Reviews with content warning for Slavery - An Ember in the Ashes

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

285 reviews

rimsha04's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

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cberri's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.5

I didn't like this book. I didn't hate it either, but I definitely don't have very many nice things to say about it.

The worldbuilding is the most distracting part of this book for me because it's just so bad. When I think about something for more than a few seconds, it sorta falls apart. Maybe to other people this isn't a huge deal, but I can't help but feel like things happen in this book to move the plot along and not because they actually make sense in the given world (and this extends to the characters as well; they do things that seem otherwise entirely out of character just to make the plot happen and it's a little grating after a while. I know not everyone acts with strict set of rules, but I do have to draw a line at some point about their behavior.)

As for the Characters, I'm endeared towards any of them? Helene is the most interesting, but sometimes they'll undercut her character by bringing up her feelings for Elias. And I like Elias and Helene, moreso than him and Laia, but the way this book and other characters talk about at times is so bizarre. But when they actually just treat her as a girl with a crush instead of some alien, she's quite enjoyable.

As for the others, Elias has potential to be interesting but I mostly end up frustrated or confused by his actions. I'd love to say he has major character growth, but he sorta doesn't? I'm actually struggling to say anything about him without just listing off different actions he takes that piss me off.
And Laia; I understand what the author is trying to do with her, but she spends, not an exaggeration, 90% of this book having done nothing worthwhile. She spends almost all of this book just sorta ... Existing? It's not interesting for the plot and it's not even interesting for her character. I like that she grows more suspicious of the rebels wrt her brother before finally acting on these things, but I can't really praise much else. (She's also a shitty spy... Not her fault or even something I'm criticizing the story for, just a side note. She's bad at it.)

There are some side characters that are likable, but otherwise unremarkable.

There's also a weird thing with women in this story? They're beaten and tortured and sexually assaulted at every turn like it's amazing how much of this can be fit into one book.

Quick note about the romance; it's not great, despite how much time is spent on it.

All this is pretty negative, but as far as stories go, this one's biggest weakness overall is just that it's sorta boring and cliche. There's nothing new or exciting about it, but for what it is, it's not the worst thing I've ever read.

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mj1588's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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shannonsheedlo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful sad 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

4.25

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mikasana's review against another edition

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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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erwikka's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book has become and instant favorite and I have too many feelings to put into words right now.

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crybabybea's review against another edition

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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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