Final Book in the Series

 The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri 

This was a good ending to the series. We had the war, but not in the way I expected. Many characters had some very strong plot armor, but some important side characters, ones that I had grown accustomed to (and in some cases fond of) did not. It both did and did not have an expected ending, which was good; I liked that there were twists, turns, and surprises. In no particular order. Priya learns that her gods are bad. Like really bad. So, she allows herself to be captured by Malani so that she can help her destroy the Yaxa, but that will also mean destroying herself because she finally learned that when the Yaxa said hollow yourself they meant literally; she has to give her body to the oldest of the Yaxa. Meanwhile Bumica and Jeven are traveling to one of the temples of the Nameless because she has information that has to be told to them only. And the head priest turns her away. But then Rao shows up and he hears her and one of the Yaxa returns and one of the priests burns themselves and that kills the Yaxa completely. Meanwhile, Jeven is head over heels in love with Bumica and she is oblivious. Rao finally admits his feelings for Editia. Way too late, but it's helping him heal. Seema and he form a friendship. They travel and find this stone that was a legend but does strip the Yaxa of their magic. It is used to bind Priya when she is taken captive, but she is able to overcome it because she is the strongest. She and Malani are back together for a while, especially since there have been attempts on Priya's life while she has been captive. Back at the temple Guhnam is in charge and he is the only person I care about in this book anymore. He is trying to take care of the temple children, plus keep they Yaxa happy, plus follow Priya's orders which are undermine the Yaxa without getting caught, plus keep Rook and Padma safe, all with a broken arm which was necessary so that Priya could get herself captured. Then, he gets caught helping the temple children get out and he tells the Yaxa to kill him but he knows they can't because he's the only Twice Born left and the highest ranking elder left since Bumica and Priya are both gone and they need him. I love him. Then there is the Priest of the Mother's. He is conspiring to turn Malani's sister in law against her, but that doesn't work out. Malani tells her she is not like her brother and she will not take her son from her, but she will also not get a second chance. Then she tells the head priest he is retiring. He kills his guards and gets his followers and they are still convinced Malani has to burn, so they (except the head priest because he's a scared little bitch) set themselves on fire in the forest as they are marching on Priya's temple. Priya uses her body to protect Malani and one of the guards uses her heartstone dagger to protect Priya. Malani uses Priyas magic to carry her into the temple so she can get her to the water to so the water can heal her. Then Priya has to fight the oldest Yaxa in the water and Priya wins. Malani ends up outside of the temple on a bed of living black flowers. Rao says Malani burned and lived. Priya disappears. The temple is mostly destroyed, just enough to keep Priya and Malani alive is left. Malani reigns for 15 years. Her nephew grows. Rao and Seema continue to travel together. Malani decides to turn over things to her nephew when he is 15 and she goes out searching. Bumica and Jeven are married but do not have any children, just Rook and Padma. Priya and Bumica reunite after 15 years. Then Malani and Priya reunite after 15 years. Guhnam survives. So it both was and wasn't what I was expecting. I liked that we got the 15 years later. Rao healed and lived. Guhnam lived. This was a lot. There were a lot of characters. There was a lot of world building. Even in the final book there were still unexpected surprises about the magic systems and religions. Tasha Suri is definitely on my must read/listen to list!