Overall, I’m quite happy with how this trilogy wrapped up! I wasn’t completely sold on the direction the series went in The Battle Drum, but this book tied everything together beautifully, while still expanding the world. There were points the pacing felt to drag a bit and some of Anoor’s chapters infuriated me. These were pretty minor though and didn’t detract much from my overall enjoyment of this book. The series was tied up nicely and had just enough happy/sad endings.

A semi-satisfying ending to a creative trilogy. I'm not too thrilled with Sylah's and Anoor's fates. Nor am I a fan of the return of the addiction issue. My love for Hassa and Jond overcome the deficiencies though.

3.5 stars rounded up - I have a lot of thoughts, both those I am currently thinking and those I want to ponder longer. Strong chance my opinion of this book changes over time or with a reread to be more positive.

This book brings us right back to the end of Book 2 and gets going real quickly. There is a lot going on, so if you don't remember book 2 I highly recommend a reread. Part of my negative feelings about this book is that I was confused, and I don't know if that's because I didn't pay enough attention, either in my book 2 reread or this read, or if it's just written a bit confusingly.

Book 3 struggles a bit because the POVs are in such separate stories now. Sometimes I would forget who a side character was, and once a side character went from one POV to another, I realized I forgot how they were interconnected. There is a lot going on in this world and this chunky series, so I do think that rereading this will give me further appreciation for the details of the story. There were some things that I struggled with that I felt were hand-waivy, but there's also the chance that I just forgot some of the complexities of this story.

Without spoiling, I struggled with Anoor's POV. Many people struggled with her naivite in the first book, and I didn't. I found her character to be an interesting perspective. In this book, however, I couldn't understand her behavior (even with the 'twist' we all saw coming). I wanted a further explanation than what we got. I also struggled with the magic. We go from very little bloodwork usage in the first two books to a LOT, and I was slightly confused about the details. What's the difference between bloodwork and deathwork, again? Again, this is something I feel I might learn to appreciate once I read the series again and really internalize some of the details of the world.

This all being said, I still loved this read. I really loved the characters, and I was sad to see them go. Hassa is so badass, and I wish I knew her in real life.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Saara El-Arifi does it again!

What a stunning conclusion to an incredible trilogy! It’s not often that a reader can genuinely say that each book in a trilogy is a hit, but The Ending Fire trilogy has done it!

After the thrilling events of The Battle Drum, The Ending Fire picks up with the story. Side note: extra props to the author for including a recap of previous events that seamlessly fits into the world of the book.

The various side character POVs help flesh out and deepen the reader’s connection to the story, versus watching one or two main characters and only seeing events from their perspective.

Saara absolutely packed out this book with action, character development, and an engaging plot. I’m sad that it’s over, but so, so happy to have experienced this book.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing the ARC.

After weeks and months of simmering tension, war is breaking out across the land. The Wardens face a rebellion within their capital city, but what neither side realizes is that a much deadlier force is preparing to march on them. The Zalaam have found their Child of Fire, and with their arrival, are ready to launch an assault to wipe their enemies from the map. It will take an alliance of nations to stand against the Zalaam and their god-forged creations - but even that might not be enough.

THE ENDING FIRE takes a while to rev up, but when the final battle arrives, it's a heart-pounding conclusion. This is one of those books where I'm going to recommend you have a fairly solid grasp of the factions and characters going into the finale, because I certainly struggled to lift the fog from my memory during the early pages of the book. There are a plethora of factions and types of magic at this stage of the game, and they are all crashing together in this finale. The first third of the book is an absolute whirlwind tour around the map, checking in at various locations; my struggles to remember who was who definitely hampered my ability to connect with characters, making the early parts of the book a bit slower for me.

I found Anoor's storyline the most compelling, as she struggles to find meaning and purpose in her new situation (to say more would be more spoilers than I care to share). Suffice to say, I empathized with her situation, as she is thrown into an unfamiliar land and wants to believe that those who surround her truly want the best for her and for the world. It's not easy to watch, but given the specific circumstances Anoor is in, I can buy the justification machine that she turns on in her head to give a pass to things that make her uneasy.

Hassa also has a good arc, finally hitting the point where she is no longer content to pretend to be a meek servant, but ready to stand up in open defiance of the world. She is the true heart of the story, trying to lift her people out of oppression without losing sight of the fact that they have to have a moral code at the center, or they risk becoming just as bad as their oppressors.

What really made me struggle with THE ENDING FIRE, however, were the various romantic relationships. There was a lot of eleventh hour drama that felt manufactured and drawn out; when characters did finally get together, there were incredibly rushed scenes of spice that were over in a page. It made the culmination of the relationship feel perfunctory, a check box marked instead of a beautiful union. I don't mind spice in the slightest, but I honestly think in this case that a fade-to-black would have been the better move here. It ironically would have made the beat feel longer and more heartfelt by leaving it to the reader to fill in what happened, rather than throwing a few paragraphs on the page and calling it a day.

