A review by fauna_n_fiction
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

4.0

 I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I thought the plot was immaculate and I loved all the twists and turns. 

Characters:

Laia – I love her courage and her motivation. I loved watching her go through everything she went though and how it strengthened her and steeled her. HOWEVER, this girl is SLOW! She takes forever to figure out some things that are fairly obvious. I feel like not all of her decisions were the smartest. 

Elias – I genuinely love Elias as a character. He is deeply flawed but his heart is in the right place and I loved his constant emotion rollercoaster. He was genuine and complex. Every time Elias was being a complete idiot, I chalked it up to him being a stupid boy who can’t read emotional cues. 

Helene – I have mixed feelings about this poor girl. She is so true to form, to her character, to her upbringing and it’s to her own detriment. She is relentlessly loyal and faithful and it doesn’t always serve her well. 

Character Relationships:

Minor spoilers ahead –

Laia & Keenan – I love this relationship. It’s a little bit insta-lovey for me but Keenan is so adorably awkward and sweet that I forgive it. 

Elias & Helene – Best friends with awkward feelings towards each other is always tough to read but I genuinely can’t stand Elias’ back and forth. He says “we’re just friends. I’ve never thought about her that way. I can’t love her.” but then he is constantly having thoughts of kissing her and touching her. He is insistent and genuine about not having romantic feelings but then sometimes he does and I feel like that author only added that to instill the “will they, won’t they” concept. 

Elias & Laia – I ship it. I really do. That’s all I have to say. 

Atmosphere:

I genuinely felt the tension and stress at Blackcliff. I was worried during every scene that someone was listening, someone was watching. I didn’t trust a single sole and I loved the desert atmosphere with catacombs and dunes. 

Writing:

I didn’t really vibe with the writing style. It wasn’t for me. I don’t click with present tense and very often we were told things instead of shown things. We were asked rhetorical questions like we’re watching Dora the Explorer. Although I didn’t like the writing style, the plot development and pacing as beautiful.