<blockquote><b><i>“Once there was a boy from the sea who fell in love with a girl from the desert. [...] But he wondered if a boy from the sea and a girl from the desert could ever survive together. He feared that she might burn him alive or that he might drown her. Until finally he stopped fighting it and set himself on fire for her.”</i></b></blockquote> I have no words for how AMAZING this book was. I'm still reeling from everything, after I pratically devoured the entire thing. The absolute perfect conclusion to this beautiful, exciting, amazing story! The book starts practically right after the end of "Trator to the Throne" and we see Amani having to assume a role she never asked for or thought she would play - and we see how her insecurities that she is doing what is right play into her decisions, the struggle she has with controlling her powers after the events of the previous book, but we also see her learning to lead and being stronger than ever. I love how much she's grown from the girl we first see in Dustwalk (and that is something she herself realizes along the way and it's a motivation for a lot of things she does during this final installment). She became one of my favorite YA female characters ever. I also loved how we revisited some things we haven't seen since the first book and how that contrasted with who Amani is now and how her view of some things has changed. I also really like the relationships in this book, especially Amani and Shazad and their friendship! Jin, my foreign prince! I just love his relationship with Amani, how he supports her and how they trust each other and how companionable and healthy their relationship is. I missed their 'couply' moments in the previous book and was so happy to get some quiet, intimate and beautiful moments between them here. This is final showdown, the war for Miraji, so of course it's action packed and fast paced - there fewer quiet or happy moments here, but those that exist are inserted just in the right moment, when you need a little relieve after a particular tense moment. Also, be prepared for a lot of losses, and early on in the book (again, it's a war after all). I understand most of them, but the loss of these characters broke my heart, especially the last one, which made me sob SO hard my mom came to ask me if I was ok. There were a lot of heart wrenching moments and some plot twists that left me at the edge of the seat. Mind you, I thought of most of them early on, or at least suspected, but still, when it happened, it was a blow or a nice surprise. There were new, interesting characters and old ones returning with new plotlines that I enjoyed a lot. The only small thing I have to complain about this book is the scene where Amani goes after Shazad in the pit and we have a hint at the Destroyer of Worlds - I thought (or at least hoped) that we would get to know more about her and for her to show up and interact with the characters. But, although we have her 'presence' and influence during the scene, there wasn't much more about her, and that was kind of a disappointment. Other aspect I really love not only about this book but about this trilogy is how the author manages to weave tales and legends with the story, creating parallels between the Mirajin mythology and what is happening with our heroes or even a scene involving our protagonists in a different way, to create a more dramatic atmosphere. It also provided with a nice way to wrap everything up in an emotional way. I finished this book with a bittersweet feeling - I was happy because the ending was amazing, but I was already missing this characters and this world. It was worth the wait and the entire trilogy is a rich, imaginative and beautiful story about a desert girl who meets her destiny and tries to help change her country for the better, fighting with tooth and claw (and sand) for what she believes in. I'm happy to have finished this, and I'll carry Amani with me for a long time!