Author: Sabaa Tahir
Length: 443 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Classification: Young Adult, Fantasy
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Source: e-galley via Penguin First to Read (Thank you so much!)
Read: March 2015
Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.
LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.
ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.
When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.
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***I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher via Penguin First to Read in exchange for an honest review***
Oh. My. Goodness! This book!
I absolutely LOVE this story. So very much. It is amazing!
It has been a few days since I read the book and am writing this review, and I am still thinking about this story and the characters. An Ember in the Ashes is easily one of my 2015 favorite reads so far!
An Ember in the Ashes definitely lived up to all the hype that I had heard about before reading. The spectacular plot, captivating world-building, amazing characters, and enchanting writing blew me away.
In this dark, dangerous, and enchanting world, Laia will do anything that needs to be done to find a way to save her brother after he has been arrested for treason. After finding the rebel Scholars, Laia agrees to pretend to be a slave so she can spy and trade valuable information. In exchange they will help save her brother from execution. Elias will do anything to get out of the military academy and away from the Martial Empire. Even though Elias is the best soldier in the academy, he can't help but hate it there. He doesn't like the ruthlessness of the academy and just wants his freedom. But just before his attempt to escape, he has been chosen to compete in a set of challenges to determine the next Martial emperor. Both Laia and Elias must face their destinies, while trying to achieve the things they want most.
There is so much going on in this book! So much action! This book had some INTENSE moments! Things that made my heart race and had me on the edge of my seat! This book definitely left me feeling so many things: shattered, whole, happiness, sadness, worry and hope. It also gave me a book hangover, I wasn't ready to leave the captivating world that Tahir created.
A fantastic debut that has left me wanting more! I really hope that Tahir writes/wrote a sequel because I did not want this story to ever end! I couldn't get enough of the amazing world-building or the unique characters. And even though I could be satisfied with the ending (not really a bad cliffhanger or anything) I still really hope that there will be a book two. Because there are still so many things to find out about and questions to be answered! I really want more.
These are characters that you fall in love with. Characters that make you anxious to find out what is going to happen. Characters that made me really, really care about them. They are so well-developed. Each character is full of characteristics, qualities, challenges, and detail.
Laia: Her character develops so much throughout the story, which I absolutely love. She has already been through so much, yet still has so many challenges to face during the story. My heart really felt (and broke) for her. She is full of determination and more strength than I think she believed she had. She is also kind and smart. I really enjoyed the relationships she develops with the other slaves, Cook and Izzi, and the roles that they had in her part of the story.
Elias: LOVE him. Seriously, he is such a wonderful character! He has inner demons and a pst that he is struggling with. And he is a good guy. It was so easy for me to care about what would happen to him and about everything that he has to do to achieve what he wants. He is smart, charming and daring. He tries to do what is right (without drawing too much attention to himself) and really struggles with not being able to stand up for his beliefs more. Be ready to fall in love with him because he is awesome!
The Commander: Wow. That woman is so scary! There were parts of the story that involved her and those scenes gave me goosebumps. She definitely made me worry about the characters. I love that the fear radiated from the story for me. I also really liked learning more about her character as the story progressed. I kept wanting to figure out why she did certain things. I definitely got the cold, heartless vibe from her.
I also enjoyed the supporting characters Keenan and Helene. They each have connections to the main characters that I found interesting. And I wasn't sure which side they each would end up on. But I enjoyed their relationships with Laia and Elias.
Oh. My. Goodness! This book!
I absolutely LOVE this story. So very much. It is amazing!
It has been a few days since I read the book and am writing this review, and I am still thinking about this story and the characters. An Ember in the Ashes is easily one of my 2015 favorite reads so far!
An Ember in the Ashes definitely lived up to all the hype that I had heard about before reading. The spectacular plot, captivating world-building, amazing characters, and enchanting writing blew me away.
In this dark, dangerous, and enchanting world, Laia will do anything that needs to be done to find a way to save her brother after he has been arrested for treason. After finding the rebel Scholars, Laia agrees to pretend to be a slave so she can spy and trade valuable information. In exchange they will help save her brother from execution. Elias will do anything to get out of the military academy and away from the Martial Empire. Even though Elias is the best soldier in the academy, he can't help but hate it there. He doesn't like the ruthlessness of the academy and just wants his freedom. But just before his attempt to escape, he has been chosen to compete in a set of challenges to determine the next Martial emperor. Both Laia and Elias must face their destinies, while trying to achieve the things they want most.
There is so much going on in this book! So much action! This book had some INTENSE moments! Things that made my heart race and had me on the edge of my seat! This book definitely left me feeling so many things: shattered, whole, happiness, sadness, worry and hope. It also gave me a book hangover, I wasn't ready to leave the captivating world that Tahir created.
A fantastic debut that has left me wanting more! I really hope that Tahir writes/wrote a sequel because I did not want this story to ever end! I couldn't get enough of the amazing world-building or the unique characters. And even though I could be satisfied with the ending (not really a bad cliffhanger or anything) I still really hope that there will be a book two. Because there are still so many things to find out about and questions to be answered! I really want more.
These are characters that you fall in love with. Characters that make you anxious to find out what is going to happen. Characters that made me really, really care about them. They are so well-developed. Each character is full of characteristics, qualities, challenges, and detail.
Laia: Her character develops so much throughout the story, which I absolutely love. She has already been through so much, yet still has so many challenges to face during the story. My heart really felt (and broke) for her. She is full of determination and more strength than I think she believed she had. She is also kind and smart. I really enjoyed the relationships she develops with the other slaves, Cook and Izzi, and the roles that they had in her part of the story.
Elias: LOVE him. Seriously, he is such a wonderful character! He has inner demons and a pst that he is struggling with. And he is a good guy. It was so easy for me to care about what would happen to him and about everything that he has to do to achieve what he wants. He is smart, charming and daring. He tries to do what is right (without drawing too much attention to himself) and really struggles with not being able to stand up for his beliefs more. Be ready to fall in love with him because he is awesome!
The Commander: Wow. That woman is so scary! There were parts of the story that involved her and those scenes gave me goosebumps. She definitely made me worry about the characters. I love that the fear radiated from the story for me. I also really liked learning more about her character as the story progressed. I kept wanting to figure out why she did certain things. I definitely got the cold, heartless vibe from her.
I also enjoyed the supporting characters Keenan and Helene. They each have connections to the main characters that I found interesting. And I wasn't sure which side they each would end up on. But I enjoyed their relationships with Laia and Elias.
My Recommendation:
BUY IT! PRE-ORDER IT! I HIGHLY recommend that you buy/pre-order this one. (I already have my copy pre-ordered!) Definitely read it! I LOVE the story, characters and writing so much. And like I mentioned earlier, it is one of my favorites for this year. Everything about this book is amazing. An Ember in the Ashes is definitely a captivating and unique story that I won't ever forget.
My Rating:
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