Synopsis:

The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.

Even the sea cannot stay calm before the storm. —Teek saying

Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.

And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.

Review:

What a fabulous conclusion to what is now one of my favourite series!

As always I loved the setting, with a world inspired by the pre-Colombian Americas. It’s such a vibrant time and place, and I loved exploring the idea of power and what makes a God from all sides. You don’t know who is supposed to be in the right or wrong and I think that is a really important part of this plot.

Roanhorse’s writing, as expected, was fantastic. I just love her balance of worlbuilding, action, character plotting… just excellent. We have a lot of POVs here, I think 7, but not once did I get lost or confused about who or what we were seeing. Each thread slowly and satisfyingly crept towards a singular point for a wild ride of a finale.

Xiala was far and away my favourite character in this entry. I love how she embraces who she really was to finally, finally come into her full power. No spoilers here but there is a scene when she is chasing a ship… amazing, everything I wanted from her.
I was also really happy with how Serapio developed over the course of this part of the story. Seeing him slip more into darkness, but still cling to some sort of morality was so interesting to read. The scene with him, Xiala and Balam was a true heart-in-mouth moment and I think I may have dented the cover of my book with the tightness of my grip haha.

Another thing I found really interesting in this finale was the flashback scenes to before Serapio was even born and seeing how his parents and their companions brought about the events of the trilogy.
I am so sad that Between Earth and Sky is now over (secretly hoping for some spin-offs please), so brb while I start reading it all over again.