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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
When I was about half way through the book, I stopped and wrote a bunch of notes that I planned to turn into my final review. Those notes complained heavily about how so many things made no sense unless X twist was coming and, guess what, X twist came most of the time. So I can’t say that this book is awful, it’s just incredibly predictable and not in the fun way where it’s a sign of a well crafted story. While the twists make things more logical, they don’t transform nonsense to reason. It’s more like they took a crumbling tower and saved it from crumbling away to nothing, allowing it to be a ruin instead of a mere memory. I do think that ruin has the potential to be restored into something beautiful because Tahir did craft a mostly logical story and the individual scenes read well, so I’m going to give this series one more shot. Mostly because I already have all four books out from the library and these aren’t crazy long reads.
While I’m going to give this series another shot, I won’t recommend it to others because the lackluster twists aren’t the only issue. There are also issues with the romance, the characters in general, and the world building that I’ll quickly go over. I’ll also end with a part of my original notes hidden under a spoiler because I think it encapsulates my issues with the twists pretty well, but it does spoil part of the ending, so read that bit at your own risk.
On The Lackluster Romance:
While reading this book, there was a point where I paused and had the thought, “I’m too ace for this shit.” Which was kind of fun, because I’ve never had that happen before. Mind you, I didn’t know that word when I was a teen and more actively reading YA, so the thought is less impressive than it might appear at first glance, but the point still stands. If you’re the kind of person that can’t stand characters doing dumb shit to help a person that they don’t know simply because they’re attracted to this person, then you’ll probably be annoyed by this book.
I love a good romance and I get that physical attraction can make people do crazy things. I’m even happy to enjoy stories where a big element is the characters doing crazy things out of lust, but it has to be a story where those actions make sense for the characters in question and An Ember in the Ashes was not one of those stories. It just doesn’t feel believable when the people doing the crazy things are supposed to be highly trained assassins who have spent the majority of their lives at a school that is half school and half torture chamber. Even our non-assassin character doesn’t get a pass because she’s in a life or death situation where it’s not just her life on the line.
I don’t buy any of these characters doing dumb shit just because their enemy - that they barely know - is cute. In fact, I thought that this element straight up weakened one of the characters. He’s supposed to be this bastion of morality even though he’s part of the evil empire, but to me it read like he was only doing the right thing because he was horny since he only seems interested in helping the pretty girl he’s lusting after. The non-pretty girls don’t get a second glance. It would have been so much better for his character if he was doing this because it was right and the romance only showed up later in the series.
On the Annoying Characters:
I enjoy stories where the characters are allowed to be smart. This was not one of those stories. Laia - our female lead - is an annoying coward who spends most of the book making annoying choices. Do those choices make sense for an annoying coward? Sure, but that doesn’t make it fun to read those sections of the book. It would have been much more enjoyable if she was trying her best and failing due to things outside of her control.
For example, within the first few chapters, Laia is dragged into becoming a resistance spy in order to help save her brother. When this happens, we learn that You’d think that this would mean that Laia isn’t a fan of the resistance and that she’s only willing to work for them because they’re seemingly her only option. That she’d be suspicious of them from the start and would be looking for other options. You’d be wrong and it’s deeply aggravating. I get that she’s desperate to free her brother, but the resulting blind faith makes me want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her! You will not free your brother by ignoring all options save for the one you took out of desperation! Why aren’t you willing to learn everything you can? You are a terrible spy!
I was also annoyed by the book’s main antagonists. They’re your standard low effort villains who have no redeeming qualities. They’re cruel beyond all imagining and take pleasure in hurting others for no real reason and I generally find that boring in a high fantasy setting. I’m assuming that there’s some true big bad that will show up later in the series and this is why the starter villains read like one-note minions, but it’s still disappointing to have to read a full book where every time the villains show up I think, “Oh great, let me guess, they’re going to be awful and nasty just to be awful and nasty, aren’t they?”
