3.5 stars

“Mirrored Heavens” is the final book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse. All of the intricate plot threads that have been spun since the first book are finally coming to a close. I felt on the edge of my seat for much of it, since the individual characters’ motives are so antithetical, and there were ways in which I wanted to root for all of them. I do think this could have done with a lot more editing - it’s the longest book in the series by far, beating Black Sun by 150 pages and Fevered Star by more than 200. Particularly in the first half of the book, it felt like characters spun their wheels for a couple chapters at a time until it was time for something to happen in a different point of view. I also had a similar reaction at the end that I did with the first three books of the Red Rising series, which is that the ending felt a few degrees too happy relative to the darkness of the rest of the story. Otherwise though, a satisfying and enjoyable conclusion to a brilliant series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is the long awaited ending to the Between Earth and Sky Trilogy and I am giving this book 5 stars.

This book did a wonderful job of wrapping up multiple storylines for several main characters. The world building in the series is fantastic. As I read this book at no point was I bored or tempted to DNF. It was not predictable at all! I would absolutely recommend this trilogy to anyone interested in fantasy books or fantasy that isn’t the typical European/Fae flavored magic bomb spice fest.

I will be purchasing a copy of this book for my home library and cannot wait to see what else the author has in store for us after this!

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I finished this book yesterday, and I was left SPEECHLESS. I kept saying to myself, “Wow. THIS is how you write fantasy. THIS is how you conclude such an epic trilogy you leave your readers satisfied yet wishing for more.”

Every character had so much depth and arcs. I was so drawn to each of the main POVs, especially Serapio, Xiala, and Naranpa. I was on the very edge of my seat, chewing my nails (metaphorically) throughout the entirety of the book, because it continued to be so intense, stressful, and sickeningly excellent. Getting the backstory into how the entire plan was started truly brought the story full circle, and it gave so much clarity into the information learned. The ending had me in TEARS. This is hands down one of the greatest fantasy series I’ve ever read.

Roanhorse is an auto-buy, auto-read author for me from now until the end of time. This queer-normative world that she has created is full of angst, heartbreak, violence, magic, gods, betrayal, death, forgiveness, loyalty, and so much more.

Do not walk but RUN to get a copy of this book, when it releases. I am an unworthy subject to read these words, but it was an absolute HONOR to do so.

Infinity gold stars.

CW: violence, death, injury/injury detail, murder, war, blood

Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing: Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky series finishes strong. The characters you know and love are here again, their stories fleshed out and their dreams coming to fruition. My favorites, Xiala and Okoa, are better than ever and have their chances to shine at different parts of their story. Serapio, our illustrious Crow God, has a thrilling conclusion that highlights his growth over the series in a thoughtful and organic way that felt true to a person’s evolution as the world they knew was twisted into something else.

Roanhorse does a brilliant job showcasing how power corrupts and how desires consume. Because they do, corrupt and consume. And we are all susceptible to it. Naranpa was a great foil for Balam and continues to be in Mirrored Heavens. Her story, while it starts slow, picks up in the last quarter of the book as she becomes a major player in this war. Roanhorse’s talents lie in her ability to build a magnificent world but also in her character work. Each character feels lived in, and their personalities are distinct from each other, giving us unique perspectives on the war consuming the entire nation.

The pacing of this felt slightly off in places—slow in some—and the last quarter of the book is a dash to a conclusion, but the decisions Roanhorse made to get there were top choices based on each character’s motivations and flaws. This was a brilliant conclusion to a wonderful series.

I've been highly anticipating this final volume since I read 'Black Sun' right when it came out. Overall, this was a solid ending to the trilogy, but I was a bit disappointed by some character arcs and some of the pacing. My main issue was that it feels like the plot engine is viciously driving many of the characters...in ways that don't always seem entirely motivated but just need to happen to get from point A to point Z. Saying much more would get into spoilers, which I want to avoid.

I finished this book a while ago and haven’t been able to write a review because I’ve just been kind of staring at the wall.

I think this was a really strong finish to a series I already enjoyed a lot, with most outstanding plot threads tied up (some absolutely brutally, some heartbreakingly, some surprisingly sweet). I felt like the ending made sense with the series as a whole, though I actually wish it had been a little less rushed & we had gotten more in the last 10% or so (though this is already a massively long book so I understand why we didn’t). The interlude on Teek was necessary even as it was brutal, the background into the events prior to Black Sun was really interesting, and of course, the best part of this series, for me, is when Xiala and Serapio interact so I was thrilled to have more of that.

