AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir

Rating: 5 / 5

I have heard so many fantastic reviews of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir, so when I knew I wanted to focus on reading more fantasy in June for #Whateverthon #TeamEpicAndHigh, I finally ordered myself a copy!

AN EMBER IN THE ASHES follows two main characters, Laia and Elias, in alternating POVs. Laia’s parents were killed by the empire and she and her brother have been raised by her grandparents. When her brother is arrested for treason and her grandparents are brutally killed by the empire’s masked forces, she goes on the run to seek out help to rescue her brother. In exchange for help, she commits to becoming a slave to spy from within the Empire’s military acadamy.

Elias is one of the elite soldiers of the academy, but he is unhappy with this way of life and the way people are treated by the Empire. Elias has complicated relationships with those in power, but he sees an opportunity to rise in the ranks and potentially make a difference.

All of the recommendations for this book did not steer me wrong – I loved it. I was very quickly hooked into both Laia’s and Elias’ stories. I really enjoyed seeing the Empire through both of their perspectives. Each have complicated relationships and feelings toward their life, but both are committed to their ideals.

The pacing throughout the book was really well done and I didn’t feel it dragging at any point. I wound up getting the audiobook when I was close to the halfway mark and it uses two different narrators for the alternating POVs which I really enjoyed as well.

This did a good job of wrapping up the action while leaving relationships and story lines that I’m eager to read more about in the following novels. This is a series I will hope to continue with very soon! If you enjoy fantasy and haven’t had a chance to pick this one up, I would highly recommend it!

Reading Challenges:

#AroundTheYearIn52Books – a book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads