An Ember in the Ashes

April 28, 2015 ARC, Book Review 1

I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An Ember in the AshesAn Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Published by Penguin on April 28th 2015
Pages: 464
Source: ARC from Publisher
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads

A “deft, polished debut”  (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Sabaa Tahir‘s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and pulse-pounding read. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world with echoes of ancient Rome, it tells the story of a slave fighting for her family and a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

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.

My Thoughts:

As a reader of fantasy novels I was super excited for this one! I’d been hearing all kinds of great things.  An Ember in the Ashes did not disappoint.

One of my favorite parts of any fantasy novel is getting to know the world in which the story takes place. This was especially interesting in An Ember in Ashes. Learning about the society, the magic, and the world in general really kept my interest. I love a book that features a martial world! The dynamics in this one made me think of one of my favorites, The Winner’s Curse!

Laia and Elias are complex characters and I loved getting to know them. Both are harboring some pretty big secrets. Seeing the story from both of their perspectives felt like such a treat. I loved that there were even more secrets than I realized! Sabaa Tahir does an excellent job of making all the secrets and things the reader learns come together to form a rich and captivating story.

An Ember in the Ashes is an excellent start to a promising series!

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