An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free."

August16 book for Avalon Muggles Book Club

Instagram: @avalonmuggles

 

The below synopsis is from goodreads, because as hard as I tried I couldn't write a description for An Ember in the Ashes that came close to the depth as the one already given:

 

"Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

 

It is a brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.

 

But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.

 

There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier- and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined- and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself."

 

 

 

At first I have to admit, it was going really slow for me. The world and characters were confusing me at first. I couldn't find myself invested and was lacking interest but I'm so glad I stuck with it. When I finally got a sense of the characters and the brutal, violent world they live in, I started to enjoy it more. Some of the characters became so easy to love, others easy to hate. I had no idea where this story line was going so everything came as a twist and a shock.

 

Laia is so incredibly brave and has such a strong loyalty to her brother and her family. But I really feel that there are some huge secrets being kept from her. I have some theories about what will happen to her and her family and cannot wait to see how her story plays out.

 

Elias has such a complex sense of loyalty and doing the right thing. He questions the future that was always decided for him and that takes a lot of courage and self understanding. He has an amazing friendship with Helene that was really tested in this book. I want to know how far that friendship can be pushed and if it is strong enough to last.

 

Helene never questions, she does exactly what is told her duty is. She is aware she is a female in a group of male masks but her strength and dedication is incredible. Her loyalty, however, could be her downfall. I love Helene's character, the ending of this book didn't change that. I believe in her character and believe she's showing loyalty to Elias in the only way she knows how.

 

The last 100 pages of this world was fantastic right up until the ending. I really loved Laia, Elias and Helene as characters and wanted desperately for all of them to survive.

I read An Ember in the Ashes in August because it was the book of the month for my book club. From what I can remember I was the only one to love Helene and the ending was intense and a little emotional. It set up an intriguing sequel.

 

Like I said, the ending blew me away and I cannot wait to find out where the series goes.

An Ember in the Ashes Series: 

Book 2: A Torch Against the Night

Book 3: A Reaper at the Gates

Book 4:

 

My Rating: 4/5 Stars