Mother Waters... this was everything I wanted the conclusion of this beautiful series to be and then some. I loved it.

The characters are phenomenal. There is something here for everyone. These characters are nuanced and complex, and you will love to hate some of them and root for others to the bitter end. I said it after reading book 1, and I stand by it now that it's over - Xiala is my new personality. I love her so much, and I feel like in this series, there is a character like that for everyone. You will find someone you love.

The atmosphere, writing, and plot are 10/10. Roanhorse knocks it out of the park. I imagine that swapping POVs as often as she does, it must be hard to maintain the "vibe" for each character and the setting in which they find themselves. Roanhorse absolutely nails each setting and the worldbuilding is impeccably done.

As this is the finale, I expected the intrigue and tension to be next level, and I was not disappointed. I cheered, I cried, I bit my lips in concern for how things would turn out. It was exquisite. No notes.

This is overall an excellent conclusion to a phenomenal trilogy that has held me in its grip since the publication of book one. Mirrored Heavens is much longer than the first two books, and I felt that adequate attention was spent tying the many characters' threads together as well as providing context and depth for characters that contributed to the finale. Each of the character arcs I found made sense in the greater backdrop of the world, and I felt the full range of emotions alongside each of them. I would read a 10-book series set in this world with these characters, so I will always want more, but for a trilogy I felt that the story was extremely well done and wrapped up in a way that left me with a total book hangover full of love for the story. The pacing is quick but engaging, and the ending wraps up even more rapidly. A huge thank you to Saga for an eARC of this book in exchange for my thoughts!

An incredible finale to one of my very favorite series. I’m already mourning these characters and wishing for much more of Roanhorse’s writing. This book has everything in it—magic, romance, meddling deities, political moves, the chosen one, lgbtq+ rep. It’s simply awesome!!

"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.

Nominated for the Nebula, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo Awards, winner of the Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Ignyte Award from Fiyah magazine, the Between Earth and Sky trilogy is amongst our most lauded modern fantasy series from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA TODAY bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse."

Seeing as I finally got around to writing my review for the first book in this trilogy, perhaps it's time to finish reading it?

I was very cautious and tempered my expectations going into this book, not because of the author herself, but because I have been heavily disappointed by trilogy enders in the past and I haven’t actually been able to read how Roanhorse would finish out a series (pls revive Sixth World pls I beg). I should have never doubted, because this book was probably the best trilogy ending I’ve ever read full stop. There’s world expansion, drama, betrayals, histories, tender moments, high tension, death, destruction, hope, and above all love. Love is such a driving factor in this series but it really takes a forefront in this installment as Roanhorse really digs into the different expressions and motives around love.

I was screaming, crying, throwing up, laughing throughout. I think there’s something for every reader in here. You have romances, political machinations, war tactics, friendships, family, gods and sea monsters, giant birds and flying creatures. The author does such a good job balancing everything and does really amazing with multiple POVs (there’s at least 6 but I think more than that though some only have a chapter or two). I would actually be extremely down for another installment or even a second trilogy in this world for end of this book reasons I won’t spoil. And although I have feelings about some of the things that happened, I appreciate that Roanhorse was willing to let her characters all suffer at different points. It makes things feel more real and gut wrenching and also really elevates the highs we feel. I really really loved this ending. I am desperate for more in this world (also pls pls pls again I ask for a revival of the Sixth World Series).

50000000/5 stars, a brilliant and absolutely fitting conclusion to the Between Earth and Sky series - I took my time with this one, knowing it's the last in the series and it is everything you could possibly hope for: action-packed, exciting, romantic, magical, all that and some giant crows. I can't wait to see what Rebecca Roanhorse writes next or if we'll ever see more of the Meridian (fingers crossed!). Bravo, Rebecca!!!!

This is one of the best fantasy settings I've encountered in years: a queernorm, Pre-Columbian America filled with sorcery, reborn gods, mermaids, and more. While the third book started off a bit slow, all of the pieces came together in the last 70% and I absolutely couldn't put it down. That ending...!

