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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sabaa Tahir crafts a brutal world brimming with political conflicts in the first novel of her Ember Quartet.
While this is advertised as a fantasy, its elements take a backseat and only pop up occasionally during the second act and are mentioned sparingly. The real strength of this novel is the politics of her world and its impact on the characters, specifically on Elias and Helene (who also happened to be my favourite characters!)
While imperfect (a perfect first act, slow middle, a rushed ending and Laia's uninteresting and repetitive chapters), its themes of anti-violence, anti-colonialism, courage make it a worthy recommendation for its target demographic of young adult readers.
While this is advertised as a fantasy, its elements take a backseat and only pop up occasionally during the second act and are mentioned sparingly. The real strength of this novel is the politics of her world and its impact on the characters, specifically on Elias and Helene (who also happened to be my favourite characters!)
While imperfect (a perfect first act, slow middle, a rushed ending and Laia's uninteresting and repetitive chapters), its themes of anti-violence, anti-colonialism, courage make it a worthy recommendation for its target demographic of young adult readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence
Rape threats, sexual assault threats
Okay I really enjoyed this one- enough to read the next one to see what happens.
This felt like vintage YA at its best and I’m here for it. It was engaging, and fun to read the whole time. The worldbuilding isn’t trying to be too complex and the characters are interesting.
This is the first series in a while that I’m actually going out of my way to read the second one, and that’s saying something.
This felt like vintage YA at its best and I’m here for it. It was engaging, and fun to read the whole time. The worldbuilding isn’t trying to be too complex and the characters are interesting.
This is the first series in a while that I’m actually going out of my way to read the second one, and that’s saying something.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
There were multiple times while I was reading the first half of this book that I wanted to quit. It's a bit slow and the characters really are not that likable. I felt like there was just a lot of violence and that it overpowered anything else that was supposed to be important in the book. However, I kept reading, and the book vastly improved. The plot line picked up, the characters started to develop into people I could relate to, and the violence wasn't nearly as bad.
In the beginning, I REALLY did not like Leia much. She was a cowardly wimp and I found myself enjoying Elias's perspective's much more. I loved his development in the book and how he grew into his character and became someone to be proud of. Leia also developed I started liking her a lot more. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that Leia is probably a very accurate character. Meaning, that any normal person put in her situation, would react the same as her. So I commend Tahir in creating a character who may not be popular, but is realistic.
The part that bothered me the most about this book was the violence and brutality. WARNING: This book is not for the faint of heart, it is violent, bloody, dirty, and gritty. While I think these themes add to a book, too much overpowers a storyline and then the true meaning gets lost in the violence. I felt like during the first half of the book, the whole theme was pain and violence, and it was hard to get through. Pain is usually an important part of any story, but when there is to much, it loses it's potency and meaning.
The romance in this book drove me absolutely nuts. I am NOT a fan of love triangles, squares, pentagons, or whatever other crazy romance shape fandoms come up with. Just make up your freaking mind and stop stringing people along!!!
I loved the world building and the overall storyline is fantastic. The themes of masks and finding who we really are is so well done. It is for this reason that I am giving this book four stars. If this part wasn't so good, It would a 2 or a 3 since other parts are hard to ignore. Great read, I would recommend for older teens just based on the darker themes.
In the beginning, I REALLY did not like Leia much. She was a cowardly wimp and I found myself enjoying Elias's perspective's much more. I loved his development in the book and how he grew into his character and became someone to be proud of. Leia also developed I started liking her a lot more. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that Leia is probably a very accurate character. Meaning, that any normal person put in her situation, would react the same as her. So I commend Tahir in creating a character who may not be popular, but is realistic.
The part that bothered me the most about this book was the violence and brutality. WARNING: This book is not for the faint of heart, it is violent, bloody, dirty, and gritty. While I think these themes add to a book, too much overpowers a storyline and then the true meaning gets lost in the violence. I felt like during the first half of the book, the whole theme was pain and violence, and it was hard to get through. Pain is usually an important part of any story, but when there is to much, it loses it's potency and meaning.
The romance in this book drove me absolutely nuts. I am NOT a fan of love triangles, squares, pentagons, or whatever other crazy romance shape fandoms come up with. Just make up your freaking mind and stop stringing people along!!!
I loved the world building and the overall storyline is fantastic. The themes of masks and finding who we really are is so well done. It is for this reason that I am giving this book four stars. If this part wasn't so good, It would a 2 or a 3 since other parts are hard to ignore. Great read, I would recommend for older teens just based on the darker themes.