On the Wacky World Building:
A big focus of the book is a competition led by a group of mind-reading, future-seeing mages who are pretty clearly doing things that make no sense now because they’ll make sense later and that’s cool in theory, but in practice that means that major elements of this book make no sense and I’m not a fan. This would be less of an issue if I didn't have all the other issues I’ve mentioned because I do think it's plausible that Tahir has a grand plan for this series that will make everything make sense, but when I was annoyed by the characters, annoyed by the romance, and annoyed by the obvious twists, this lack of logic just felt like the icing on a very shitty cake.
To give an example of the kind of thing I’m talking about, during the first event of the competition,
The only logical answer to all of that is that the mind readers know the truth, but don’t care because it’s all part of The Grand Plan. Which is fine, but I really wish that we’d had a few brief chapters from a mind-reading mage’s point of view to at least hint that this was the case. Without that element, you just kind of have to infer that this is probably what's going on and I found that a lot less fun than if it was woven into the story to build tension. As is, you have to step back and go, “Okay, none of this makes sense and it makes the mages look like buffoons, but they’re clearly not buffoons, so I guess they just know something that we don’t?”
On the boring twists:
My initial notes contained this rant:
She does have a tie to the resistance through her long dead parents, which could explain why the resistance is willing to trust her, but her parents died when she was five! So the resistance can’t be under the impression that her parents trained her to be a rebel spy. In spite of this, the resistance does nothing to test her or prepare her for this insane mission. She’s just somehow considered qualified by honor of her bloodline, which is asinine. I kept waiting for the reveal that the resistance sent her in because they wanted her to die for some reason as that was the most logical conclusion to this baffling series of events. Seriously, what was the pre-Laia plan? If she hadn’t stumbled into their camp, then were they just not going to send a spy into Blackcliff? If so, then why did they spend months making the connections that would allow them to get someone in Laia’s place? None of this makes any sense.
Major spoiler that you may have guessed, but
Do you see what I mean about these twists being like saving a crumbling tower from crumbling, but not truly rebuilding it to its former glory? Like the above twist saves the story from making no sense at all, but it’s hard to call it a strong twist. It and everything else about the ending were just strong enough for me to sigh and go, okay, fine, that needed some work, but it was a reasonably solid landing, so I’ll give you another shot. The fact that this was Tahir's first novel and I greatly enjoyed her more recent novel [b:All My Rage|57899793|All My Rage|Sabaa Tahir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629908086l/57899793._SY75_.jpg|90708139] is probably part of this willingness because she clearly can write a good book! I came into this expecting a great read and I really want to bring those hopes to fruition. I’ll update this review if they are.
While I’m going to give this series another shot, I won’t recommend it to others because the lackluster twists aren’t the only issue. There are also issues with the romance, the characters in general, and the world building that I’ll quickly go over. I’ll also end with a part of my original notes hidden under a spoiler because I think it encapsulates my issues with the twists pretty well, but it does spoil part of the ending, so read that bit at your own risk.
On The Lackluster Romance:
While reading this book, there was a point where I paused and had the thought, “I’m too ace for this shit.” Which was kind of fun, because I’ve never had that happen before. Mind you, I didn’t know that word when I was a teen and more actively reading YA, so the thought is less impressive than it might appear at first glance, but the point still stands. If you’re the kind of person that can’t stand characters doing dumb shit to help a person that they don’t know simply because they’re attracted to this person, then you’ll probably be annoyed by this book.
I love a good romance and I get that physical attraction can make people do crazy things. I’m even happy to enjoy stories where a big element is the characters doing crazy things out of lust, but it has to be a story where those actions make sense for the characters in question and An Ember in the Ashes was not one of those stories. It just doesn’t feel believable when the people doing the crazy things are supposed to be highly trained assassins who have spent the majority of their lives at a school that is half school and half torture chamber. Even our non-assassin character doesn’t get a pass because she’s in a life or death situation where it’s not just her life on the line.
I don’t buy any of these characters doing dumb shit just because their enemy - that they barely know - is cute. In fact, I thought that this element straight up weakened one of the characters. He’s supposed to be this bastion of morality even though he’s part of the evil empire, but to me it read like he was only doing the right thing because he was horny since he only seems interested in helping the pretty girl he’s lusting after. The non-pretty girls don’t get a second glance. It would have been so much better for his character if he was doing this because it was right and the romance only showed up later in the series.
