Reviews tagging 'Torture'

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

226 reviews

emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Wow. Just wow… this book was a lot emotionally. I found myself so invested that I couldn’t look away even if I was so scared for the fates of these characters. There are high stakes all over the place!! The writing is beautiful, the characters are dynamic and nuanced, and I just want more. While classified as a YA fantasy, it wasn’t written with immature characters or simplistic writing. Even if it was put in the adult section, I would still give this five stars. I cannot start the next book fast enough.

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theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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


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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

1.0

again the issue might really just be that I'm a hater but there is something wrong if rape threats are making me roll my eyes. bad writing, unclear worldbuilding, flat characters, terrible love square that overwhelms the actual (thin in and of itself) main plot, sexual violence as a constant random unaddressed plot device given nowhere near its appropriate weight.

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kdsmoove's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

5.0


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megmogb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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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tabookish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful 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

5.0


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hurricanyounot's review against another edition

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

4.5

I SIMPLY COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN! I swear to god that if this series doesn’t end well for the characters after what they’ve been through in this book alone, it’s ON SIGHT, MISS TAHIR! Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

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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

1.5

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 not 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

4.75


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