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

I'll be honest: this book was a 5-star prediction. It let me down. By a lot. While this isn't the first time I've been let down by a hyped book, this one really stings.

I thought I could start this review with what I liked - honestly, it's not a lot. I liked the romantic tension, which doesn't count for much in the face of the novel as a whole.

So here are the things I didn't like:

--> The characters are extremely half-baked. I understand that many YA novels are about some kind of character growth, but this one just didn't hit the nail on the head. This is the first book in a series, yes. But I should have seen something. Some growth, some decline. Instead, these characters fall flat.

--> The plot. It's simple. Too simple. In the face of developing characters, I would expect the plot, other characters (mainly the antagonist), or the world politics to take over. Alas, that did not happen here.

--> The sadism. I just read the description of this novel on Goodreads and it's supposed to be based on Rome?
But where are the positive Roman attributes of this empire? This novel focused on the deaths, the slavery, the wars, the bitter reality of being conquered. But Rome also had a well-formed legal system. They were open to gaining and using knowledge from their conquered.
This novel was a mess; the military-based leadership would not get along with the religious sect. How did they maintain peace in the first place?

Maybe the last point and my thousands of questions about the world get answered in the next book. Who knows. I will be reading A Torch Against The Night but mainly for the romance and to hopefully get answers.

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adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4/5 Stars

Favorite Quotes:

-“Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing.” p.20

-“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.” p.65

-“All the beauty of the stars means nothing when life here on earth is so ugly.” p.221

-“But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.” p.286

-“Once I’d have wanted that. I’d have wanted someone to tell me what to do, to fix everything. Once, I’d have wanted to be saved.” p.411

——

Tropes/Characteristics:
- 2 POVs
- Love Triangle
- Female Lead
- Enemies to Lovers

Things I Liked:
- fast-paced so it held my attention well
- great storyline in an interesting world
- merciless villains who don’t hold back (more realistic)
- a female MC who doesn’t want to be saved or rescued by someone else ; independent
- dark themes that aren’t explored in graphic, unnecessary detail
- interactions with love interests that had me grinning and blushing

Things I Didn’t Care For:
-i almost wish it wasn’t written in a YA style. I think the darker themes and plot could’ve been explored more deeply and hit more profoundly if the book wasn’t bound by YA constraints.
-i struggled to get into the story at first, because it felt like everything was happening too suddenly at the beginning
-the quick pace did leave me with low attachments to side characters,

so when some died I didn’t feel any emotional reaction other than “oh that’s sad”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am excited to read more of this series!

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