On the Annoying Characters:
I enjoy stories where the characters are allowed to be smart. This was not one of those stories. Laia - our female lead - is an annoying coward who spends most of the book making annoying choices. Do those choices make sense for an annoying coward? Sure, but that doesn’t make it fun to read those sections of the book. It would have been much more enjoyable if she was trying her best and failing due to things outside of her control.
For example, within the first few chapters, Laia is dragged into becoming a resistance spy in order to help save her brother. When this happens, we learn that
Spoiler
Laia’s parents were the former leaders of the resistance and that her parents died because of a traitor within the resistance.I was also annoyed by the book’s main antagonists. They’re your standard low effort villains who have no redeeming qualities. They’re cruel beyond all imagining and take pleasure in hurting others for no real reason and I generally find that boring in a high fantasy setting. I’m assuming that there’s some true big bad that will show up later in the series and this is why the starter villains read like one-note minions, but it’s still disappointing to have to read a full book where every time the villains show up I think, “Oh great, let me guess, they’re going to be awful and nasty just to be awful and nasty, aren’t they?”
On the Wacky World Building:
A big focus of the book is a competition led by a group of mind-reading, future-seeing mages who are pretty clearly doing things that make no sense now because they’ll make sense later and that’s cool in theory, but in practice that means that major elements of this book make no sense and I’m not a fan. This would be less of an issue if I didn't have all the other issues I’ve mentioned because I do think it's plausible that Tahir has a grand plan for this series that will make everything make sense, but when I was annoyed by the characters, annoyed by the romance, and annoyed by the obvious twists, this lack of logic just felt like the icing on a very shitty cake.
To give an example of the kind of thing I’m talking about, during the first event of the competition,
Spoiler
two of the competitors cheat, but the mind readers can’t prove this because the cheaters are somehow able to block their minds from being read. This is baffling to me because the cheaters are accused of cheating by someone who overheard them discussing the cheating, so why can’t the mind readers just read the accuser’s mind and then order the cheaters to either open their mind or face death/disqualification/etc.? Why are the mind reading mages so willing to potentially allow cheating to happen in this sacred competition? Why didn’t the accusation lead to an immediate halt of the competition? Why is the fact that the cheaters have mind-reading protection not seen as a Big Deal?The only logical answer to all of that is that the mind readers know the truth, but don’t care because it’s all part of The Grand Plan. Which is fine, but I really wish that we’d had a few brief chapters from a mind-reading mage’s point of view to at least hint that this was the case. Without that element, you just kind of have to infer that this is probably what's going on and I found that a lot less fun than if it was woven into the story to build tension. As is, you have to step back and go, “Okay, none of this makes sense and it makes the mages look like buffoons, but they’re clearly not buffoons, so I guess they just know something that we don’t?”
On the boring twists:
My initial notes contained this rant:
Spoiler
Within the first few chapters, the female lead - Laia - is sent into the deadly Blackcliff academy to serve as a spy who feeds information back to the resistance. I get why Laia was willing to do this, but I don’t understand why the resistance was willing to send this outsider and total novice on what is apparently a vital mission. Laia is not a member of the resistance. She only just started working with them in order to save her brother, so she has no training on how to spy or fight or anything useful.She does have a tie to the resistance through her long dead parents, which could explain why the resistance is willing to trust her, but her parents died when she was five! So the resistance can’t be under the impression that her parents trained her to be a rebel spy. In spite of this, the resistance does nothing to test her or prepare her for this insane mission. She’s just somehow considered qualified by honor of her bloodline, which is asinine. I kept waiting for the reveal that the resistance sent her in because they wanted her to die for some reason as that was the most logical conclusion to this baffling series of events. Seriously, what was the pre-Laia plan? If she hadn’t stumbled into their camp, then were they just not going to send a spy into Blackcliff? If so, then why did they spend months making the connections that would allow them to get someone in Laia’s place? None of this makes any sense.
