"Symphony for a Deadly Throne" by E.J. Mellow is an epic and enthralling fantasy novel that takes readers on a mesmerizing journey through a richly crafted world. Mellow's writing is lyrical and immersive, painting vivid landscapes and complex characters. Mellow's ability to build tension and suspense keeps you eagerly turning the pages, while the intricate plot keeps you guessing at every turn.

This book is isn't for me and it's not what I was expecting. The setting was great but still there is one thing that is off for me.

I love this series. 10/10 would recommend. It’s excellently written with the well thought plot I’ve begun to expect from Mellow. But most importantly, this was a fantastic end to the Mousai trilogy!

Loved this series very much, it was so good. This wasn't my favorite installment but I still had such a good time reading it.

It seemed like arabessa was quite pigheaded and obtuse for a lot of the book, and I couldn't fully wrap my head around why she acted the way she did. It made me more frustrated than understanding, and it felt more selfish than self-sacrificing. Zimri was very good and I understood his views much better. Still, the way it all wrapped up at the end improved arabessa for me and i did enjoy the whole experience.

It's such a bittersweet feeling to bid this trilogy farewell now that I have finished reading Symphony for A Deadly Throne, the last book in the Mousai Trilogy.

It is finally the eldest Basette sister's turn, Arabessa, to bring us on this journey with her at the Thief Kingdom alongside her childhood sweetheart Zimri.

I think Mellow crafted such a unique world that I wouldn't say no if she decided to write spin-offs taking place in the same world. I love that malevolent magic is prominent and has its own sentience. This is a debauched world and none of the character are wholly pure.

I felt so much for Arabessa in this book and how the burden of her duty took away her freedom and choices, considering she is the Eldest. She is the guardian, the protector, the shield, the guiding light of the Mousai.

You're probably wondering the reason behind giving this book a 3.5 rating and my reasoning is quite simple and it's not because I do not enjoy Mellow's writing or her characters but I'll list two reasons:

1. Zimri's character
2. Miscommunication trope

These can be exclusive only to me and it doesn't mean it could bother other readers as much, but I expected to love Zimri and I felt quite sympathetic towards his grief as he lost his parents as a child. He seemed sensible in the previous books but once I got to his POV he seemed anything but sensible. I wouldn't even say I dislike him because I did feel for him later on but I can't not criticize some of his actions and decisions.

I'm also not a big fan of the miscommunication trope. Just to put it simply.

I did enjoy diving deep into the Thief Kingdom and getting the chance to see more of it than in the previous books.

Mellow did a splendid job at crafting a story centered on sisterhood with a sprinkle of dark fantastical elements and weaved beautiful romances for each sister. Niya and Alōs remain my absolute favorite!!

I'll dearly miss them all and this world and I thank the author for gifting them to us and also gifting me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Thanks to Montlake, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and so I was really looking forward to Arabessa's story. She's the most mysterious of the sisters and her relationship with Zimri has been in the background of the first two books. I did enjoy this instalment but I have to say that the love story component lacked some of the zing in Larkyra and Niya's.

Without giving too much away of the plot (because it is exciting and compelling and ties everything up neatly) I really enjoyed the unravelling of Arabessa's true mission and that's what kept me reading. I love the chemistry between the three sisters and how the Moussai complement each other and support each other, even though they are so different.

Achak remains my favourite - enough said.

A really great story, but don't read it for the relationship between Nimri and Ara but more for the love that Ara has for her family and how she finds herself.

Great way to end the trilogy.

Arabessa was a bit annoying at times but I think she evolved quite nicely.

Always love the sisters’s cameos.

A warm and imaginative tale featuring powerful women as main characters who experience thrilling journeys. This book was very exciting and interesting. It had a lot of things happening and kept my attention. The main character, Arabessa, was the oldest, and it was great to see how she grew and achieved her goals. This book is as beautiful as Arabessa's music, with intense and intimate moments, enchanting and heartwarming romance, and a satisfying ending. Another reason why I really enjoyed this book is because it gives us the opportunity to learn about the Thief kingdom and how it functions. This is not just a love story, but also a big adventure where the main characters discover and pursue their own dreams. They will face tough challenges and be willing to give up a lot to make them come true.

I was really excited to read this book, as I thoroughly enjoyed the first of the series (the second was just alright to me, but I also didn't relate to Niya as much as I did to Larkyra or Arabessa, so I thought this would be an incredible win for me). Unfortunately, I did not end up liking this one.