Overall really happy with this series as a whole and I only wish we had more in it…. maybe a spinoff?

Thank you NetGalley, Saga Press for sending me an e-ARC to review!

Between Heaven and Sky is one of my favorite series! Last year, my friend gifted me the first book, Black Sun, and I binged book 1 and 2 and was DEVASTED to find out I had to wait close to a year for the final book. I recommend this series to everyone and when I got my approval email for Mirrored Heavens I texted everyone and their mother about how excited I was!
Between Heaven and Sky isn’t your typical eurocentric fantasy. It features pre-Colombian influences that can be seen in the geography, the magic, the gods, and the prophecies.
Mirrored Heavens picks up with the Crow god and Serapio ruling Tova, while the sun god and Naranpa seek out more knowledge to better understand their newfound godhead and be able to take on the Crow god. We also follow Xian’s in her quest to save the Teek and find Serapio, Balam and the Cuecolans rallying armies to wage war against the Crow god, and Okoa Carrion Crow trying to figure out his rule in this new political landscape.
The final installment of the trilogy has left me with a lot of feelings, y’all. Like, how are you going to just leave us all wondering about our girl Nara?? Rebecca Roanhorse is such a descriptive writer, I felt like I was there in the Shadow Palace or on the Teek Islands. There was so much plotting and scheming and a ton of character growth!
Overall this was a great ending to the series, but I felt the pacing was off. The ending felt rushed to me and like some details were breezed over. I wish there was more of the fighting and the war scenes! That would have been a perfect balance to the scheming and slow pacing of the beginning of the book.
11/10 recommend to a friend

Thank you to Saga Press & Simon Audio for the review copies! 

When Black Sun came out in 2020, I was very much in my Game of Thrones era, and was in love with this diverse epic fantasy set in a world inspired by  Mesoamerica . Fevered Star was good, but had a bit of second book syndrome. It dragged, and included POVs of characters that I didn’t care about as much as the first book. 

So when I was offered a review copy of Mirrored Heavens, I was excited but a little nervous - do I even enjoy epic fantasy now or am I fully in my Romantasy era? Also - did I remember enough of the previous books to enjoy this one? 

Roanhorse does an excellent job of re-introducing us to important information throughout Mirrored Heavens, so I felt like it was easy to follow even though I didn’t reread the first two books. 

I do think this series is comparable to GOT in that it is a multi-POV story where the different POVs find themselves on different sides of a conflict, so if that is something that you enjoy, I think that you would like this series!

What I really love about this series is that it’s an epic fantasy in a woman & LGBTQ affirming world. 

My one complaint was that the story sometimes dragged for me. It seemed like when an exciting element would be introduced, it would be followed by multiple characters reacting to the situation. However, if you like to really dive into the politics and morality of situations, and how different characters think about them, you might really enjoy this element.

Overall, I really loved the characters and world created by Roanhorse, and I thought that she did a fantastic job wrapping up the trilogy. 

🎧 I got access to the audiobook for the last 35% of my read, which really helped me since I prefer audio to print. All of the narrators were fantastic, and listening helped me to learn the correct pronunciation for all of the names! I think Roanhorse’s writing is clear enough for the audio to be an excellent format - I do often struggle with listening to epic fantasy exclusively by audiobook.

umm the best ending to a series have ever read truly. i have no questions at all, and the ending was worth the year long wait thank you saga press and netgalley for the arc!! 4.5/5 stars rounded to 5

Mirrored Heavens is the third and final book to the epic fantasy series Between Earth & Sky.

Ya'll. I cried at the end of this one and now I am devastated because my favorite series has come to an end. I am 100% satisfied with the conclusion of this trilogy but I can see some people screaming with rage at one particular character arc that was left ... up in the air shall we say. Me personally, I hope this means we are getting another series in this rich and complex world Roanhorse has created. Without going into spoilers I will add Roanhorse continued to expand on the colorful cultures of the Meridian, several plot points come to a head, we have yet another prophecy and we get to learn more about Xiala !

If you haven't already picked up this series let try to convince you. This series starts off with Black Sun. It is an epic multi-POV fantasy series set in pre-Columbian times. There is a diverse cast of morally gray characters, lush writing and expert world building. This is one of those series where I forgot I was reading. Black Sun is a compulsive read, partly because the book is structured in a way in which we are counting down to a specific moment. Even though I think both plot and character-driven readers will enjoy this series, I personally loved the characters.