On the bright side, however, I do think the final battle itself is well done. After limiting the POV to our three main characters (Sylah, Hassa, and Anoor), the story opens up and jumps around to multiple side characters, letting us see pivotal moments across the battlefield, full of both heartbreak and joyous success. It's hard to put those final chapters down as multiple factions wage war for the fate of the world.

THE ENDING FIRE had a lot to wrangle in this final book, and it definitely shows. There's a lot of rush to get pieces into place, an effort that can make the story feel both rushed and meandering at the same time. That perhaps isn't surprising given the expansiveness of the world-building, but it does make this last installment feel a bit uneven. There are definitely moments when the book shines, but it's not as well-executed a landing as I hoped.

Note: I was provided a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

As a long-awaited conclusion to a fantastic fantasy series, this book could not come soon enough. That being said, I ended up having mixed feelings about The Ending Fire.

I loved, loved, loved The Final Strife and The Battle Drum. Naturally, there are so many reasons to also love the final installment. El-Arifi was not slacking with her beautiful writing style, and the characters, settings, and motivations are fully fleshed out. She did a good job with the character arcs--mostly. Jond receives a well-deserved comeback, Hassa remains a badass, and Anoor crashes and burns while letting herself be sucked into a human-sacrificing cult. However, Sylah gets put on the backburner. I expected to see more from Sylah, but instead her only purpose in this book is making (or actually just supervising) a bloodwerk eru that doesn't even end up serving its purpose. A disappointing showing for Sylah's arc. Another sticking point for me was the ending, which felt rushed and a little too easily wrapped up. Overall, there was nothing significant to complain about, but it felt like The Ending Fire was missing the spark of the first two books.

To console myself about the end of a very excellent series (overall), I'll just go back and reread the first two books ad infinitum.

3.5/5 stars

El-Arifi proved her skill through her beautiful writing and incredible, thoughtful world-building with complicated characters…. ugh this trilogy!!! 10/10 no notes

Thought the last book was just ok. It was missing some of the emotional distraught/weight I expected given the events of the last book. I enjoyed the last part of the book the most. The author switched up the POVs and it made for a much more enjoyable and layered read. Plus I loved the chapter through Rascal’s POV.

The battle part itself felt a bit rushed. Overall I liked the trilogy but was expected more of the last book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

The Ending Fire marks the final chapter in Saara El-Arifi’s visionary trilogy, where the mythology of Africa and Arabia weaves together to create a rich, incredibly complex fantasy world. I adored this trilogy and I will always read anything the author writes in the future. The world-building is vast, the world feels lived-in and imperfect, and the characters are complex. This is one of the most fascinating and imaginative settings in modern fantasy. El-Arifi is able to play readers like a fiddle and I felt every single emotion. I adored these characters and I was shocked at how my perceptions changed over time. Even secondary characters feel incredibly fleshed out and real. I loved watching the rebellion attempt to gain allies and the preparation for war had so much mounting tension.

The final battle scenes are brutal and I loved how El-Arifi gave us multiple POVs from side characters. It adds depth to the story, showing us the many small and often overlooked moments that make up the chaos and harsh nature of war. These perspectives pulled me in and made the battle feel more real and grounded—like we weren’t just watching heroes at the forefront but seeing the raw humanity behind the fight for freedom. And it broke my heart so many times.

That said, the emotional pacing, especially toward the end, left me wanting more. Anoor’s arc was heart-wrenching, almost physically painful to experience, but it felt like her journey was cut short. Her healing needed more time to be explored, and the ending left her in a place that didn’t fully feel fair to the complexity of her character. With how much she went through, I wanted more for her. A fourth book could have given her—and the readers—the time to properly process that pain and healing.

On the flip side, Jond’s POV and romance arc were handled with care. I loved how his character developed across the series, and seeing his romantic relationship evolve felt like a well-earned reward amid all the tragedy.

While the conclusion brings with it the inevitable war and rebellion, something feels like it’s missing—and I think that missing piece is time. This story needed more room to breathe, and a fourth book would have given the characters, especially Anoor, the space they deserved to heal and grow. While the world and the characters were incredibly rich, the ending didn’t quite hit as hard as it could have if the pacing had allowed for more development. This is one of those series that will stay with me for a long time, and despite the very rushed ending, the overall journey was incredible.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary. All opinions are my own. I had a great time buddy reading with @geengeenreads and @readingintandem on Storygram!

What a stunning conclusion to the Ending Fire Trilogy!! Sara El-Arifi is so good at balancing twists and turns with atmospheric, simmering writing so that the story feels completely immersive and the characters are all relatable.

