Mirrored Heavens

 

Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth & Sky #3) by Rebecca Roanhorse (2024) 597 pages

There are reviews of the first and second part of this trilogy on this blog. After the middle part of the trilogy took the main characters to different parts of the world of the Meridian, it was great that this book has them all converging in the same climactic battle. This series is consistently full of intrigue as leaders and gods vie for power, characters try to understand cryptic prophesies, and they discover hidden magic within. Serapio, the Crow God Reborn, and Xiala are such captivating main characters. Balam is a great tormented villain hungry for power. Naranpa, Iktan, and Okoa are the major supporting characters, who are fully brought to life. I enjoyed that the world building is bigger than the city of Tova, which was the focus of the first book. I love that the characters continue to be three-dimensional with faults and heroic aspects. There is a lot of action, exploration of gruesome darkness, and also love stories. 

The Last Anniversary

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty (2005) 388 pages

Sophie is thirty-nine, starting to despair of finding a husband and having a baby, keenly aware that her biological clock is ticking. She broke up with her boyfriend Thomas three years ago and hasn't had luck finding anyone else. She learns that Connie, an old woman she had met through Thomas just a few times, has died, leaving Sophie her home on Scribbly Gum Island, a small island within commuting distance of Sophie's human resources job on the Australian mainland. It turns out that almost everyone in Thomas's family had really taken to her, especially Connie, who helped raise Thomas's grandmother.

Sophie is subsequently pulled in to life on the island which is notable for a mystery that had occurred 73 years prior: Connie and her sister Rose found a baby in their grandfather's old home which was rented out, who had apparently been abandoned by her parents. They raised the baby, naming her Enigma, and then capitalized on the mystery by keeping the home as it was and showing it to tour groups and selling related merchandise. Sophie's geniality helps her gather hints that indicate more is known about the disappearance of Enigma's parents than is being said openly.

This book, by the author of Big Little Lies, is like an upscale soap opera, with surprises galore. Tantalizing hints come regularly. When I thought all was said and done, even the last page knocked me for a loop. Great read!