[Book Review] An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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.


5 STARS 

tw: rape, sexual assault, physical abuse, torture

This book was amazing! Which I knew it would be, because this is my third re-read of An Ember in the Ashes. I wanted to re-read the first two books in this series so I was refreshed enough to pick up the third book, which is finally out! So I knew I'd love this book and I am so happy I finally have a review up for it now!

The characters in this book are so complex. I love Laia and Elias as our main characters. I admire Laia for the fact that she stops at nothing to try and save her brother. The things she endures and puts herself through and the way she motivates herself to not give up, to me, is really brave. She's determined, doesn't give up, and despite being in some incredibly dangerous situations, she pushes on. I also really love her character development. Laia learns to stand up for herself, to fight back despite her fear and longing for safety. Laia is such a brave character! Elias is an absolute sweetheart. I loved his small rebellious ac ts to try and prevent turning into someone with a lack of empathy who follows the Commandment and Empire blindly. I love his bravery and his kindness. He was ready to sacrifice his life for his freedom, just like Laia was ready to sacrifice her life for her brother's. Going against the rules of a society that is not only harsh but one you grew up in is a hard thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to stand your ground even if it puts your life in danger. Both of these main characters show so much courage and kindness. Of course, I loved our side characters too. Like Izzy and Cook. I hope we can get more of them in the future because I really loved them. I also thought that Helene was a well written character, but boy was I mad at her basically the entirety of the book. I think Helene is one of the most complex characters, and I excited to get more information about her. Also, I don't get genuinely scared by villains often, especially in books. But The Commandment is a frightening character. I definitely felt actual fear for our characters multiple times. 

The plot is so rich and suspenseful. There's a lot of sneaking around and being in situations where characters can get caught doing something against the rules. And honestly the tension had me stressed out. Which is just a result of amazing writing. Laia is kind of just thrown into this dangerous situation while not knowing if she can trust the people she is spying for made everything feel unsteady. The reader wasn't sure who to trust, so you're in Laia's shoes, and it made for a stressful reading time. 

The romance in this story isn't focused on as much as I thought it would when I read the synopsis. Which definitely was something I liked because I would have been annoyed if Laia had a heavy romance plot while so focused on saving her brother. They both acknowledge (in their POVs) their attraction but with everything going on in both of their lives they don't have the time to develop past the beginning of a crush. I prefer a more slow burn romance, so I am excited to see it develop over the series. 

I love Sabaa Tahir's writing. Which I've mostly touched on above. But I'm so excited to keep reading this series and finally get my hands on the third book. I forgot how much I loved this book because I remember not loving book two. I'm excited to read book two soon so I can see if maybe I like it more the second time since I don't remember any of the events that happen. I am also so excited to see more of the world that Tahir has created. In this story we are almost exclusively located at Blackcliff Academy which means we don't get to see the world outside of the academy. So I'm excited to explore that a bit more. 

Overall, I highly recommend this story. If you're in the mood for a dark fantasy story with a rich world and fantastic characters I think this is definitely the one for you. The writing is gorgeous, the characters are so complex, and the world is intriguing.

Thanks for reading!