Hey lovelies!

Today I am going to be reviewing An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir which is a young adult fantasy loosely based on the Roman Empire. It was an awesome read because the plot and characters were fairly well written! But more below, just keep reading!

About the book. 

My thoughts. 

SUMMARY

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is a dystopian, fantasy story about two characters, Laia and Elias. Laia is a Scholar and has been looked down upon by the Empire that took over her country. Most of her people have been enslaved, are poor and treated badly by the Martials. For Elias, it’s the opposite. He has seen and done too much in his path to becoming a Mask, one of the empire’s elite soldiers and is desperate to leave. However, the paths of these two characters cross when Laia’s brother is taken by the Empire and she makes a deal with the Resistance to get him back, which leads her to spy on the ruthless leader of the school Elias trains at, which only means trouble.

This is such a popular series and with the second book coming out this September, I knew I had to read it. I had heard such lovely things about this book and they all were so accurate. I had expected it to be completely different from what it actually was. I thought it would be more along the lines of gladiator stories (the book is said to have been based on the ancient Romans) and I expected lots of fighting in pits with swords and a crowd cheering from the sidelines which is actually nothing like the book.

COVER

The cover of the book is so gorgeous, I love it. I love how simplistic it is with the black and gold but how effective it is. It really represents the book well, especially the embers coming from the middle, where Laia and Elias stand.

The book itself is also quite big and thick. The print is quite big so it’s the same reading time of an average book but the book was quite bulky and bigger which I didn’t like much because I like average sized books. I don’t know why it annoyed me but it did a little.

WRITING

I found the alternating perspectives of the book annoying yet suspenseful because at the end of one person’s chapter, there’d be a cliff hanger and then we’d switch to the other person and I’d have to wait an entire chapter to know what would happen next.

However, I quite liked how it was told from both perspectives instead of just one because it gave both the characters their own story and part in the book. It also better showed them on their journey to being ‘an ember in the ashes’ and their destiny as predicted by the Augurs in the book.

IDEA

I quite liked the idea of the book but I didn’t find it very unique, if I’m honest. I have read a few similar books. It didn’t really stand out to me and I wouldn’t give the book points for originality. But even though it didn’t stand out, it did stand apart from the others because of the characters, the relationships the characters had and the personalities of the characters and the idea has been well explored and fleshed out.

One thing to note about the book is that it is quite a technical book with lots of its own terms such as ‘scholar’ and ‘martials’ along with a huge history which can often make it a little confusing. There were times when I had no idea what was going on.

I also feel the book could have turned it up a notch. I wanted there to be more action, more moments where I was holding my breath, more moments where I was sitting on the edge of my seat. There weren’t many ‘OMG’ moments, there weren’t many moments where I felt my heart had leapt into my mouth which really disappointed me because I’d heard it was such a thrilling and scary book.

I feel the world could have been made harsher and crueller. There are times where I feel Tahir is holding back and I don’t want her to.

PLOT

The plot had a good flow and was easy to understand and follow along. There were twists and turns but not as many as I had hoped. There weren’t many giant revelations in the books either. However, the plot was very intriguing. A little slow at the start, I’ll admit but it really picked up the pace.

Initially, I read quite slowly on the first two days of reading it but really got into it on my third day and finished it by the morning of the fourth. The plot is thrilling and fast paced and hard to guess, although not shocking.

CHARACTERS

The characters were ones I really liked. The book is told in alternating perspectives of Laia and Elias, but I’m also going to talk about Helene who is Elias’s best friend.

I quite liked Laia for her quiet determination and bravery. She didn’t seem outright courageous but it’s the small things she did that really made her stand out to me as a protagonist. I liked how she accepted what she got, pulled herself together fast and was extremely loyal to those she cared about. I loved her chapters and she was such an awesome, kick ass character.

Elias is such an awesome person and I probably have a teeny tiny crush on him because he’s so kind and honourable and brave. He really cared about people and I loved his determination and courage. I really enjoyed his chapters too.

Helene is another character that I adored for her loyalty and resilience, despite being the only girl student at Blackcliff Academy. I liked how kick ass she was, how she didn’t let anyone walk all over her, how loyal she was to Elias and the friendship between the two characters.

There aren’t very many books where I really loved the characters or was able to understand their personality but I feel the personality of the characters shone in this book. It was so easy to love them and enjoy reading the book from their perspectives.

One thing I am still undecided on is who I ship in the book. I am really confused about who could go really well together and it’s totally got me befuddled!

FINALLY…

Although the idea of the book isn’t all that original, the plot and the characters (especially the characters) pulled the book together and made it an excellent read. I cannot wait for the next book, A Torch Against The Night to come out this month! Pretty excited to read it.