Just like with the other books in this series, Mirrored Heavens takes time to get going, with the first several chapters not having earned my commitment (on their own merit, though I trusted Roanhorse and the series very much!). However, by about halfway through the book, I was all in, and unable to put it down.

The characters and dynamics from the first two books have grown so much by this one, and everything they go through is heart-wrenching, but all of it, good and bad, feels - if not deserved - fitting.

Deaths that are senseless are mourned both by the characters and the text, and bad decisions are seen for what they are. Characters grow to accept themselves and what they've done, or their inability to do so is a problem.

It's refreshing to read thought-out consequences, but more than that, it keeps Mirrored Heavens from ever getting too bleak. 

The book ends on a hopeful tone. I wasn't expecting it, but it certainly makes all of the tension feel like it was worth something, and like it matters. In some ways, that makes the tension more real altogether, which in turn makes the protagonists' fights all worth it.

I love the mythology, the visuals, all being rooted in the pre-Columbian Americas. Each culture is very distinct in the world Roanhorse has created, and that is most obvious here, but all of them are crafted with such love. I see so much of my family and loved ones reflected in the styles and traditions described! 

It's a wonderful thing, to have a book - a whole series - that makes me feel cozy, gives me action and intrigue and strong interpersonal relationships, and that I can see myself in. I want to reread this series every day forever.