Major spoiler that you may have guessed, but
Spoiler
at the end of the book it’s revealed that, yes, Laia was sent to Blackcliff on a bogus mission because the resistance leader wanted her to die. But I predicted that back when she was first sent there and I still consider this something of a plot hole because only the resistance leader knew this plan. Everyone else believed that Laia had a true mission so once again, what was the pre-Laia plan? If she hadn’t stumbled into their camp, then were they just not going to send a spy into Blackcliff? If so, then why did they spend months making the connections that would allow them to get someone in Laia’s place? Why does everyone in the resistance think it was a good idea to send Laia there?Do you see what I mean about these twists being like saving a crumbling tower from crumbling, but not truly rebuilding it to its former glory? Like the above twist saves the story from making no sense at all, but it’s hard to call it a strong twist. It and everything else about the ending were just strong enough for me to sigh and go, okay, fine, that needed some work, but it was a reasonably solid landing, so I’ll give you another shot. The fact that this was Tahir's first novel and I greatly enjoyed her more recent novel [b:All My Rage|57899793|All My Rage|Sabaa Tahir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629908086l/57899793._SY75_.jpg|90708139] is probably part of this willingness because she clearly can write a good book! I came into this expecting a great read and I really want to bring those hopes to fruition. I’ll update this review if they are.
Äntligen klar! Haft en lässvacka som heter duga då bara ljudböcker kunde hålla mitt intresse. Är inte säker på om det har påverkat mitt betyg, men jag tycker att den här är läsvärd i alla fall! Bra världs och karaktärsutbyggnad och skitbra handling.
Oh, just wow.
I'm usually wary of multiple POV's. I just think so many novels would be better if they had been written from a third person's point of view. It's hard to make two distinct voices and personalities come through that way, especially if they are different genders. They either feel like the same person or become webbed in the world of cliches.
Well Sabaa Tahir has done a beautiful job. We are presented to Laia first, who tries and fails to live up to her own expectations. She is very innocent and naive throughout the novel, but she doesn't come across as silly or annoying. Sure she is a bit too trusting and doesn't make connections all that fast even though there is plenty of doubt laid out before her.
Laia: "So btw where is my brother held?"
Mazon: "Questionable explanation."
Laia: "Oh okay." The whole "she's pretty but doesn't even know it" bit I just regarded as Elias's hormonal problems. She isn't once told she's beautiful only to have her discard the comment and have an internal monologue about how hideous she is. So props to the author! The one thing she has but thinks she lacks is courage.
Elias has plenty of courage, it's his inner demons he has to face. If I had one problem with him, it's how he sexualizes women. He does it early on with Helene. And then the first time he meets Laia he literally froze because of her beauty. That was a bit weird. And awkward. Anyway, he's trying to escape his fate by any means possible, but when presented with his future, he decides to go down the road that will be seemingly harder, yet will make him happier. I guess the trait both him and Laia share is that they are incredibly naive. It's like he goes forth with the Trials with no expectations at all, even though it's pretty clear people are going to die. And both Elias and Laia are selfish. They are in essence, teenagers.
The secondary characters have stories and motivations on their own. Some even have mysterious pasts that we don't really get to hear but are interested about, so we hope it will be in the next book (yep, that's my own hopes and dreams). They aren't just there to aid our heroes, though the sacrifices some make are a bit strange. The one thing is how shady the Augurs were. Like they just said these completely out of place stuff and never explained how they knew. I mean we are lead to believe they are ancient creatures and we should just believe everything they say, but every time someone asks "But how do you know?" they just shake it off with a "That's not important now". But... but come on!
