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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bad YA in my opinion.
The writing felt mediocre, the characters were poorly written and the love triangle trope (I hate) felt forced.
Helene was the most interesting character, but we don’t even get her pov...
The writing felt mediocre, the characters were poorly written and the love triangle trope (I hate) felt forced.
Helene was the most interesting character, but we don’t even get her pov...
How in the world did I not come across this series until i began working at the library? What book abyss have I fallen in that this gem of a writing masterpiece has been hidden from me!?
The best kinds of books are the ones that, when you read them, you feel like you’re whisked off to another place, the world around you disappears and for awhile you lose yourself in the stories of these other people. You become part of their adventures, their struggles and triumphs. Yet all the while these people feel like people you know, people you’ve met, or even people you’ve been or might want to be. This book has all of those glorious elements in it! Reading Ember felt like disappearing into a place that’s recognizable and yet so completely foreign, horrible in its brutality and yet strangely beautiful in its mythology. And the characters, words cannot express how much I adore all of them.
I’ve already rambled on too much, but I have to mention how well the world was built too. Not just how much I felt immersed in it, like I said above, but just the style of it. Like being plopped down in Ancient Rome, but with a touch of Arabian culture. The mythology of the jinn, efrits, ghuls and other creatures is so intriguing that I’m pulled in by their story as much as the main characters. The author has a talent for weaving stories within stories, within stories and I liked that while the narrative had one overarching goal, Laia saving her brother, there were so many more complex narratives going on underneath. It gave the book more drive, heart and depth. I’m always completely drawn in by the complexity it must take to come up with not just the original plot, but the stories of so many other moving pieces within the original narrative.
So, after all of that, if you’ve read all the way to the bottom of this review (which if you have, thank you and you’re awesome) I think you can surmise by now that I LOVED this book. The characters, the world, the everything. The writing was so well done that every line and moment fit within the frame of what was happening. Stepping back I normally wouldn’t appreciate something that could be considered slightly violent, but within the world that Tahir has set up, it all works together to create a place that’s haunting and poetically moving at the same time. I can’t wait to start reading the next books in the series, if it’s anything like this one, I’m sure it’s going to be amazing!
The best kinds of books are the ones that, when you read them, you feel like you’re whisked off to another place, the world around you disappears and for awhile you lose yourself in the stories of these other people. You become part of their adventures, their struggles and triumphs. Yet all the while these people feel like people you know, people you’ve met, or even people you’ve been or might want to be. This book has all of those glorious elements in it! Reading Ember felt like disappearing into a place that’s recognizable and yet so completely foreign, horrible in its brutality and yet strangely beautiful in its mythology. And the characters, words cannot express how much I adore all of them.
I’ve already rambled on too much, but I have to mention how well the world was built too. Not just how much I felt immersed in it, like I said above, but just the style of it. Like being plopped down in Ancient Rome, but with a touch of Arabian culture. The mythology of the jinn, efrits, ghuls and other creatures is so intriguing that I’m pulled in by their story as much as the main characters. The author has a talent for weaving stories within stories, within stories and I liked that while the narrative had one overarching goal, Laia saving her brother, there were so many more complex narratives going on underneath. It gave the book more drive, heart and depth. I’m always completely drawn in by the complexity it must take to come up with not just the original plot, but the stories of so many other moving pieces within the original narrative.
So, after all of that, if you’ve read all the way to the bottom of this review (which if you have, thank you and you’re awesome) I think you can surmise by now that I LOVED this book. The characters, the world, the everything. The writing was so well done that every line and moment fit within the frame of what was happening. Stepping back I normally wouldn’t appreciate something that could be considered slightly violent, but within the world that Tahir has set up, it all works together to create a place that’s haunting and poetically moving at the same time. I can’t wait to start reading the next books in the series, if it’s anything like this one, I’m sure it’s going to be amazing!
This book is probably up there in my favorite fantasy series so far. It's original, the characters are diverse and interesting, and the world is one I can't wait to dive deeper into. A few things dropped it down a bit that had to do with pacing, but that is more personal preference than anything.
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, War
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
NO NOTES. Right from the start, I was immediately swept up in the story and it had its claws in me until the very end--thank goodness there are three more books!
Laia and Elias are dynamic, sympathetic, and perfectly flawed characters. The world-building is fantastic and is slowly revealed rather than dumped in at the beginning. The military-political system is familiar and explores the dangers of caste systems and tyrannical rule. Sometimes it's dark and it gets bleak, but dang it's just so good!
Laia and Elias are dynamic, sympathetic, and perfectly flawed characters. The world-building is fantastic and is slowly revealed rather than dumped in at the beginning. The military-political system is familiar and explores the dangers of caste systems and tyrannical rule. Sometimes it's dark and it gets bleak, but dang it's just so good!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death
4.5 stars! okay, wow! such a good book! it would have been a 5 star if the characters at time weren't so painfully annoying but i still enjoyed the book a lot besides that complaint! can't wait to read the next book!
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was fine. Took me a while to get into it but I enjoyed it by the end. I would read the sequel if my library had them but I didn’t like it enough to buy the next book myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
adventurous
dark
inspiring
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:
Yes