The Sky Weaver by Kristen Ciccarelli (Iskari: Book 4)

8/10

The Sky Weaver is the third book in the Iskari series. This follows characters from The Last Namsara and The Caged Queen. I would recommend reading both of these first, not to avoid spoilers, but to get a familiarity with the world that these characters live in. There are two storylines running through The Sky Weaver, the main one follows Safire and Eris as their paths cross, while the second story is that of Skye and Crow, which takes place in the past.

We have met Safire before in both of the last books, but this is finally her time to be one of the main focal characters. At this time Safire is the Commandant of her cousin Dax’s army. Safire is worried about the theft of a ruby meant to save the Scrublands from starvation. This theft leads Safire to Eris, the thief who has stolen the ruby. Eris is also known as Death Dancer, a notorious thief who takes on daring robberies and escapes. Eris doesn’t know much about her past, all she knows is she has been falsely accused of a mass fatality by the Empress of the Star Isles.

When Eris and Safire meet, they are both attracted and repelled by each other. Because of this, Eris and Safire do not want to get to know each other and would rather believe their prejudices than have confidence in the truth. When they are captured by a pirate, named Kor, who is keen to break out of being in Jemsin’s shadow. Jemsin, being the pirate that has indentured Eris to him. Kor has many similarities to Jarek, a character in The Last Namsara, which gives an opening for Safire to care about what happens to Eris.

The secondary story about Skye and Crow is also one mired in tragedy. Skye is human, whereas the being she knows as Crow, is not. Crow tries to stay away from Skye, but they are drawn to each other until an incident causes Crow to step in and make Skye more like himself. Because of this, Skye forgets her humanity and love for Crow, which leads to more misfortune for them both.

This book has many twists and turns as secrets are revealed, while other trusts are broken due to the bigger picture. This also gives us a view of the world around Firgaard, as we explore the Star Isles and other Port Cities. It is also good to get to see Asha and Torwin again and the strides they have made to build relationships between humans and dragons. With introductions to a new dragon named Sorrow and to other terrifying new mythological beasts.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this series and felt that The Sky Weaver was a good ending (if it is the end). Each book does have a similar structure that it builds on: that of two characters meeting who don’t understand each other. Due to these misunderstandings, the characters struggle through adversity. Which leads to the characters finally finding a semblance of happiness in a world that is as complicated as the one we live in.