An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes (Ember Quartet, #1)

by Sabaa Tahir

BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES
 

One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time 
Instant New York Times bestseller
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir
Amazon's Best Young Adult Book of 2015
People's Choice Award winner - Favorite Fantasy
Bustle's Best Young Adult Book of 2015

“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human — and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.”The Washington Post

An Ember in the Ashes could launch Sabaa Tahir into JK Rowling territory…It has the addictive quality of The Hunger Games combined with the fantasy of Harry Potter and the brutality of Game of Thrones.”—Public Radio International

"An Ember in the Ashes glows, burns, and smolders—as beautiful and radiant as it is searing."Huffington Post 
 
“A worthy novel – and one as brave as its characters.”The New York Times Book Review
 

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. 

Reviewed by reveriesociety_ on

5 of 5 stars

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What is worse than living in a Roman Empire-ish land? Living in a Roman Empire-ish land alone, your grandparents having been killed in front of you, and your brother possibly soon dead too. Having to make a deal in which you spy the nastiest woman to ever walk the earth just so your brother might have a shot at being saved, while you are continously on alert because of the whipping, the threat of rape, and discovery.

Talk about high stakes.

And that's just Laia.

No, seriously, An Ember in the Ashes is packed with super high stakes, suspense, conflict, tension... Every crap a good story needs when there are no kisses. Because that was the only thing that this thing was missing. More kisses.

Which brings me to the topic of romance. 'Romance' isn't exactly how I'd describe the mess of feelings bouncing off Laia, Elias, Helene, (Keenan?) +. Let's just leave it at attraction. And that's just fine, because in this situation, the page time alloted to attraction was less than I'm used to, but perfect for this kind of story. It's just not realistic that while your neck is on the line, you're daydreaming about the hot soldier boy, or the cute, but intense redhead.

The descriptions of battle, specially one very hardcore one, were completely awesome! They were raw, and as the killing blows piled up, I even teared up a bit.
There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that's a burden, and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged, bbut it's still there.

Towards the end, even though the pace didn't let up, it did made room for character development, tons of it actually. And that was wonderful. The end left me with a lot of unanswered questions, because, if you think about it, not much was wrapped up in terms of the plot plot. It seemed to me that the end was so character focused, that the other things to be ressolved were put on wait.

But that's not such a bad thing!

I just mention it because after I closed the book, feeling I'd just read something really good, and went about my day... I then realized that most of the goals the characters had started with weren't achieved. And what the hell? How did I not notice that before?

So, trust me, the revelations these characters have about themselves are definitely worth it! It was exactly the character aspect that moved me the most and made me give the book the rating I think it deserves. Yay!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 19 August, 2015: Reviewed