Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

2 reviews

risten's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Classism, Child abuse, Blood, Murder, Death, War, and Child death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Trafficking, and Suicide

Minor: Stalking, Sexual content, Vomit, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, and Animal death

emilinkaa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.75

Laia is a Scholar in the Empire, which is ruled by the Martials. When her family is destroyed by the martials, she is forced to align herself with the Resistance in hopes of saving her brother. She's fighting for her life and his. Elias is considered one of the best Martial soldiers of his time, he hates it. Taken from a life he loved to become an assassins, he's trying to escape. 

An Ember in the Ashes is based on Ancient Rome, and is griping. You alternate between Laia and Ellias' perspectives and while they're both main characters, they have very different goals. But both of them are trying to be better, to save the people they love and themselves. I couldn't read fast enough. Then tension between the two main characters, as well as a host of secondary characters, had me staying up way too late to finish this novel, and immediately reaching for the second in the series. 

The book is not light by any means, and I can't check enough content warnings for it. But it's griping, and wonderfully written, and shows that sometimes, the thing that makes us human, is our need to persevere, even when the odds are against us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Death, Rape, Medical content, Hate crime, Gore, Animal death, Death of parent, Child death, Murder, Slavery, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Sexual assault