I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Note: I ended up purchasing a final copy to read in the future.

A perfect ending to a series. Gripping. Looking forward to more from this author. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an e-arc.

Return to the Zhaon empire one last time in The Bloody Throne, the masterful conclusion to S. C. Emmett's sweeping epic fantasy of war, glory, and survival. The great Zhaon empire is in turmoil. The emperor is dead, and the crown prince has fallen to hidden schemes, leaving his most dangerous brother to assume the throne. The imperial court is seething, and whispers of war grow to shouts. The once-vanquished kingdom of Khir marches again to regain their honor, the savage Tabrak raid the borders after ravaging the South, and assassins lurk in the shadows seeking imperial favor. Komor Yala, her own position uncertain, finds shelter in marriage to the cunning Third Prince. But there is little safety in Zhaon. Death and destruction mount as a blood-drenched summer ends. The winner will claim an empire—if it is not turned to smoking ruins first. The wheel of destiny is turning, and all will be caught under its weight...

The third book and the last book in the Hostage of the Empire trilogy. If you enjoy the first and the second book, it's your go! You'll get hooked right from the beginning until the ending. It's hard to put it down! What a satisfying finale!
Thank you Netgalley and Orbit for the e-ARC!

"The Bloody Throne" is the third and final installment of the Hostage of the Empire trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed the continuation of Emmets’s story. This is a well-thought, well-written story filled with relatable characters along with wonderfully vivid world-building. Of course, to fully enjoy this imaginative story, one must go back to book one and continue through the trilogy. For those who love political fantasy and woven tales this is the right author to follow.

This book is such a beautiful ending to the trilogy. The Hostage of Empire trilogy is one of the few series where I feel like the writing was just consistently amazing throughout. The vibrant world building and the heavy court politics were so well written and thought out. I did feel like the ending left a little more to be desired due to how some character’s endings were written, but that is my only complaint for the finale of this trilogy.

"The Bloody Throne" is the third and final installment in the Hostage of the Empire trilogy. Being the conclusion, it poses quite a challenge in terms of a review, as I will have to do my utmost to avoid specific spoilers. As with any book series, though, I am going to assume that no reader would pick up the final book in the series (you really should not in this case!).

The novel picks up where we left off in the previous book, new emperor sitting on the throne, and an invasion threatening the great Zhaon empire. The story is constructed much in the same way as previous installments, told through multiple POVs, and giving a very intimate look into the inner goings-on of an imperial court. Quite a number of new POVs are added in "The Bloody Throne," some providing welcome expansion of understanding, but others causing this reader frustration. These points of view, while very interesting, feel "too little too late," giving us glimpses into goings on in Shan, or among the Tabrak Horde, but I could not help but wish that they had been introduced earlier, and at much larger scale/frequency. Yes, the books are already quite long, but I would have preferred limiting some of the POVs in Zhaon and instead giving us a greater understanding of the situation in Khir, Shan, and with the Horde. Instead, they feltlike an afterthought.

Pacing is another issue I could not help but bemoan. Once again, things go on at a languid rate, only to explode into a frenzy of backstabbings, killings, war. As a result, the military conflict between Khir, Zhaon, and Tabrak feels incredibly rushed, and ill-informed (due to limited, happenstance POVs).

I have to admit, I was less than satisfied with the conclusions of many of the characters' storylines. On the surface, two of them receive a "fairytale ending," as if the author expected the reader to root for them the entire time, but I am one of many who did not feel that way. In fact, I found their choice very much so out of character, not to mention that another character was, in my opinion, treated quite unfairly in the fall out. I have to say that perhaps the ending would make more sense if the reader was clear on who-did-what-and-why, but the story left me very much confused on the motivations and actual deeds of several characters, especially regarding the death of a certain Khir princess.

And yes, despite all that, "Hostage of the Empire" is still the best political fantasy I have ever read. The court politics, with their backstabbing, outmaneuvering, scheming, nay, savagery!, were a wonder to behold, and Komor Yala one of the best heroines written into such circumstances. If you're a court politics junkie, or Asian imperial history aficionado, you will absolutely love this series.