I hope you give this series a chance because you won't regret it. It's so unique and vibrant and also a bit dark.

Thank you to Saga Press and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of Mirrored Heavens.

The only thing more difficult than writing the middle book in a trilogy is writing the third one. It must carry the heavy weight of reader’s expectations, tie up the many loose ends, build to a powerful and convincing denouement, fully realize the “leads,” and not abandon the secondary characters to turn into decorative scenery. In fantasies, there is also an extra level of world building to bring to fruition and satisfactorily conclude. Happily, Rebecca Roanhorse, a master craftsperson in the fields of imaginary worlds, delivers a knockout conclusion that triumphs at all levels. Highly recommended if a banquet of political intrigue and warfare, social class stratification, unruly and barely contained magic and a poignant, sizzling romance or two is up your alley.
My only regret is that I had to leave this world.

It’s finally here. The final book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy. This fantasy world is inspired by pre-Columbian Mesoamerica was I she always found fascinating. The first book followed multiple people as they draw together in a holy city, amist an unbalancing of the world. This series is very popular, and I know many of you are just dying to see how this is wrapped up, I found the ending to be just okay, overall satisfying though as we get a nice conclusion on some important questions but I hope that it lives up to all of your expectations.

This trilogy was captivating from the first book to the last. I love the world the author built and would like to see more of it! As a conclusion to a trilogy, this was solid. I am torn between a 4 and a 5 star. Officially, this is a 4.5 but I'm rounding up because I was really invested - but may round down later after reflection because there were elements that prevent this from being a "true" 5 star.

A few parts of this felt rushed or underdeveloped. I think this is because of the POVs we get - some characters don't have the info I want (or wouldn't care) so I don't think it's a narrative issue but more personal preference? But man, I've got a lot of questions!

There are a lot of POVs in this. I love multi-POV, but there were perspectives I didn't like - and this slowed my progress a bit. I also think with this many POVs it's difficult to balance pacing and characterization, and honestly I felt like I would have liked some different POVs than the ones we got. There was soooo much happening and I'd have loved for this to be a bit longer to flesh out certain areas of the story.

Naranpa's storyline is the one thing I really take issue with. I don't feel like it really fit here, and it kind of drops off in the end? I loved her chapters, loved her as a character, really enjoyed her development... But I don't understand what her purpose was in certain moments or why I read chapters of her doing things that... Didn't have any substantial impact on the plot? I honestly think she could have spent the entire novel hanging out on a farm and it would have had the same impact to the ending lol. However, I was REALLY rooting for her and Iktan the entire novel - they were my favorite pair by far.

Around the 70% mark I was filled with dread because I was not ready for this to end! I really appreciate how the author balanced the ending - things didn't wrap up too easily, I felt like there were actual consequences to actions and plotlines. I wanted one more chapter at the end because some things are left open ended, but I WANT ANSWERS. If a novella or short story (or a prequel!!! so much potential!!) is dropped for this trilogy I will be the first in line to buy it!!

To sum up my thoughts: I loved this trilogy! I'll definitely be picking up Rebecca Roanhorse's future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I believe I’ve gotten all three of these books as arcs, and I’ve never been more grateful. I’ve loved them since the beginning, and this book was no different. I love the characters and the world. Serapio and Xiala have always been my favorites. I wanted more at the end (all the happy endings), but I would want it regardless. I never want the story to end.

I’m so thankful to the @sagapressbooks and @rebeccaroanhorse for the opportunity to read the early copy and review it. These 600 pages were the perfect conclusion to this series. Rebecca doesn’t make us wait long for some blood and action. You are nervous in anticipation of what’s going to happen with the main character’s whole book. It definitely will keep you guessing and be ready for anything. I loved how it all came together in the end ♥️. And I am sad to be over with this character and world.

Overall it’s definitely will be one of my favorite fantasy series. I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

I have absolutely loved this fantasy trilogy (beginning with BLACK SUN, if you’re wondering where to start), and being able to finally read the last in the series.. overjoyed !! 🥰🥰

The second book did a lot of setup for all the drama that unfolds here. All the political machinations come to a head as various players try and pull the strings to ensure their victory. We follow quite a few different characters, and I must admit I was a tad confused at the beginning trying to place everyone. However, it all began to come back to me and I was HOOKED!!