To back up a bit, I found the trilogy as a whole excellent, but the second book really dragged for me. The characters I was most interested in, Serapio and Xiala, were joined by a number of POVs I was far less invested in. However, I felt like the third volume wrapped things up nicely. It also makes me want to reread the entire trilogy.

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read this early. What an ending to an incredible series. So freaking intense and excellent. Cannot wait to read more by Rebecca Roanhorse in the future.

This book was a great finale to a series that I absolutely adore. Admittedly, I don’t really remember too much about the first two books, because I read them two years ago, and as a warning, this book does not remind you of previous events very well. But it was great nonetheless. Since it’s a sequel, I don’t really have too much to say about it, but if you liked the first two books, you’ll like this one as well.

This is my favorite cover of the series, but my least favorite book. I'm so upset that I didn't love it. I felt so disconnected to this one for some reason. It just felt different from the other books. Maybe I need to go back and read all the books back to back to appreciate this one more.

This is the conclusion of the series, so I'll try my best not to give too many spoilers for the first two books. 

Mirrored Heavens starts pretty much where Fevered Star left off. Serapio is ruler of Tova, Naranpa is up north thinking of ways to save Tova from a grim fate, and Xiala is on the island of Teek, helping her people and hoping that her Song starts to work like it used to. Shenanigans, and more shenanigans.

It took me a few more chapters to get into this volume but once I got there, I couldn't put it down, just as much as the previous volumes. I continue to love Xiala and Serapio as characters, both apart and together. I've been waiting a couple of volumes now for them to see each other again so I could see what happened, and I wasn't disappointed.

I love this world, and all the interesting magic that it has. I love a world that has crows you can ride on. I could imagine riding my own crow on ridiculous escapades hunting shiny things. 

All told, if you enjoyed the first and second books, I think you're going to like the third as well. I thought this was a strong finish that left me satisfied and ready to read more of what Rebecca Roanhorse brings into the world.

Ultimately I was incredibly excited to read the third installation in Rebecca Roanhorse’s “Between Earth and Sky” series. The story picks up shortly after the events of the second novel, and mostly includes the same cast of characters as in the first two. The world building of the novel really came into affect during this novel, seeing the consequences of the actions in the second book finally start to show themselves. Overall, I really enjoyed the reading experience. The characters were as lovable as always, the lore and mythology was incredibly enchanting, and the turns the story took absolutely enthralling. My favorite part of the novel was probably the internal struggles of Okoa, and any part involving Xiala. This was a bit of a departure, as my true favorite characters had been Serapio, Naranpa, and Iktan. Okoa’s story really hit home for me and seeing him struggle internally over what he was really drove a lot of the plot surrounding him and Serapio. However, it also brings me to the biggest disappointment I encountered in the whole series: the letdown of his and Naranpa’s endings. These really really fell flat to me. After getting to see who Naranpa was over the course of the last two books, wow she got no closure. Okoa didn’t get much closure either but Naranpa really got to me. She was such a big part of the story and her part felt totally unfleshed out. Part of me feels like this was reader response to Naranpa’s character over the past two books as many people, to my surprise, found her boring. Maybe the author decided to center the story more about the characters that most readers were excited about? Regardless, it felt like an illogical departure to me, and saddened me upon reading. I would overall give the book 4 stars. The world building and characters stand too strong to allow a few disappointments to dissuade readers from picking up this book. It is a solid end to an amazing series, that left me wanting more, and kept open the possibility for more. I hope to see Roanhorse return to this series one day with a couple of specific characters in mind!!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Saga Press for an advance copy of this fantasy novel that takes place in a world where the god use humans to fight their wars, where good people do nasty things, bad people do much worse, and above them all gods move their human pieces in a bid for complete supremacy.

