"Sulfur" by Arreana

From Goodreads: "The Conclusion to "Farro"

Khensa must redeem herself for the hardships she has brought upon her people. She knows what she must do. She will end the revolution she helped to create. No more running.

Bomani will never be king if he can’t return Waset to order. Without food, without wheat, the city will fall to pieces and he will be king of nothing but rubble and ashes. To get it back, he’ll follow the thieves to the ends of the world.

To the north, over the mountains and into the hidden kingdom beyond. Through a world of steam and smog and rain, and from there into darkness they’ll delve. Death will be their final obstacle, and His Eaters their final judges on a quest that might break them both." 

This book picks up exactly where "Farro" ends off and while it has been a number of months (and I have read dozens of books) since I last read "Farro" I was able to quickly jump into the world that Arreana had created. Like its predecessor (if not more than its predecessor) this book was the epitome of a page-turner due to a combination of strong heroine, swoon-worthy hero, budding romance, fast paced plot, and unique storyline. I must admit that I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning reading this- something that I am not oft to do (therefore I suggest that you plan accordingly when you pick up this book to read- once you start reading it you will neglect everything in order to finish it).

Like with "Farro", I loved that the secondary characters played quite a large role in this book and I loved the introduction of new characters, for instance Ioulia (though I admit that I did more so enjoy when Khensa and Bomani were on their own because I was *hoping* that one of them would finally act upon their feelings for the another). Furthermore, I also enjoyed how much the characters grew between the two novels.

The ending of this book (and this series) is by far one of the most satisfying I have ever read- it exceeded my expectations by tenfold. Though I must admit that I did find the ending to be quite heartbreaking for the reason that this is the last book in this series- I HATE the idea of not seeing Khensa and Bomani bickering back and forth, Jarai constantly hanging onto Khensa's apron strings, and Shana and Khensa laughing until they cry (or crying until they laugh) anymore. 

All in all, I highly recommend this book to fans of Tamora Pierce (especially fans of "Trickster's Choice" and "Trickster's Queen"). Arreana is by far one of the most talented storytellers I have ever had the pleasure of reading and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!

Rating: 5/5

I received this book from the author to read and review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.