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viccreadsbooks 's review for:

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
4.0
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

4/5 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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