Everything has an end. People, kingdoms, gods. Even trilogies. Some feel sad, some can accept this, others sped through the book, racing to see who lives, dies, and what comes next. When a series is as good as this, all of these can be explained, especially the rapid flipping of pages. Mirrored Heavens is the concluding book in the Between Heaven and Earth series by Rebecca Roanhorse. A tale of gods, their representatives, clans, water creatures, magic, death, life, and vengeance, using Central American folklore and mythologies as sources, but telling a tale uniquely the author's own.

The characters we have grown to know and well not love entirely, more fear in different ways have been separated by status, by location, and by design. Serapio, who was once hungry for revenge, full of fear and vengeance equally is now full of power, and leads the kingdom of Tova. Serapio is called the Carrion King as he is a shadow for the Crow God Reborn, but his rule is full of revolt and whispers. Serapio has just wiped out a clan, and instead of instilling fear, has raised resentment, and the streets of his kingdom are filled with the promise of an another trouble, this from the Coyote God. The once sea Captain Xiala has returned to her island of Teek to find why she can no longer speak to the sea as once she could. The island is visited by a fleet, a fleet that is bringing war, killing many elders, and wounding Xiala, even while awakening a new magic in her. Others begin to feel the inevitability of fate, as gods begin to rise, old companions are found, and lost, with many fearing the end will come, and it will be full of fire.

Endings are hard, but Roanhorse does a very good job of brining the tale of Meridian together. This would be a hard book of beginners to hop into, reading the early books is pretty necessary, which is a good thing as they are both really good, and makes one want to know more. If I had a complaint it would be that I wish there was a quick two page reminder to who people were and their relationships. There is a cast of characters, but I read a lot, and sometimes coming into a book I need a little refresh. That is a minor quibble. This is a big story with big ideas, but not big enough to forget the characters. Roanhorse has created a cast that are diverse, different and seem real, even in this fantasy setting. These characters are not black & white, good or evil. They all are capable of great cruelty, with the proviso they have to do this for the greater good, even while questioning why they are doing things. The world is really well developed with ways of looking at things that are quite different and new. The mythology is different, and yet Roanhorse has an ability to make it seem familiar, and easy to adapt to. There are scenes that will stay with the reader, not only because of what happens, sometimes vile things, but the beauty of the words that Roanhorse uses.

A very good fantasy series, different with lots of fresh ideas, and ways of looking at things. If new definitely start with the first books. If a fan, that person will enjoy, and like myself, wonder what Rebecca Roanhorse has planned next.

Rebecca Roanhorse shook up the fantasy publishing world with her magical world rooted in the history, culture, and cosmology of the indigenous Americas, and subsequently stumbled with a sequel that was dull, slow-moving, and seemingly less inspired. Roanhorse is now back with the final book in her "Between Earth and Sky" trilogy with Mirrored Heavens, a conclusion that is a mixed bag as it pulls from the heights Black Sun and tries to correct for the sins of Fevered Star.

Where Mirrored Heavens really shines, as do all of the books in this trilogy, it is through the characters. Serrapio, Xiala, and even Balam all get tense and complex arcs in Mirrored Heavens that kept me turning the pages even when the actual plot was flying off the railings. They all have their different goals and ambitions, and yet they don't know how to always get those in a way that doesn't hurt people (or doesn't hurt the WRONG people, however they are defining that). When Mirrored Heavens was focusing on character relationships, I didn't even realize that this book was so chonky because I was swept away by these people and the terrible places society has put them. (I should note that Naranpa essentially becomes a non-entity in this book, which was unfortunate).