The love square (that is what I'm calling it, even though I'm pretty sure that's not the term) I could have done without. There was no real insta-love, just insta-lust (on Elias's part), and even that wasn't acted out on. Laia doesn't fall in love with Elias despite him being her enemy. Which is soooo great. I wish more YA's would do this. Isn't it better to love someone for who they are and not for how they look? I wasn't convinced by Keenan and Laia's relationship, it felt over dramatized. And there was never really an explanation
I do have to admit the part where Elias and Laia spent the night together was just beautiful. It didn't even feel amiss, though the pace was considerably slowed down only to pick up again after the chapter has ended. They kissed, okay, hormones, but didn't let it get beyond that. And they connected. Like mentally. And they understood they had a lot in common. And it was my favorite thing. It was like two friends sitting down at a far removed table in a café and catching up on the last 20 years. Questions were asked, answers were given without hesitations. Just beautiful.
Now that I think about it, there wasn't much chemistry anywhere.
The plot was a bit predictable. Okay, it was really predictable, which is the reason why I'm giving this a 4 stars, instead of five. It was still enjoyable. It was fast paces though, and easy to keep up with. All the little threads it runs on come together in the end. Sure, some things are left unexplained, but that's what the next book is for partly, I assume.
The whole setting takes place in an Ancient Rome inspired world, which was seriously cool and refreshing. I liked how slavery was woven in with a bit of reality, and Laia got mistreated and looked down upon, or as if she didn't exist. It's not because I'm cruel, but because it fits in, sadly, with the times.
Now I'm going to patiently wait for the next novel. But before that I have to reread Chapter 41. Because that is my new favorite thing in the world.
I'm usually wary of multiple POV's. I just think so many novels would be better if they had been written from a third person's point of view. It's hard to make two distinct voices and personalities come through that way, especially if they are different genders. They either feel like the same person or become webbed in the world of cliches.
Well Sabaa Tahir has done a beautiful job. We are presented to Laia first, who tries and fails to live up to her own expectations. She is very innocent and naive throughout the novel, but she doesn't come across as silly or annoying. Sure she is a bit too trusting and doesn't make connections all that fast even though there is plenty of doubt laid out before her.
Spoiler
I am, of course, referring to Mazen, how blindly she trusted him and didn't question him too much. Even though both Cook and Elias gave her enough reason to suspect something was up, this is how her interrogation went down:Laia: "So btw where is my brother held?"
Mazon: "Questionable explanation."
Laia: "Oh okay."
Elias has plenty of courage, it's his inner demons he has to face. If I had one problem with him, it's how he sexualizes women. He does it early on with Helene
Spoiler
okay, I understand that she was the only female he had day to day contact with, other than the slaves, but he thought of kissing her in such weird moments, I didn't know how to deal with that. Hormones, huh?Spoiler
And then he's surprised he has to be the one to kill them. Like what did you expect the whole "Quest to Becoming an Emperor" gig was going to be like? Flowers and candy?The secondary characters have stories and motivations on their own. Some even have mysterious pasts that we don't really get to hear but are interested about, so we hope it will be in the next book (yep, that's my own hopes and dreams). They aren't just there to aid our heroes, though the sacrifices some make are a bit strange. The one thing is how shady the Augurs were. Like they just said these completely out of place stuff and never explained how they knew. I mean we are lead to believe they are ancient creatures and we should just believe everything they say, but every time someone asks "But how do you know?" they just shake it off with a "That's not important now". But... but come on!
The love square (that is what I'm calling it, even though I'm pretty sure that's not the term) I could have done without. There was no real insta-love, just insta-lust (on Elias's part), and even that wasn't acted out on. Laia doesn't fall in love with Elias despite him being her enemy. Which is soooo great. I wish more YA's would do this. Isn't it better to love someone for who they are and not for how they look? I wasn't convinced by Keenan and Laia's relationship, it felt over dramatized. And there was never really an explanation
Spoiler
why Helena loved Elias. I mean I loved the part he turned her down, just wow boy, you were friends, how about letting her down easy and maybe not tell her you could never love her??? Because you know, she is your best friend. We just kind of a got a "don't know why she chose you."Now that I think about it, there wasn't much chemistry anywhere.
The plot was a bit predictable. Okay, it was really predictable, which is the reason why I'm giving this a 4 stars, instead of five. It was still enjoyable. It was fast paces though, and easy to keep up with. All the little threads it runs on come together in the end. Sure, some things are left unexplained, but that's what the next book is for partly, I assume.
