Saara El-Arifi

The SUNDAY TIMES bestselling series continues... Murder. Secrets. Sacrifice. Three women seek the truth of the empire's past in the sequel to The Final Strife, the continuation of a visionary fantasy trilogy inspired by Africa and Arabia. The truth they find has the power to ignite a war. Anoor is the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens' Empire. But when she is accused of a murder she didn't commit, her reign is thrown into turmoil. She must solve the mystery and clear her name without the support of her beloved, Sylah. Sylah braves new lands to find a solution for the hurricane that threatens to destroy her home. But in finding answers, she must make a decision, does she sacrifice her old life in order to raise up her sword once more? Hassa's web of secrets grows ever thicker as she finds herself on a trail of crimes in the city. Her searching uncovers the extent of the atrocities of the empire's past and present. Now, she must guard both her heart and her land. The three women find their answers, but they're not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world. And it sings a song of war.

The Battle Drum

3.75 stars - WOW okay that ending had me SHOOK! I'm mostly happy that this book doesn't suffer from secon-book syndrome.

I'm amazed at how well Saara El-Arifi includes socio-economic topics & politics in an interesting and engaging way, but mostly how she made th eplot come together. INSANELY GOOD! The timing of that was perfect. This took be a long time to read, mostly bcs it's character based (I like more plot based books). The Battle Drum does have a lot of plot, but with the characters and their decisions, the plot fades to the background very shortly in the middle because where there's more focus on the characters. It was enough for me to put down the book for a bit because I remember thinking "get to the pooooint" a lot of the time. The introduction of new characters were cool and the ending did bump up my rating. I cannot wait to find out what happens next. But for those final chapters: Saara El-Arifi, you will pay!!!

Also, I don't think Anoor is the Child of Fire. I think Nayeli has the wrong one, and that Hassa is the one. Love her DOWN btw

Joy KBA

3.75 stars - WOW okay that ending had me SHOOK! I'm mostly happy that this book doesn't suffer from secon-book syndrome.

I'm amazed at how well Saara El-Arifi includes socio-economic topics & politics in an interesting and engaging way, but mostly how she made th eplot come together. INSANELY GOOD! The timing of that was perfect. This took be a long time to read, mostly bcs it's character based (I like more plot based books). The Battle Drum does have a lot of plot, but with the characters and their decisions, the plot fades to the background very shortly in the middle because where there's more focus on the characters. It was enough for me to put down the book for a bit because I remember thinking "get to the pooooint" a lot of the time. The introduction of new characters were cool and the ending did bump up my rating. I cannot wait to find out what happens next. But for those final chapters: Saara El-Arifi, you will pay!!!

SPOILER

SPOIILER

SPOILER

Also, I don't think Anoor is the Child of Fire. I think Nayeli has the wrong one, and that Hassa is the one. Love her DOWN btw

thank you to random house publishing house ballantine, del rey, and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

how do i share my love for this book without spoiling absolutely everything…

the battle drum is the sequel to one of my favorite reads of 2022, the final strife. so of course i’m going to try to stay a bit vague in terms of the plot when discussing my absolute love for this series. clearly, i personally really enjoyed the second installment in this trilogy.

it’s not a fast moving book, but neither was the final strife. it picks up a ton near the end, but i personally felt that it was so appropriate for the story. we’re following a lot of individuals, all moving pieces in a much grander scheme. we get a new pov in this book too, so finding a way to battle sharing five peoples’ thoughts, making them unique, it’s difficult. and i’ve found that el-arifi has done an absolutely incredible job. again.

we had our four povs from the first book, each of which we have already become familiar with their thoughts, with their motivations. and this fifth person, they were such a strong character in terms of ideals. it wasn’t difficult to add them to the arsenal. we follow sylah, anoor, and jond (hassa too, but to a lesser extent) essentially experiencing their entire world-views flipped upside down time and time again. it was fascinating to see where they each landed. and i worry to see where they’ll go.

so much new information was given to us, but it was never overwhelming. with each tidbit, my mind would reel with the implications but we’d move to another perspective. essentially, if you want to scheme and try and figure it out first, you’d have to put the book down and think. and that’s exactly what i did. many times. and i love that about this series. reveals were never too late, never too early. and personally, i’d make the connection and then in the next chapter, so would our main characters. it was just crafted so exceedingly well, in my opinion.

of course there’s still so many questions i have. but i have to just trust that these characters will get themselves put together in the final book and win. otherwise, i’m not sure i’ll survive tbh…

ps. if you’ve read the book, my theory for book three’s cover is nayeli with a yellow background (on both the us and uk editions). it’ll converge and it 

ash (smokedshelves)

thank you to random house publishing house ballantine, del rey, and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

how do i share my love for this book without spoiling absolutely everything…

the battle drum is the sequel to one of my favorite reads of 2022, the final strife. so of course i’m going to try to stay a bit vague in terms of the plot when discussing my absolute love for this series. clearly, i personally really enjoyed the second installment in this trilogy.

it’s not a fast moving book, but neither was the final strife. it picks up a ton near the end, but i personally felt that it was so appropriate for the story. we’re following a lot of individuals, all moving pieces in a much grander scheme. we get a new pov in this book too, so finding a way to battle sharing five peoples’ thoughts, making them unique, it’s difficult. and i’ve found that el-arifi has done an absolutely incredible job. again.

we had our four povs from the first book, each of which we have already become familiar with their thoughts, with their motivations. and this fifth person, they were such a strong character in terms of ideals. it wasn’t difficult to add them to the arsenal. we follow sylah, anoor, and jond (hassa too, but to a lesser extent) essentially experiencing their entire world-views flipped upside down time and time again. it was fascinating to see where they each landed. and i worry to see where they’ll go.

so much new information was given to us, but it was never overwhelming. with each tidbit, my mind would reel with the implications but we’d move to another perspective. essentially, if you want to scheme and try and figure it out first, you’d have to put the book down and think. and that’s exactly what i did. many times. and i love that about this series. reveals were never too late, never too early. and personally, i’d make the connection and then in the next chapter, so would our main characters. it was just crafted so exceedingly well, in my opinion.

of course there’s still so many questions i have. but i have to just trust that these characters will get themselves put together in the final book and win. otherwise, i’m not sure i’ll survive tbh…

ps. if you’ve read the book, my theory for book three’s cover is nayeli with a yellow background (on both the us and uk editions). it’ll converge and it makes sense given where we end, yk? 

The Battle Drum

Reviews