GOD THE REPETITION!!! This author really enjoys repeating phrases over and over. If Arabessa says to Zimri "I have a duty to uphold", you can bet that Zimri will repeat those exact words at least 3 times in his own head and we'll have to read it every time. Sometimes repetition can be really important in a story and drive home a point - it did not do that in this book.

Also what happened to the Arabessa and Zimri I liked from the first two books? I always knew that they'd have a love story, and was really hoping for some sweet, childhood friends to lovers. Instead, these two are toxic for each other in the present and I didn't care one way or the other if they stayed together or not. The nickname "my Music" is cringey when hearing it over and over again (once again, repetition). Arabessa wasn't too bad, but Zimri was intolerable at times.

SPOILER but the only trial that felt like it had any weight to it was the final trial, and even then it was pretty predictable. Overall, just very underwhelming. So much miscommunication trope between the main couple (although I was happy that we didn't have the same issues between the sisters).

Give me a book about my queen, Kattiva. She deserves her own spin-off!!!

“The middle of the night is just as advantageous as the middle of the day.”

Having had mixed feelings about the first book, loving the second, and now simply enjoying this one, I took on Arabessa's journey. As the eldest sister, she shoulders the responsibility of being a role model for Larkyra and Niya, particularly after their mother's passing. Symphony for a Deadly Throne presents Arabessa with a pivotal choice between her ultimate ambition and her deepest love, a decision that will shape not only her own life but also the destiny of the entire Thief Kingdom.

“Perfection is a made-up construct. It is much like time: it cannot be held, and only fools would waste sands falling in an attempt to try.”

Throughout the plot, we gain insight into the inner workings of the Thief Kingdom and a greater understanding of its magic, which I found particularly engaging, like the utter potential in TTK alone is just unending.. The competition storyline held its own intrigue as well. However it felt rushed, and the stakes didn't carry the weight they deserved, considering it was a fight to the death, it just never quite reached the deeper depths of me,

“Because I do not know how to give more without having nothing left for myself!”

The romance between Arabessa and Zimri had been teased in the previous books, and their childhood sweethearts status was already established. but i was severely underwhelmed and found myself consistently routing for more, it was like the potential was forever there they just never pounced from the pages.

“Arabessa realized then how painful it was to grow. To move forward into something new. How hard it could be to carve one’s own path and who might have to be left behind in the process.”

Overall, while I enjoyed reading this book and found it entertaining, the predictability and lack of emotion it created in me was a drawback..

Posting this review is a bittersweet moment, and yet I loved every second of this story.
The Mousai series has been a lovely discovery, and I was so excited to finally get to Arabessa's and Zimri's story.
The eldest Mousai is probably the most relatable to me, and Mellow portrayed her fierceness and vulnerability impeccably. I think this book, out of the three, is the one that had the best balance of action, emotional scenes and romance (which I still think were well-proportioned in the previous ones).
There are some absolutely swoony one-liners; Arabessa and Zimri's slow burn was so well done. Ugh! I miss them already.
I can definitely see myself coming back to this entire series in the future. It deserves every bit of hype it gets!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this digital copy in exchange of an honest review.

"Symphony for a Deadly Throne," the third and final installment in the Mousai series by E. J. Mellow, is a gripping and enchanting conclusion to the captivating tale of Arabessa Bassette. With its richly woven world of magic, love, and sacrifice, Mellow delivers a compelling and satisfying finale that will leave readers spellbound.

“𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔.”🥹

𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒃
Symphony for a deadly throne follows Arabessa Bassette, the leader of the Mousai. Behind the roles she has been playing since childhood, lies a desire to forge her own path. And when an unexpected invitation sparks that flame, Arabessa must decide - give up her greatest love or her greatest ambition.

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
To start with, I had the ARC for a while and was not picking it up coz I haven’t read the first books. And how sad I am to not have read this before coz this was amazing! What an incredible ending to the series😍👏🏼

With a fast-paced plot, this book was super eventful and engaging! From the get-go, the thrill and excitement were too much. Fully 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱, this book was a balance between using the powers and fighting without them🔥

The premise of Arabessa’s story was wonderful. Seeing her follow her ambitions she didn’t even know she had was awesome! And the way that concept was woven around, the complications that were added were just 🤌🏼🤌🏼 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀!!