Release Date: 3.29.2022
Review Date: 3.28.2022

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

I don't usually like to review books that I dnf so this will probably be the most difficult one I've ever written. After the first book, The Throne of the Five Winds was my absolute favorite book of 2020 this was my most anticipated book of this year for sure. My disappointment is immeasurable over the fact that I couldn't finish it even to find out the ending.
This will definitely be spoilery so be warned.
I'm just gonna be up front and say that I know that loving the scarred, male characters with a tragic backstory is probably not healthy. But that's how I be. Takshin was my favorite character in this series and the fact that I knew as I was reading that he was gonna end up unhappy because his wife left him for someone that he thought of as a friend was ruining any possible enjoyment I might have had. I also thought that the authors writing style for him as a character was different in this one from the previous two books in the series. I felt like she was trying to make us dislike him this time around, like she was trying to make him a "villain" so that we would be okay with the way it was gonna end. I read a few spoiler reviews and she even seemingly out of nowhere whips out the fact that he had some "part" in Mahara's death in the first book. Like what?
I will say that it wasn't just the Takshin situation that I wasn't enjoying. All of the things I liked about the first book were annoying this time around. The overly descriptive writing that I didn't mind so much about the first one was completely unnecessary. I mean spit it out.
And the scheming wasn't as good in this one either.
I think if this book had been a few hundred pages shorter I might have finished it. I would have hate finished it but I would have finished it.

The Bloody Throne is the conclusion to one of the best political fantasy series I’ve read in ages, though I hesitate to label it as fantasy at all. This is set in a fictional world, has essentially no magic whatsoever, and is fantasy in the sense that many of Guy Gavriel Kay’s books (aside from Tigana and Fionavar) are fantasy. But oh my goodness, the court politics and subtle intrigue truly shine in this book! Plus, if you’ve ever wanted to read about the gory cruelty of a horde of “barbarians” or the backstabbing tendencies of royal siblings this totally has you covered.
Komor Yala is alone in Zhaon yet she still searches for the hand behind the death of her beloved princess Mahara. With Zakkar Kai returned to the Northern Army, her only protection is her engagement and impending wedding to the surliest of princes, Third Prince Takshin, and even that may not be enough when the newly anointed Emperor Kurin begins cleaning house. Knives in the dark, poisonings, and the ever looming threat of the Pale Horde have the royal family of Zhaon in turmoil as Zhaon itself suffers.
Yala remains a sympathetic and strong character, and though she isn’t a traditional badass fantasy heroine it’s impressive to see her small rebellions and intelligent moves she makes within the bounds of her societal role. Her skill with her yue blade and horses do make her stand out from the Zhaon ladies at court, though those are simply skills all Khir girls are taught. I appreciate that so many other perspectives are thrown into the mix, as it gives so much insight to events that might otherwise be mentioned in passing. A brief chapter is given to an assassin who just wants to leave the city with his beloved, several chapters are given to the First Queen’s maid Yona, and a few to a slave in the Pale Horde.
I greatly enjoyed the rather proper, courtly romance between Zakkar Kai and Yala and was quite sad they were separated during this final installment but it was lovely to see Takshin admire Yala so caringly. I honestly hated rooting for either Takshin or Kai because I liked both of them for different reasons and loved the respect and care they showed to Yala!
The ending was bittersweet yet satisfying and thoroughly wrapped up the tale. This could be considered spoilery, but MAN I felt so bad for Takshin at the end. Poor guy :( Overall, this was an amazing conclusion to the series. These aren’t exactly fast paced books, and I took my time up until Friday night when I stayed up until midnight finishing the story because I really, really didn’t want to put it down. So much of the actual action was saved for the concluding third of the book as so many events came to a boil and it was awesome!

I have been waiting for the end of this series! I loved it beginning to end. I typically dont like these types of books but this series hooked me in. Fantastic start to finish.

I really liked the first book in the series and the second continued with really good writing. With The Bloody Throne the writing is still pretty good. I just found that I had lost interest in this story. There was all the same elements from the previous books and that's what I got tired of I suppose. There will be many who like this story I think and will enjoy this series.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.
And was very excited I did as I found the last two books in the series compelling.

In this book and what looks like the final book in this trilogy we see a lot happen.
Of Princess/ Queen Sabwone last act of defiance as the Tabrak took the capital of Shan.
We see the moves of the remaining emperors sons. The outmaneuvering, the quiet savagery.
The brutality of war, of three kingdoms turning on one another initially.
And later reuniting to take on the Horde of Tabrak, as they threaten all.