The situations all of the characters find themselves in only get murkier and darker as Roanhorse continues to expand the world around them. As new threats, alliances, and colonizing forces all converge it is never quite clear who is right and who is wrong. Do you support the religious fanatics? The people trying to protect their homes from the religious fanastics? The colonized islanders? I thought that Roanhorse built out the world too quickly in Fevered Star, but in Mirrored Heavens she is able to actually spend time with each faction, and it is much clearer what each group actually desires. Whether you personally will enjoy the expanded worldbuilding will depend on what you like best from this series (and from your epic fantasy in general). Mirrored Heavens never wins back the sense of place that Black Sun had. In that first book Tovah really came alive and it felt like we got to know individual neighborhoods so well, while Fevered Star spent a lot of time outside of the main area. Mirrored Heavens continues to lose that feeling of being "in" the world; we don't spend a lot of time in any give place and much of Mirrored Heavens seems to take place in some kind of void. I understand that the epic scale of the conflict in Mirrored Heavens kind of necessitated this, but it only made me long for Black Sun even more.

Whlile Roanhorse's character work is always emotionally resonant, she really struggles with pacing and building momentum. I think this is why Black Sun worked so well and Fevered Star left me feeling empty; in the first book we want to slowly get introduced to a world and its characters, but by the second book in a trilogy we want things to happen - and they didn't. Mirrored Heavens is left picking up the pieces of Fevered Star's nothingness, and Roanhorse is not quite able to pull it off. The book feels both sluggish and way too fast at the same time as Roanhorse tries to get at the emotional core of the story while also trying to cover way too much plot and worldbuilding - a lot of which should have been covered in Fevered Star. It is so bad that we learn a brand new element of the magic system (which is also a deux ex machina in its own way) around the 94% mark of this final volume. Roanhorse set so many new plot threads and POVs in Fevered Star that she HAS to deal with here in Mirrored Heavens, but even in a beefy 600+ page book just can't deal with it all.

Once she does reach the conclusion, all of the plot threads are wrapped up. The book leaves it in a place where you know that the (surviving) characters have a life after this, but thematically and emotionally Roanhorse leaves readers in a satisfying place. The last chapter or two in particular are authentically brilliant in how the characters feel like they have to rebuild their lives and move on from these supernatural and political uphevels...I just wish the events leading up to that ending weren't so chaotic and half-baked. I honestly think that if we cannot go back in a time machine and correct Fevered Star, than this should have been a four book series because Roanhorse seems to have had much loftier plans that can be contained in Mirrored Heavens (even at more than 1/3 longer than the previous books). It's just dissapointing because Roanhorses' ideas are so GOOD, but the execution is imperfect.

I think that many readers have connected with this trilogy more than me, and I think those readers in particular will love Mirrored Heavens. But even if you are like me, left side-eyeing Fevered Star for the way it just spun in meaningless cirlces, Mirrored Heavens is worth investing in to see the conclusion to these characters and these arcs (even if the plot conclusions leave a bit to be desired).

In general, this was a satisfying, if not earth shattering, finale to a series that could never quite live up to its own hype and potential. I do think the positives of Mirrored Heavens outweighed with the negatives, which is why I ultimately landed on giving this book 3 stars.

I've been recommending the first two books in this series for the last couple of years, so it was exciting to finally have this third book to finish it off. I love the world building, the characters and the way Roanhorse is able to keep all the threads together. I probably should have re-read the second one again before reading Mirrored Heavens but I got sucked right back into the saga and enjoyed the ride to the end.

Ah the end of the trilogy. Serapio is the ruler of Tova. Xiala is back on her home island of Teek. And Naranpa is on a journey to save her beloved Tova from the Carrion King. These three entwined lives are all fighting to do what they honestly believe is best. In the background one other is doing what he can to become a god himself.

I will be honest, this book took me like 20% in to remember all the details and characters. I am not one to reread books and know all the details and am more of jumping in and enjoying the ride. This series is hard to do that with as it came out, but if you are reading them all in a row, I think this will be fantastic.

The end of trilogy where not everybody survives, there is not a perfect picture happy ever after, and some realize they became the bad guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I liked how it was not a picture-perfect ending but I was not left with a ton of questions.

I am giving this book five stars because overall the trilogy was interesting and so good and I believe this book did good to wrap up the ending. This book on its own, is a four but that’s because it took so long to sort out in my own head. If I had read these closer together, I think I would have loved it. I absolutely recommend these books. Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press, and Rebecca Roanhorse for this free ARC. This was an honest review.

