I reread An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir and adored it

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Published by HarperCollins Publishers ISBN: 9780008149635
on April 29th 2015
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Read it as: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?

For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.

For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands of Scholars, all in the name of power.

When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.

(EDITED: This article is an updated version from the 2015 review)

I recently decided to finally read the sequel to this book ‘A Torch Against the Night’, after years of it staring at me from its place on my shelves. At first, I didn’t read it because I got distracted by other books, but then I was just intimidated by the story.

These are not short books, and after so long, I knew I needed to reread An Ember in the Ashes. This reread too, was a long time coming. Of course, I feared that it would be boring the second time around, like it can happen when you revisit a book you read when your reading tastes were different.

But I finally came back to this world, and in short: I’d been missing out.

I’m here for those High Stakes™

First, even though I forgot many aspects of the plot, the tension and action in this book have always stuck with me. So I knew that part wouldn’t disappoint.

There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that’s a burden, and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It’s damaged, bbut it’s still there.

All the confrontations, the veiled threats… The consequences of hard decisions… I live for this, and I loved every second.

From beginning to end, the story keeps you on edge. From the start, you know what happens if the characters fail. Both Laia and Elias face mortal stakes at every turn, theirs, Laia’s brother’s, anyone who they care about…

There are twists and enemies at every turn, but the story feels far from convoluted. Everything makes perfect sense. Even the romance?

Guess I’m alright with romance taking a step back

Romance might be too strong a word. Let’s go with feelings. Feelings of friendship, of more than friendship, and of outright lust.

Elias and Helene are Masks, they should be ruthless, and basically cunning, killing machines. Which they sort of are, but they also have a soul, and a very strong friendship. Their relationship becomes complicated when Elias starts making it more obvious how much he actually hates what they are.

Laia and Elias shouldn’t be anything at all, but they have a connection, and there is attraction, so there’s that.

Keenan and Laia are… well, there’s something there too, I believe stronger on Keenan’s side.

So, this could be a love square, but I’m not completely sure yet, because most of this is barely beginning to take shape, so it doesn’t take over anything else that’s going on.

And I like that.

This was surprising because I usually like my books with romance front and center. I remember reading this book five years ago and wishing there was more romance, sweet moments between my ships and all.

Now I realize it’s perfect as it is. I still like romance to be a major part of the stories I read, but I see why it needs to be like this with An Ember in the Ashes. This was an amazing read, and I’m okay with how the relationships have been handled.

So, for now, the romantic in me just has to wait and see what will come out of everything that has been set up.

 

Have you read An Ember in the Ashes? Are you like me and prefer more romance in the stories you read?

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