Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

39 reviews

jeyjeyyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

SO GOOD!!! I HAVENT BEEN SO INVESTED IN A SERIES SINCE SIX OF CROWS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

mikasana's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

Slow in the beginning but it picks up a bit and then goes full speed towards the end.

Honestly, the storytelling was perfect. I got really attached to Laia and Elias and their character arcs. And the villains?? Black hearted killers who couldn’t have been written any better (

shout out to mummy dearest

). 

The weight and finality of all the injustices this world festered really just slapped you in the face over and over as the pages went by. The tension from it burned me and had me fully entranced just hoping some good would prevail.

However, if you are looking at this first book expecting romance, look away. The two main characters don’t truly get to know each other in this book and spend much of their time apart. In fact most of the “romance” that exists is spent on

the giant love square (yes, not triangle) between the two main characters and their wooed side pieces. I find love triangles, or any semblance of them, completely unnecessary and distracting. It dampens the potential of the main relationship every single time.

Irritating.

This actually would have been a lower rating due to how irritated I was by the

love square

but that ending? A chef’s kiss. Perfection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Slavery, Sexual violence, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Trafficking, Pregnancy, War, and Rape

crybabybea's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A good YA dystopian-ish scifi-ish fantasy-ish romance-ish read! I appreciated the unique setting based on West Asia and the inclusion of Arabic mythology. At first, I wasn't super into the story because it felt very typically YA to me, especially the info-dumpiness of the beginning, and I was expecting more immediate fantasy. The fantasy elements are subtle and the overall story leans more toward sci-fi/dystopia. Because of this the world-building doesn't feel as complex as I would like, and a lot of the settings don't feel fully fleshed out.

I had my doubts about the characters but I ended up liking the main characters for their individual arcs, especially Laia. I wish the side characters got more attention and felt more fully developed.

I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the themes explored and the story beats. I wasn't expecting anything crazy from YA but this book was very dark and the author made some crazy choices that really flipped the typical YA experience on its head. Of course it had its tropey moments but I enjoyed the story a lot and found it compelling. 

Definitely a page-turner, an intriguing thriller of a story with unique, subtle fantasy elements to get lost in for a few days.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, Child death, Sexism, and Kidnapping

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

I enjoyed this book. I liked the worldbuilding. The characters were good and I liked their relationships. I struggled with the writing style of alternating first person POV in the present tense. The plot was good though a little predictable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Slavery, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Confinement

alexijai98's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Confinement, Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

amre23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

This book was dark and violent but believe the start to a great story. This starts about a girl thrown into conflict larger than simply finding and saving her brother and a boy who is trying to escape the expectations and confines of his life. She is adamant to find her brother but constantly is navigating who her true allies are and how to complete the requests from everyone around her. He is constantly navigating between the "mask" he wears for everyone and who he wants/wishes to be.

The Dual POVs made the story progress faster. Was nice to see when the 2 main characters weren't interacting how their actions and inactions impacted each other.

At times could truly feel her worry and anxiety through the pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Slavery, Physical abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Genocide, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, and War

Minor: Medical content, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, and Pregnancy

yasmin96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Rape, Torture, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Violence, Abortion, Grief, Slavery, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment

jordosba's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Death, Confinement, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Rape

sahramahtab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

Sabaa Tahir's "An Ember in the Ashes" is a poignant journey that managed to draw tears — something that very few books manage to achieve. The story is a tapestry of characters, with Laia and Elias at the forefront, each layering complexity to the narrative. Their authenticity makes it impossible not to invest emotionally, and I found myself eagerly rooting for their struggles and triumphs. The desire for interactions between them kept me turning page after page. The supporting characters add depth to the story, although

Helene's actions left me perplexed, creating a sense of frustration. Keenan's intentions remain shrouded in mystery,

adding an intriguing layer that begs further exploration. Yet, the unresolved mysteries have me hooked, and without a doubt, I'm sprinting to grab the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Slavery

Moderate: Rape, Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, and Emotional abuse

theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Death, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Torture, Murder, Sexual violence, Rape, Confinement, Toxic relationship, War, Police brutality, Colonisation, Abortion, Sexual assault, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Kidnapping, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Cursing