I'm plagued by conflicting feeling about what is ultimately a mixed finale to a long=beloved series. Too much happened within too short of a time frame, compressing a story that could have easily been two books into a trilogy format. The vast range of characters is both a strength and a weakness: it was interesting to follow such diverse perspectives, but I found that emotions remained strongly tied to Xiala, Serapio, Naranpa, and Iktan. Outside of these four, I wasn't sufficiently drawn into the other POVs, which felt like they distracted from the stories I most deeply cared about. I loved the payoff of the Xiala/Serapio storyline and getting more of Xiala's background generally, but was otherwise disappointed by the ending which felt weak in comparison to what was otherwise a very strong series.

This was a fantastic conclusion to the series.

My favorite part about this series was how you see from the perspective of people on all sides of the conflict. It's hard, in some ways, to distinguish hero from villain because characters on both sides do terrible things for their own reason, and they are not villains in their own minds.

The one flaw was that because it had been a while since the last book, I kept forgetting who certain characters were and what they had done in previous books, but the writing, character development, description and detail were so good that it didn't matter. I figured it out eventually.

I love the word Roanhorse created in this book. I love how each character is so developed. I love the magic system. And I was happy with the ending for at least some of the characters.

Looking forward to seeing the next thing she writes!

Educator note: these books are probably to long for the kind of classes I teach, when I teach at all these days. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone, student, friend, or family, looking for a good fantasy novel!

Mirrored Heavens is a strong next entry in the Black Sun series, following Black Sun and Fevered Star. It follows Serapio, the Crow god avatar; Xiala the Teek sea captain, Iktan, the Knife, Naranpa, the Sun-god avatar, and Balam, the Jaguar lord in a complicated mix of love and betrayal, magic and politics, power and revenge. The world-building is loosely based on Central American mythology, but it's the complex characters and their interactions that make the story shine. It definitely helps to have read the earlier stories, because otherwise it's difficult to keep all the twists and turns and people involved straight. But the end result is SO worth it. And no, I doubt that this book is the end of the series, considering the open questions that remain at the end of the book. I can't wait to read the next addition to the series and to see what happens to these wonderful (and bloody ruthless) people.

The first two books in Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky series, Black Sun and Fevered Star, are two of my favorite books of the last five years. I’ve proselytized these books so many times, and now, at last, I can tell people the end is worth it. Mirrored Heavens is a tense read. There were many points where I had to put my tablet down and pace in circles because otherwise I would scream just to relieve the pressure. This is exactly the kind of book you want to do a live react to because So. Much. Happens!

The Treaty Cities of the Meridian are getting ready to go to war with Tova. Serapio, Carrion King, the Crow God Reborn, is working to defend his city, and to quell the clan matrons whose power over the city has been upended. The Cuecolan lords, Balam and Tuun, seek to build empires. Naranpa, once the Sun Priest, and Xiala are each shoring up their own powers to thwart the Cuecolans’ dreams of empire. The gods are at work in their own ways.

Between Earth and Sky is high fantasy for grownups. There are gods, kings, magic, and journeys. There is a war between good and evil, but the good is at best morally grey. In the high fantasy books I read growing up, Serapio, disfigured and blinded and dedicated as a tool of vengeance, would have been the monster that the poor innocent farm boy had to defeat to save the light and win the princess. Serapio is both the powerful being created to destroy the Sun God and it’s minions, and the innocent farm boy raised to do a job, unconcerned for the political maneuverings of the outside world.

I will note that the violence in the book can be hard to read while also reading and seeing images from the current violence happening in our own world. Empires are bad. Dreams of empire are evil dreams. Every person has inherent worth and deserved better than to be used as a means to an end.

I read this to fullfill the The Diverse Baseline Challenge March Prompt B: a book by an indigenous author.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Saga Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.