Review: The Battle Drum (The Ending Fire #2)

The Battle Drum, Book 2 in The Ending Fire Trilogy by Saara El-Arifi

Published By: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: May 23, 2023
Date Read: May 8, 2025
Genre: Adult – Epic Fantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Hardback
Pages: 421

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Murder. Secrets. Sacrifice: Three women seek the truth of the empire’s past. And the truth they find has the power to ignite a war in the sequel to The Final Strife, the continuation of a visionary fantasy trilogy inspired by Africa and Arabia.

Anoor is the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens’ Empire. But when she is accused of a murder she didn’t commit, her reign is thrown into turmoil. She must solve the mystery and clear her name without the support of her beloved, Sylah.

Sylah braves new lands to find a solution for the hurricane that threatens to destroy her home. But in finding answers, she must make a decision, does she sacrifice her old life in order to raise up her sword once more?

Hassa’s web of secrets grows ever thicker as she finds herself on a trail of crimes in the city. Her searching uncovers the extent of the atrocities of the empire’s past and present. Now, she must guard both her heart and her land.

The three women find their answers, but they’re not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world.

And it sings a song of war.

Ready we will be, when the Ending Fire comes,
When the Child of fire brings the Battle Drum,
The Battle Drum,
The Battle Drum.
Ready we will be, for war will come.

“We’re all broken, in our small ways. Some of us try to get better, some of us prefer to be broken and will keep breaking ourselves until there is nothing left.”

The Battle Drum is a book I have been dying to read ever since I finished the first book in this series back in 2023. I remember sitting slack jawed at the end of the first book as I couldn’t believe the twist at the end. So, I really can’t explain why it’s taken me so long to pick this one up. This year I found myself in a bit of a slump in terms of Romantasy so I decided to finally pick this one up in a bid to get my much needed fix of epic fantasy. I am so glad I picked this one up as The Battle Drum was fantastic. One of the best fantasy sequels I think I’ve ever read.

The Battle Drum picks up where The Final Strife left off, with Sylah on the hunt to find a way to stop the devastating tidewind that is killing her people. As she journeys to unknown lands to find out more information and get their help, her love Anoor finds herself in the middle of a political battle. Both with learn secrets that have been kept for generations and nothing will ever be the same.

I honestly cannot put into words how much I adored this book. Keeping in fashion with the first book, we explore this fantastic world in more depth, learning more and more secrets that left me shocked at every turn. We also had a good focus on the relationships between the characters. In book 1 I fell in love with the gorgeous sapphic loving relationship between Sylah and Anoor. In this one while they are separated we see the broken friendship between Sylah and Jond being more centre stage and I loved the back and forth between feeling betrayed and wanting that connection back. I honestly love the characters in this book, they are diverse and so different from each other and I love seeing how they all come together. One thing I really enjoyed about The Battle Drum is that we were introduced to some new characters, some from different isles than we had experienced in the first book. I really loved this insight that we got of some of the other lives that were being experienced at the same time as Sylah and Anoor in book 1.

Saara El-Arifi is becoming the author I know will shock me the most. The Final Strife left me absolutely SHOOKETH! The Battle Drum has done the exact same. In typical Saara fashion the last 100 pages felt like having whiplash. With every page, I was more shocked. I don’t know who to trust anymore… talk about your unreliable narrator… or should I say narrators. I was left with so many questions, and asking myself what the fuck is happening? I am left in utter disbelief not know what the heck I just read, and I need to read book 3 immediately to find out what is happening.

I loved The Battle Drum. It is honestly one of the strongest middle books of a trilogy I think I have ever read. There was no middle book syndrome happening here, and even though I could see all the pieces being put into place ready for the big finale, there was such a strong plot and character development in this one, it didn’t feel boring for even a moment. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to dive into the third and final book of the trilogy. Saara El-Arifi has become a must-read author for me. She weaves her fantasy tales so superbly.

“Together we will fight. Together we will lead. Together we will protect. Together we will bleed.”