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A review by shashureads
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
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? No
5.0
“There are two kinds of guilts,” I say softly. “The kind that’s a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It’s damaged, but it’s there. Don’t let them take it from you, Elias.”
Wow! I mean Can I Get A Wow??
In this dual POV, we meet Laia, a young Scholar girl who lives with her grandparents and only surviving sibling, as her house is being raided, her brother is arrested and she is later enslaved. Meanwhile Elias, a Martial, who is top of his class about to graduate Blackcliff Academy, wrestles with the way things are in society and contemplates leaving it all behind.
The author wastes no time pulling you into the story. You are drawn to the characters and are rooting for them almost instantaneously. It held no punches as it opens up with some serious brutality and only escalates from there. This book also has one of the worst villains ever who definitely makes you wanna jump into the pages and throw hands but also not really because you know you’d get your ass beat and thrown in a dungeon.
This book has some of my favourite elements in fantasy. Amazing world building and storytelling, a training academy, a villain I wanna choke out, a budding love triangle. I cannot wait to start the second book and get back into this world as this book ends as another epic journey begins.
Content warning for how tense it makes you with some of the mental and physical abuse the main characters endure.
Wow! I mean Can I Get A Wow??
In this dual POV, we meet Laia, a young Scholar girl who lives with her grandparents and only surviving sibling, as her house is being raided, her brother is arrested and she is later enslaved. Meanwhile Elias, a Martial, who is top of his class about to graduate Blackcliff Academy, wrestles with the way things are in society and contemplates leaving it all behind.
The author wastes no time pulling you into the story. You are drawn to the characters and are rooting for them almost instantaneously. It held no punches as it opens up with some serious brutality and only escalates from there. This book also has one of the worst villains ever who definitely makes you wanna jump into the pages and throw hands but also not really because you know you’d get your ass beat and thrown in a dungeon.
This book has some of my favourite elements in fantasy. Amazing world building and storytelling, a training academy, a villain I wanna choke out, a budding love triangle. I cannot wait to start the second book and get back into this world as this book ends as another epic journey begins.
Content warning for how tense it makes you with some of the mental and physical abuse the main characters endure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Sexual harassment