Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Title: An Ember in the Ashes

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Series: An Ember in the Ashes #1

Genre: Fantasy/Magic/Military

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: April 28th, 2015

Edition: Hardcover, 446 pages

Source: Giveaway

Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Book Depository | Bookshop | Powell's

Synopsis:

Laia is a slave. 

Elias is a soldier. 

Neither is free.

   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 in this 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.

   I first read this book way back in 2015, and I loved it but never got around to finishing the series. I bought the sequel, and then there was the cover change and I kept waiting for the new hardcovers to be released and I guess I missed it or it never happened (Hardcovers for the first two books). I needed to replace my copy of the first book anyway because of a printing error that left a blotch of ink in the middle of a paragraph about 2/3 of the way into the book. That's not important right now, I started my re-read in February, then got distracted by like... 20 other books. I guess it was subconsciously a lower priority to finish because I'd already read it. Even though my goal for rereading it was to continue the series. The upside to my first read being nearly 6 years ago is that I forgot enough of what happened in this book that it was almost like reading it for the first time, though remembered enough that this review, hopefully, won't sound meandering. All that aside... on to my review.

   Laia is way more of a badass than I remember her being. She beats herself up the whole book for running when her brother was taken, but she took initiative to hunt the rebels down and demand them help her save him. Then she takes on a dangerous mission that she fully expects to die doing, all in the slim hope of them saving her brother. She stares in the face of her abusers and lies to protect others. The love interest(s) in this book, I definitely like Elias more than Keenan. I just don't think there was much chemistry between Laia and Keenan. I also, don't know why she thinks herself in love with him at all. It's not as though she's had a very meaningful conversation with him. He's her handler with the resistance, it might just be that he was the first safe around since her family was taken from her. All that aside she has some strong character growth in this book, and I am very excited to see how much more she grows as the series goes on.

  Speaking of Elias, I really like his character. Reluctant soldier, his genuine care for others. Especially those who the Martials have harmed, make him a sympathetic character, and you root for him. His struggle with finding his childhood friend and fighting partner, Helene, attractive suddenly... I wasn't sure if that was needed when he also found Laia attractive. With both girls, there are reasons he doesn't want to be attracted to either of them. Laia is a slave and he doesn't think it's right to pursue someone in her position. And Helene, as mentioned, is his childhood friend and fighting partner, but she also doesn't care that the Scholars suffer, that they are slaves. Her view of the world is the opposite of his. The dual romances for the main characters, I don't know if it made the budding romance/attraction between Elias and Laia unnecessarily complicated. I did get a chuckle at Elias's thoughts when he sees her with Keenan and gets jealous. 

   The antagonists of this book were pretty solid. There is one who is almost cartoonishly villainous. One of the students seems to take great pleasure in harming others for no reason. Fellow classmates, slaves, whomever. He just likes violence. But the other ones, they were a nice balance for showing the treachery on both sides, how some people are willing to do vile things because they think they are altruistic. And the commandant, her vileness comes from a place of hate for being a woman in her male-dominated world. 

   I've already started the sequel. I can't wait to read where this story goes. I have been able to keep myself away from spoilers all this time, and I look forward to discovering things that I have questions for.