The scream that I scrumpt when I got this ARC!!!!!! What an amazing ending to this stellar trilogy. I love all of these characters so much. I love how the prophecies and religious meanings were twisted to mean something entirely different than we thought originally. I did feel like it was slow moving at the beginning and was struggling through it a bit. Especially bc I felt like characters were being stupid. I don’t like knowing something before a character and then having to wait SO long for them to realize the information that has seemed to obvious to me for 100’s of pages. Anoor and Jond really should have figured their situations out earlier and in my opinion the “hints” we were getting as the readers were so blatantly obvious that it was just frustrating to watch them keep not getting it. Once the battles started I really locked in. Gorn!!! What an absolute badass. I got to stick with my favorite character Hassa until the end and was so emotional about her story wrapping up. Emotional about Sylah and Anoor’s story wrapping up as well obviously but the ending was so heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. This series is an absolute banger. Please read!!!

Thank you so much for this advanced reader copy. This was the conclusion to masterpiece series. I will read anything Saara El-Arifi writes! I honestly can’t believe it’s over. This book was just wow, fantastic!

Having been fairly disappointed with the second instalment of this trilogy, The Battle Drum, I was a little nervous about picking this one up. I’m happy to say I did enjoy it more than book 2. The focus was on preparing for and fighting the final battle, and that focus helped to push the narrative forward. However, it did feel like things resolved too easily and without meaningful sacrifices from our heroes (characters died, but not main ones, and even when a main character seemed to be in mortal peril they were swiftly saved.) The political fallout all seemed somewhat simplistic as well. Probably not a series I will reread but this final book was enjoyable in the moment.

Thank you to Del Rey for my arc!

I absolutely loved this! a stunning conclusion to this fantastic series. I hated saying goodbye to this world and these characters who i've grown to love so much. highly recommend.

I liked this book a lot, I just didn’t love it. The first two books in this series are some of my favorite books ever, and I just felt this book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I loved the expansion on the world building, and the magic. Jond’s POV I liked a lot more than I expected! I liked Hassa’s storyline, however I just didn’t feel like we got ENOUGH of her story. I felt like the end of this book didn’t quite satisfy me, it was missing the emotional impact that I got from the other books and felt like it wasn’t quite complete yet. Overall a great series, and I think people will also enjoy this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Ending Fire is the final installment in Saara El-Arifi's Ending Fire Trilogy, and follows Anoor, Hassa, Sylah, and Jond as tensions in the Wardens' Empire come to a head.

The thing about fantasy trilogies is that they can be the best thing you've ever read, but still fall apart at the end. Fortunately, The Ending Fire did not fall apart. If anything, this strong, fast-paced conclusion to a strong trilogy solidfied me as a reader who will pick up any Saara El-Arifi book on sight from now on. Though I did wish the book was a bit longer -- I wanted a bit more meatiness to some of the slower moments, a little extra time settled in with these characters and this world -- ultimately I had a really good time with this book. It's at similar caliber to the rest of the series, and El-Arifi masterfully executes the conclusion of the lead characters' arcs in ways that feel satisfying and organic. I was on the edge of my seat practically the entire time, and finishing this book only made me want to go back and start the first one again.

A solid finale to a fantastic trilogy! The sheer vastness of this series's world is a true accomplishment by the author. The way she was able to tie in all of the many aspects of the overarching story... truly masterful. I particularly enjoyed following Jond (something I never thought I would say at the beginning of the series), and Anoor's journey was painful yet compelling to witness. I wished the book was longer, or that there was even a fourth book in this series, because there is so much more I want to discover from this world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

I liked the world, and overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I had a bit of a hard time with the new perspectives for the final battle. This ended up using miscommunication in one of the romantic subplots, too, which isn't a favorite of mine.

The Ending Fire is the outstanding finale to the trilogy. It begins right where The Battle Drum left off and Sylah is desperate to find out what happened to Anoor. Was Anoor kidnapped or did she leave willingly? Hassa is left to untangle the mysteries that concern the Ghostings. As war approaches, all of the characters must choose where they stand once and for all.

The Ending Fire trilogy is one of my favorites! I love the rich world-building and complex politics. The characters leap off the page and absolutely steal your heart. While their fates have always been intertwined, Hassa, Sylah, and Anoor all go on their own epic journeys in this finale. Each of their character arcs feel fulfilling and heartfelt. Saara El-Arifi does an incredible job of balancing the side characters’ journeys along with the main trio.

Readers seeking a satisfying fantasy trilogy should read this series. The characters will steal your heart, the battle sequences are epic, and the politics are intricately constructed. I loved my time with Sylah, Anoor, and Hassa. I can’t wait to see what Saara El-Arifi writes next!

Thank you to Saara El-Arifi, Del Rey, and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book has my whole heart. I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.