Plus, being the eldest, to see her character development and how she finally followed her calling was beautiful. The fact that she didn't change herself but combined her strengths and weakness, and added new experiences to her personality was praiseworthy😍

And the ROMANCE!!!!! Omg! This was the best book out of the three in terms of romance.. the feelings were soo restricted yet flowed freely without any concern. The anguish and the complications were heartbreaking but there was this satisfaction that things will be okay.. I looved it! The way these two communicated, not giving up🥹

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆. “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅.” “𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕?” 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒁𝒊𝒎𝒓𝒊, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒐,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅.

These two are my favourite couple because - (1) they were mature enough to communicate, and (2) the intense steamy moments they gave🫣 them joking about ‘spanking each other’ was everything, funny & sexyy! The chemistry and sexual energy between them from the start was “white-hot” intense🥵

The best part is, in the previous two books it was clear that these two had something going on but not clear how deep. And the kind of intensity this book gave was veryyy surprisingg!! I mean, I DID NOT EXPECT Zimri to be the Zimri he was in this book😉

But his sadistic tendencies were a bit too much and out of character tbh! He didn’t feel like someone who’ll hurt others because there’s chaos inside him and because he’s hurting👀

Moreover, THAT ENDING?🤯 It was 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆-𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆-𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. The amount of sharp inhales I took while reading the last part of the plot were too much and too loved! The heartwarming end that this book gives is just delightful.. and I’ll forever hold this book in my heart!🫶🏼

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
Overall, this is an incredible-wonderful fantasy fiction with a fast-paced plot and action-packed events, full of excitement and thrills. With intense intimate moments and bewitchingly heartwarming romance, and an equally gratifying ending, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮’𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰🎶

P.S. I really need a book for Kattiva Volkov! I didn’t expect to warm up to her when she was introduced but she’s awesome😘

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮, 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙋𝙪𝙗. 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙀. 𝙅. 𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

It take time to finished this whole series but trust me it worth all efforts. The Mousai trio living in two world, Jabari and small hidden place name Thief Kingdom in Aadilor world. Jabari is a city without magic and the other is place where offer all beauty, quirky, mystery and powers visitors could ask from magic. Both place demand different actions and services. As leader of the Mousai, trio powerful sorcereress who serves the King themselves, Arabessa torn between her duties and personal desire to follow her heart.

First I really enjoyed this book as I did with previous books. The prose and the writing is flow beautifully. It is little bit difficult to grab whole images about the Thief Kingdom and why they got those name but for small portion I understand enough to go through the story.

This series have alot characters with beautiful and unique names but easy to remember. I really appreciate the list name and origin explanation addition. The arc journey of each main characters is enjoyable and different.
As the oldest from three, Ara is perfect representative of all dedicate first born. Strong will, smart, independent, good leadership, calm and cool head, also someone your parent can depends to help them run the family business. Oh Ara isnt my favorite sister but I feel connected with her struggles. She is strong but tired. She torn between duties and choices. I love how author gave depth and challenges into her character.

The plotline is easy to follow and enjoyable. I love the chemistry between Ara and Zimri build since childhood. I also adore sisterhood aspects in Bassette family. A satisfying ending for cozy romantic fantasy with unique soft magic system. Totally recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Montlake Publisher for provided me with this ecopy. My thoughts and opinions always my own.
Published 14 February 2023.

I will read book 2 first and then comeback and update this review because after book 1 I feel like book 2 is extremely important to the story due to that I have no idea what's going on lol

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC.

This is the third book in a series about three powerful sisters. Books 1 & 2 were five stars, but this one didn’t land quite as well for me.

Arabessa is my least favorite sister—her personality rubs me the wrong way. And the relationship with Zimri didn’t grab me like the others.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of how the book ended. It left me unsatisfied, but I can’t explain why without spoiling the plot.

It was still very good, but not as good as the author’s previous books in this series.

Thank you so much for letting me read this book. I know it took me quite a long time but just as its pedesessors I enjoyed this story so much.

This third book of the Mousai sister's series. Ara's journey and resolution were perfectly bittersweet. Action-packed with a surprise at every turn. It was filled with twists and turns and some steamy moments. The fmc was so strong and I loved her conviction and attitude. They had excellent chemistry and I felt their heartache. It’s also really great to see the continued development of the other two sisters. The author is a very talented storyteller.

EJ Mellow does it again! This was a beautiful end to the Moussai series. I loved reading about each of these sisters. I really enjoyed Arabessa and Zimris story. Childhood friends to lovers is my favorite. I struggled with the miscommunication in this but overall a solid end!

Great conclusion to this mystical series! I loved the friends-to-lovers relationship development. The world-building continues to be entrancing. The sisters' relationship is still one I adore. Looking forward to what's next from this author!