The whole setting takes place in an Ancient Rome inspired world, which was seriously cool and refreshing. I liked how slavery was woven in with a bit of reality, and Laia got mistreated and looked down upon, or as if she didn't exist. It's not because I'm cruel, but because it fits in, sadly, with the times.
Now I'm going to patiently wait for the next novel. But before that I have to reread Chapter 41. Because that is my new favorite thing in the world.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
✎ 4.5 / 5 ⭐
✎ digital 📱 & audio 🎧
✓ would recommend
I already KNOW this series is going to be a slammer and quick to binge. A high stakes, YA fantasy that actually focuses on the events of the story instead of the hots of one another??? Definitely a needle in the haystack here. These characters are flawed in such a human way that makes them the more relatable. And the feeling of frustration in the situations they are put through is top notch!!
This book definitely doesn't beat around the bushes with its implication on war, and conquered lands because WOW it was way darker than I expected but I applaud Tahir for doing so. The little reveals and twists keep me on my toes to see what's going to happen next. And it doesn't disappoint (as I am well into the 2nd book at this point).
One thing I will say that might've been the reason why it's not a perfect 5⭐ is the vague world building. Like yes, on a large scale, we know there are many others that aren't part of the Empire but are given the leeway to live while being ruled under them. But there's no information on specifically why Scholars are persecuted. Along with that, the chain of command and how their society function isn't fully fleshed out in the story for the first book at least.
But personally, I don't think it impacts the story too much as there is just SO much happening that if Tahir decided to add in the world building, and stabilize in the first book, it might be another book on its own and/or bore me out of the story.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.”
Cutthroat and intensely atmospheric, An Ember in the Ashes was definitely a strong series-starter. I hardly expected the amount of character depth or complex world building that was delivered. I’m already itching to discover what the next instalments have in store.
~★~ What is this book about? ~★~
In a world similar to ancient Rome, commoners are ruled by Martials -ruthlessly trained assassins serving the emperor. When Laia’s family is killed and her brother jailed by a Martial, she is determined to fight for his freedom- and his life. Laia’s only chance at saving him means spying for rebels as a slave in Blackcliff academy.
Elias is one of Blackcliff’s top students. As a Martial in training, disobedience guarantees a public lashing at best, and a painful death at worst.
Herein lies the problem: Elias is repulsed by the academy, unable to stomach the killing and tyranny being forced upon him. He plans to desert before his graduation, except no deserter in Blackliff’s history has ever escaped with their life.
~★~
To put it simply: An Ember in the Ashes was a ride and a half. Sabaa Tahir’s writing style was really intriguing from the get-go, ensuring I was able to fall into both Elias and Laia’s perspective with ease. Conflicts are high from the very first chapter, entailing what is to be a continuously climactic adventure for readers.
It’s pretty amazing how every character portrayed in this novel feels tangible. Tahir does a phenomenal job of making sure even her side characters are well developed. Laia and Elias were both intriguing and full of heart, so naturally, I loved them. I even came to care for some names that hardly appeared more than a few times. Helene in particular was a fantastic deuteragonist; hearing that she has her own POV in the next book makes me so excited!
The thorough attention paid to worldbuilding was what initially stood out to me about An Ember in the Ashes. It’s been far too long since I’ve read a YA fantasy with this distinct of a prose/atmosphere. This was a really satisfying beginning to what I’m sure will be a breathtaking series.
A solid 2.5. I started reading a hard copy version but switched to the audio book version. Let me preface this review by saying that I am NOT a fan of fantasy. Anyway, I thought this book was very slow in the beginning. It took awhile to get me "hooked". The ultimate message was timeless and unconventional, but at times, I felt like I was watching a Lifetime movie (1. bad thing happens, 2. resolution, 3. repeat multiple times). The thing that kept me reading were the characters...very well-written in that respect. I know if I ran into Sabaa I'd have a couple of questions for her in regard to her writing style; she made some pretty interesting wording choices that has me curious. Overall, I enjoyed this read and would recommend if you like fantasy or dystopian novels.