ARC Review: An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir

Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Pub Date: April 28th, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: 443

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

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I've always considered myself to be someone who doesn't like fantasy but I'm so glad I took the chance with this book. It's hard to believe Sabaa is a debut! - Nova @ Out of Time

Unlike a lot of books, I was sucked into the world of An Ember in the Ashes from start to finish. There was never a drag in the plot for me, at all. For you, it might be a "whatever" but for me, something like that is rare. It takes a lot for me to not lose interest at all. This book had action, romance and tests of strength in ways more than just the physical.
 The plot was so gripping. There were so many moments where I was like "TURN THE PAGE FASTER" because I just really wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was twist upon twist which made me wonder, "why didn't I see this coming?"

The writing was so amazing. I don't know how to describe it because I just felt  the whole thing. Sometimes, you read a book and the writing affects you. It brings the world and characters to life. It makes you feel the things the characters felt. That's how I felt when reading this book. There is torture in this book and there is sacrifice. For example, if you've read it, the part where Helen and Elias have to sacrifice their teams to win the challenge broke my heart. These are people that the two characters grew up with and seeing them die. I didn't even know the characters because they were nameless but the feels I got were insane.

The main characters, Elias [also known as Venturius] and Laia are both so different in personality but they work so well in the novel. Elias is a lot more strategic because of his military background and having to grow up in the harsh environment he does. Laia is a lot more desperate to achieve what she needs which is why she makes ignorant decisions. However, Elias seemed so clueless about some things to me so their personalities even out where no one is perfect.
Both are dancing the line between safety and falling right over the edge because each has a scheme and if the big wigs were to find out what they're doing, it would mean danger to both of them.

Personally, I was able to connect to Elias more than Laia. Somehow, I just got a lot more from Elias because the weight of his problems was reminded in every chapter while Laia biggest problem was not as immediate as the ones she chose to focus on [like, oh I don't know, staying alive.]

What surprised me was how the two almost had two different stories. I don't know what I was expecting but it was definitely more than what I actually got. Since they're two different people from two different classes, they didn't know each other. Because of this, the interaction they had in the novel was pretty small compared to a lot of books I read. It was only towards the end where they had most of the exchange.

The romance was... weird. It wasn't a big part of the book, thank God, but Laia was supposed to be in love with two people. Or at least, lusting after two. What was the point of that, considering how high the stakes are throughout the entire novel? Not every book needs romance, alright? I was confused at that because of the grand scheme of things but since it wasn't a big theme, it didn't hinder my reading experience.

This book completely captured my heart and I'm so thankful I got the chance to read it. No seriously, when I finished it at my lunch table, I started yelling at the book [and yes, people from other lunch tables looked up to give me questioning gazes. They don't get it.] I almost want to say don't buy it YET because you're going to want to have the second one on your hands right away.

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Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.