This is very steadily paced finale, with intrigue and plotting on every page. Sometimes I’d pause my reading just because I was a bit stressed about what might happen next 🙈 I loved being able to revisit all my favorite characters (and root for the demise of my least favorite.. oops). It was so interesting to see each of them go on their own personal journey and be able to finally get the conclusion I was missing! A trilogy is really all I can handle before going nuts wanting an actual ending instead of a cliffhanger 😂

If you’ve been a fan of this series, I think this will be a satisfying ending (yeah I cried IT GOT ME!!). And if you’re looking for a fantasy series to binge read with memorable, strong characters, lots of secrets and action, AND the perfect amount of romance, then this is for you!! I need more from Rebecca Roanhorse stat!! I can’t wait to see what else she has up her sleeve.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Schuster for my eARC, this was undoubtedly my most anticipated read of the year. It is so deeply satisfying to have finished reading this! It's one of my favorite series, and I will continue to recommend it, but the pacing definitely has some issues. I'm glad I got to spend more time with some favorite characters in this book, but the conclusion of the story felt a bit rushed. Roanhorse does masterful character work and I will forever be looking for another character that makes me like Serapio and Xiala have.

My favorite thing about the third installment in Rebecca Roanhorse's "Between Earth and Sky" trilogy - "Mirrored Heavens" - is the setting, which is based on pre-Colombian Americas. Also, rarely can you see war from the perspective of people on all sides of the conflict. And those perspectives are fleshed out with so much detail and emotion, that it is almost impossible to tell heroes from villains, or decide whose side you are rooting for.

The novel itself, however, is my least favorite of the three. A big part of the reason why is the pacing, which is very uneven. Ponderous for about 80% of the book, and then awfully rushed in the "big pay-off," the climax of the conflict, which, for the most part, happens off-screen.

But the biggest head scratcher is what goes on with Naranpa. Her storyline (and Iktan's) is very nicely fleshed out throughout the novel, but fizzles out to nothing in the end. Her role in the Tova war is inconsequential, her fate left completely up in the air. The second part I could chalk up to there being another book/trilogy to continue the storyline, but her overall arc in *this* trilogy makes no sense.

I was disappointed with this conclusion. It felt like, in the end, it was reduced to a Xiala/Serapio romance.

This third and final book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy was just as beautifully written as the first two. The setting was also marvelous, as were the many characters and their stories. I was a little frustrated by the pacing and the ending wasn’t exactly what I wanted either, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

For those of you who have read the other books in the series, you know that there are many, many characters and points of view as well as a very complex plot and very intricate world building. All of your favorite and not so favorite characters are here, and we finally learn all of their fates. Because there are so many characters, I am only going to talk about a couple of my favorites.

Okoa is still my favorite of all of the characters, although he gets so little page time in all of the books. His internal struggles, especially in this one, just made me ache for him and his struggles. He just wants to be loved and needed, but everyone just manipulates and uses him, which made me mad. Xiala was great in this book. She comes fully into her powers and she is a force to be reckoned with. I just loved her development as a character. Iktan and Narampa’s story was also well done, and I was glad to see them finally admit their feelings for each other.

The plot of this book was just as complex as the other two, and maybe a bit more. I found it to be a bit slow moving, especially at the start, but as we got closer to the end, it started to go really fast, almost too fast. While the ending was well done, I wasn’t as happy as I would have liked to have been about some of the characters fates. War takes a toll on everyone, I know, but why did so many of the characters have to die?

The world building and the writing continues to just amaze me. I loved all of the little poems and sayings, especially the Teek ones, at the start of the chapters. The mythology and backgrounds for all of the societies is very rich and well rounded. I occasionally got a little lost in all of the complexities of the plot, but was mostly able to keep track of everything that was going on. I do wish that I had taken the time to reread the other books before this one, I think it would have helped a bit with the character development.

Overall I did enjoy this final book in the series. I am kind of sad that it is over, but happy that some of the characters found their well deserved ending. One of the storylines was left a little bit open, so maybe we might see at least a novella about some of the characters. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes epic and complex fantasy.

An epic and masterful journey. This is my top favorite fantasy series and I’m super sad it’s over!

The characters are the best, the way their stories weave together, collide and separate, and collide again is a fantastic plot device that kept me invested in every little clue. There’s another prophecy and so much depth added to previous events and character back stories. Just wow. I love Xiala and Serapio! Many secondary characters got to really shine as well. The magic is incredible and world building some of the best in my opinion - a creative matriarchal society with gods, majestic flying beasts, and sea creatures, I’m a little obsessed. Although I was left with more questions, I feel very connected to the characters and will look back at this trilogy with teary fondness 🖤

Thank you to Saga Press for the early review copy, it was everything and more.