The final journey of out beloved strong former lady in waiting to a lost princess, Yala. And the two men who love her. In the end, she must choose and follow her true heart.
Of a General who wishes the world was different, a third Prince- sent away as a child sacrifice making his way though reintegration in his own family and learning who to love and trust and who he can never forgive.
This series truly is a great epic.
Showing the strength of even the weakest seeming person in the room, to the weakness and frailty of those presenting themselves as the strongest.

If you have seen this series, and bypassed it, please think about picking it up.

I both loved and was disappointed by The Bloody Throne. I have really enjoyed the trilogy; political intrigue and good characterization go a long way with me. As others have said, about this book and the 2nd in the series, the pacing is really off. Nothing happens for ages and then suddenly everything happens at once.

The new POVs were fascinating, but part of me really wished we'd seen some of these in the earlier books as it would have explained what was going on with, for example, the Tabrak. They were merely an off-camera threat for most of the trilogy but they play a pretty big part in the conclusion, so having that background into their motivation would have enriched the story. Same with Shan - we meet up with some of the characters from book 2 who just fade away again. And on a personal note, I was dismayed to come across the expression "head-meat" in the first or second chapter. That's a phrase that the author is a little over fond of.

I am apparently someone who needs closure. I really wanted some scenes to happen that didn't. For example <spoiler> I wanted Yala to confront Takshin over his role (? it was unclear exactly what that role was) in Mahara's death. I also really wanted Kurin to realize he'd been outsmarted by Sensheo. And I fully agree with another reviewer that Yala and Kai's ending was really out of character for both. But if they had stayed, then Yala would have had to confront Takshin and somehow get out of that marriage. Easier to just avoid that entanglement altogether, maybe. </spoiler>

On the whole I really enjoyed the entire trilogy - the world they inhabited, all the court intrigue and politics were so engrossing - and the conclusion was if not entirely satisfying, definitely acceptable.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

The Bloody Throne by S. C. Emmett, this was the book I had been WAITING FOR! It fulfilled my expectations and brought the whole series to a great end.

This conclusion to the Hostage of Empire trilogy certainly lives up to its title. From bloody battlefields to quiet tea-tables, all and sundry battle for power in and beyond mighty Zhaon-An, and let's just say the knives are *very* much out. I don't think it's too spoilery to say that not everyone makes it out alive.

It's difficult to review the final book in a trilogy with any real specificity without falling into spoiler-land, and as with all trilogies, no reader should begin with this installment. We pick up with the fallout of certain events at the end of the previous book, as the Tabrak invasion reaches its inevitably bloody climax, Komor Yala's love . . . quadrangle? (Is that right?) Well, *that* plays out in ways both expected and unexpected. And we get some new POVs (in addition to our current plethora) which add texture and nuance to the events we saw in the previous two books.

But on that note: for a trilogy as long and complex as this one, I was surprised at how . . . rushed? certain things felt. I wish we'd spent much more time in Shan, for example, dealing with their court politics. The Tabrak, too, finally get a couple of POVs here, and I found myself thinking that they probably should have appeared in book 1, or at least book 2; it felt, again, *rushed* to finally see the enemy here, rather than let that part of the storyline breathe a bit more. And certain characters' endings felt like they needed extra chapters to really play out properly, which is kind of insane given how long this book already was.

Did I ultimately find the ending satisfying? That's a difficult question. I gave this four stars because, like its predecessors, it has all the backbiting and scheming a court politics junkie could desire. And the overwhelming majority of the book I adored. But like I said, some characters' endings seemed a bit . . . abrupt. And . . . without being too spoilery, there's a development right at the end that would've had me throwing my book across the room had I been reading a paper book rather than on an expensive piece of machinery. Two characters get an ending that I was clearly supposed to find satisfying, that I was clearly supposed to root for, but which I felt was out of character for both. (And this probably goes to the rushed pacing; there were hints we were going down this path, but they were so few and so late that they didn't feel like enough to counterweigh all the character development prior that rendered this ending, I thought, out of character.)

But that's ultimately a personal preference, and I can see how others might disagree. Overall, if you enjoy your fantasy heavy on the court politics, I'd say this trilogy is absolutely for you.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of the series will no doubt find this a satisfying finale. However this felt flat for me as I couldn’t connect to the story at all. It was a case of me and not the book.