who are elite, they are born of magic and they like to rule by being in control. Then you have blue which is the blood of all the poor people in the city. Those who work and are born of the resistance and finally you have clear. Clear is the blood of all of the servants in the empire, those who have been crushed by the elites a d the poor of the empire.

Every ten years there are a set of games called the Aktibar. The point of the Aktibar is to find out who will be the next ruler of the empire. Everyone from each blood type can play and can win the games. You just have to have strength, knowledge, skill and ingenuity.

This is a really good dystopian fantasy novel. The premise of the story is good. You really like the characters and hope for their survival and their chances of winning. It is written in a gripping way and I really enjoyed it.







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Wardens’ Empire and the thirteen cities are brutally ruled by blood. The rulers Embers have red blood, underlings Dusters blue and Ghostings clear.

As wardens, Embers claimed their power and assembled the guilds to maintain order, prosperity and peace. Truth, duty, strength, knowledge. Empire!


So six trials were decided for each guild. Six for strength, six for duty, six for knowledge, six for truth. All across six mooncycles. Every ten years the Embers compete to find the best, among the red in Aktibar.


But there exists underground society, Sandstorm. In the Night of the Stolen they stole twelve children and disappeared into the beyond. As babes they were taken from their Ember families and set on a path to tear down the foundations of the empire. The Sandstorm crafted them into leaders with one purpose: to destroy the empire from within. They are the Stolen, born to Ember parents but made by Dusters.

After many years it seems that Sylah is the only survivor to make it out of the Night of the Stolen alive. Until something happens.

This is a fantasy novel at its best. Characters are great. Sylah, fierce heroine, addicted to dangerous drug and lost in her own world. Jond, another Stolen, haughty and beautiful. Anoor, adventurous and dreamy Duster and Hassa, crippled, caring and honorable Ghosting.

Narrative is fast-paced and full of twist and turns. Soon becomes obvious that blood doesn't define people or their virtues. Change can start off small.


The Final Strife is the first book of a trilogy and I look forward to another. Maybe we will explore beyond the sea...

Highly recommended to all fantasy lovers.

I will update the review with a link to our blog closer to publication date.
I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Alone you are just one grain. Together you are the desert."

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.

Holy. Sh*t. This book is incredible?

First off, the world-building is so intricate, creative and original. Everything has been thought of, from the magical system to culture and class and societal norms. There's no huge info dump at the beginning and instead we discover more and more about the world as we read along.

A society divided by blood, those on the bottom rung mutilated and forced into servitude - Ghostings, with their clear blood. The elite Embers are the holders of the secrets to bloodwerk - the magic in their red blood. And in the middle are the blue-blooded Dusters, banned from bloodwerk, banned from the Keep.

"First we traded stories for money to sustain us in hard times. Now we trade money for stories to sustain us in harder times."

The characters in this book are so well-rounded and complicated and flawed and glorious. When we first meet MC Sylah she is addicted to the joba seeds so prevalent in the Duster's quarter. She's haunted by the demons and ghosts of her dangerous past, and has no idea of the series of events about to come hurtling towards her. Then there is the spoiled and naïve Anoor, daughter to the Warden of Strength and fan of frivolous dresses and sweet treats, who has no clue what fate awaits her. The Ghosting Hassa lives like a phantom, slipping from place to place - she may as well be invisible. A host of other characters compliments them perfectly, each one weaving a little something else into the story.

Something really gripped me about this book within the first few pages alone, and I seriously found myself almost unable to put it down. I'm going to be recommending it to everyone!

I'm a little disappointed by this one. I warmed to Sylah immediately but found myself losing interest as the book went on. Anoor grew on me, and I would have loved more time with Hassa. The world itself is well-built, and the magic interesting, but the moral ambiguity of certain characters didn't extend to the person revealed as the enemy towards the end; I found Loot very one-note.

The pieces are there, but they just didn't fit together for me.

This book complex, It’s a slow burn story about an empire built on secrets. The comparison between the two MCs is evident and I constantly switched between liking each at the time of writing. The world building is emmense. Slight reminders of Divergent with the factions but very much more adult in its storytelling.

“Remember, my friends: love gives you strength, but retribution gives you purpose”.

This book is up there in my all time favourite reads. The characters are immersed in a class divided society where resentment grows greater by the day. Uprisings swell and are put out before momentum can build but still the thrum of change remains primary goal for some groups.

Sylah’s character develops throughout the whole book with her life throwing set back after set back at her. When light is shone at her from the horizon she plots to fufil what she believes she was destined to become but things don’t always go so smoothly.

Twist and turns are fast coming in this book and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I wish more had been discussed about Hassa and where they begin to grow into this world.

The Final strife is everything I could have asked for in an debut epic fantasy novel

The world building is so beautifully immersive and the politics, the intrigue, the history had me hooked from the very beginning

The characters:
Sylah has such a gritty, endearing personality that I loved from the very beginning
And Anoor, sweet, caring Anoor, with the kindest most tender persona who grows into such a strong, deep rooted character
This book is dark and complex, It’s a slow burn sapphic captivating story of an empire built on secrets during the dawn of revolution

Beautifully written, gripping and so unique!

The book starts slow, stays slow and finishes slow, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as there is a lot of world building and character introduction, an intriguing premise and one I look forward to reading more about in the rest of the trilogy, thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the book early

The Final Strife is set in a harsh and savage world where the colour of your blood determines your status. Not only is there the threat of death, or worse, from the ruling empire but from the Tidewind that comes every night and claims more and more lives.

The world building is intense, full of depth and details and it draws you in instantly. The characters are well developed and this means that you'll definitely have a favourite or two.


*Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @HarperCollinsUK @HarperFiction for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

There are some books that when you read them, you just know. You know that these characters and their stories are going to live in your head for years.

The only reason it may not be the first title that jumps to your lips when someone asks for a recommendation is that you don’t want to share - Share these characters that you care for SO deeply - Share this world where they struggle and dance, laugh and cry, love and bleed…

Because what if that don’t understand, what if they don’t understand and in doing that show that they don’t understand the piece of you that also lives there.

The Final Strife is one of those books for me.

It takes the norms of the ‘chosen one’ trope or the ‘brooding assassin with a past’ throws them straight out the window. To be honest Sylah would definitely throw you out the window… and swear at you afterwards.

Anoor. Beautiful, courageous Anoor, who I’m sure a lot of bookish people will see themselves in, would probably laugh in your face … and maybe offer you tea.

All the characters are all so beautiful flawed, and so flawlessly real.

The politics, the intrigue, the twist and turn of the plot, the world building all leave you so immersed, so breathless that all you can do is want more

Gritty, Sapphic, Inclusive, Friends/enemies to lovers, morally grey characters, badass side ones … just everything you could ever want, and it all takes place in the blood soaked land of The Final Strife

Vivid, and lush writing with well-crafted plot and characters. An exciting start to a very promising series. I'm very glad to have given this a shot.

Full review to come and rating may change.