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An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)

Sabaa Tahir

Start date: June 26, 2016

Finish date: July 31, 2016

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What Members Thought

Apr 14, 2016 Cassandra Rose rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reads

ORIGINALLY POSTED: https://bibliomantics.com/2016/08/01/...

Set in a brutal and violent world inspired by ancient Rome, debut author Sabaa Tahir weaves an enthralling story about two souls who long to be free: rebel spy turned slave Laia and reluctant trained killer Elias. Full of twists, turns, morally grey areas, fully fleshed out characters and some damn good world building, An Ember in the Ashes is the superb first book in a brand new trilogy. Book two now please? ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

May 08, 2017 fer bañuelos rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017, 2015-releases, own

Oh boy, estoy muy decepcionado.

No habia dejado de escuchar criticas extraordinarias de este libro desde que salió. Nunca escuche una reseña negativa lo cual hacia que mis expectativas estuvieran por los cielos. Y tengo que admitir que el hype me cegó bastante.

Pare empezar, estuve aburrido las primer 300 paginas. Me parecieron lentas de leer y no logre enganchar con la lectura hasta casi el final. Había escuchado que al final de cada capitulo había ''cliffhangers'' para que siguieras leyendo y es ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2016 Danielle ♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, series-to-finish, buddy-read, 2016, audible

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators BLEW me away. Laia's part was done by Fiona Hardingham and Elias' part was done by Steve West. They were FANTASTIC and they changed their voices to be the other characters, for example, Steve's Auger voice was amazing, and Fiona did the stutter-y, damaged voice of Cook very well. I think the experience played a bit part in my enjoyment.

I really enjoyed the story line, it captured you at the beginning and sucked you down i ...more

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Nov 05, 2014 Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: flights-of-fantasy-2015

FIRST THOUGHTS: It's actually more like a 4.5 stars read! I really enjoyed seeing this new world Tahir has created, and also liked getting to know Elias and Laia both. While I feel like it started off a teensy bit clumsily, and definitely would have loved to feel a stronger connection to the characters, it was definitely an engaging read. Need the next one! ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 Huda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

* 4.5 stars

Like this way more than I though I would.
Super-action packed and did not let up until the last page.
Some very interesting characters, particularly Elias's mother.
Excited to pick up the next book soon. ...more

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Jan 05, 2015 Jane (It'sJaneLindsey) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

Full review posted at ItsJaneLindsey.

An Ember in the Ashes far exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly rather high. The hype around this book was undeniable, but so well deserved. Set in an unforgiving world inspired by ancient Rome, this novel weaves together the stories of two characters from completely opposite backgrounds - both of whom are desperate for freedom that's long-been denied to them. Sabaa Tahir's debut novel is exemplary, and she created a narrative so compelling that I c Full review posted at ItsJaneLindsey.

An Ember in the Ashes far exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly rather high. The hype around this book was undeniable, but so well deserved. Set in an unforgiving world inspired by ancient Rome, this novel weaves together the stories of two characters from completely opposite backgrounds - both of whom are desperate for freedom that's long-been denied to them. Sabaa Tahir's debut novel is exemplary, and she created a narrative so compelling that I couldn't seem to turn the page fast enough. (I read this on my kindle, but you know...I couldn't press the "next page" button fast enough doesn't sound as good.) This novel is even split-POV, which we all know I don't like...and it worked for me in this book. After reading An Ember in the Ashes, I'm convinced that Sabaa Tahir is my newest auto-buy author, and I cannot wait to devour whatever she writes next. Which had better be a SEQUEL, DAMN IT PENGUIN.

Laia, our main female protagonist, was an amazing character. Unlike so many other YA female protags, Laia felt so realistic because she has real growth throughout the novel. In the beginning she isn't strong or blindly committed to the rebellion - she's scared, and considers herself a coward. It is only through her fierce commitment to finding her brother does she become more confident and willing to take action. Her personal development is inspiring to read, as it never feels rush or unrealistic. Elias provides a great juxtaposition to Laia - he's supposed to represent the Empire, to become a Mask and kill in the Emperor's name. But Elias wants nothing more than to escape and become free unto himself. Before he can carry out his plan to desert, Elias gets chosen to participate in the Trails, which will decide the future Emperor. I enjoyed Elias and appreciated his struggles, but there are moments when he errs on the side of dude-bro territory. "Dude, my best friend is in love with me? Now I'm gonna be completely worthless for a while so I can feel weird about it but it's totally her fault."

Side note, my favorite character may be Helene, the only female Mask and Elias' best friend. She was, simply put, amazing. I would read an entire book just about Helene. I know, unsurprisingly, my favorite parts of this book were the brilliantly crafted characters and excellent world building. I like what I like, and I loved An Ember in the Ashes.

The only issues I had with this book that prevented it from a five-star rating happen at the very end of the book. The ending felt rushed, so I had to reread pages at a time to figure out what exactly was happening, which was confusing. This is something I find myself saying more as I get older, but I could have done with less romance. There's a sort of love-square thing happening, but I didn't feel strongly about any of those pairings, and I think they were rather unnecessary and detracting. My biggest issue with this book is not remotely the author's fault, but nevertheless influenced by reading experience. An Ember in the Ashes is a standalone novel, so at this point there is no sequel - unless Penguin decides to green-light one. Which, seriously? We live in a world where trilogies are the norm, even when they're completely unnecessary. This is an instance where it's totally necessary. But while there isn't a proper cliffhanger at the end of An Ember in the Ashes, the ending didn't feel sufficient to me. I want another book, I need to know what happens to these characters. ...more

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Feb 21, 2015 Brittany rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Give. Me. The. Second. Book! I loved this book so much that I can't put it into words. The world was fantastic, the characters were amazing, there was always something going on. Highly recommend, this is definitely one of my favorite books. ...more

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Aug 27, 2018 Christine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-descriptive-books, genre-character-developing, young-adult, to-reread, library, genre-fantasy

Loved! I was actually very surprised where this book took me. I feel like a lot of YA books now a days are difficult because they don't actually 'surprise' the reader anymore. Meaning that there are a lot of recycled tropes and it has become pretty predictable.

The Ember in the Ashes actually pleasantly surprised me. I loved the growth of our main character Laia. Which I didn't realize till half way through the book that her name is pronounced 'Lie-ah'. It was interesting to see things from her ...more

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