"An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir is Fantastic YA Fantasy

Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir lives up to all the hype and I agree with the reviewers who loved this book.  The characters are well developed and very interesting.  The story is told from alternating points of view of Laia, a slave girl who is a spy trying to find and free her brother who was arrested by the Empire because of his weapon drawings in his sketchbook, and Elias (a mask), a soldier of the Empire who really wants out because he does not want to kill innocent people.  He has been trained at Blackcliffe to kill since he was 6 yrs. old along with his best friend, Helene--the only girl mask in their class.

I loved this book and am glad I finally got around to reading it.  Can't wait to see what happens in the second book of this series!  The world building in this one is pretty simplistic (which I liked) and the action and dialogue if fun to read.  There is a lot of personal dilemmas that different characters face as well as the overall plot of Laia trying to rescue her brother before he gets killed.  Helene, Izzi and Cook are also fantastic supporting characters!  The woman commandant of the school is unbelievably cruel, even to her own son but it makes for a great story! 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


(Gerard's review 5/27/15, 5++ stars):
 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is told by two people.  Laia and her brother are captured by the empire forces.  Laia becomes a slave girl all the while trying to find a way to get her brother out of prison--even to the point of being a spy.

Elias is the best soldier in the empire forces and stands a very good chance to become the head of the empire.  The problem is he does not want this at all.  Elias wants to escape this life and become free.

Does Laia free her brother?  Does Elias get his freedom?  Read this to find out!

This is a fantastic read especially for an author's first book!  I was glued to this book right from the beginning.  If you like YA fantasy, this is a must read!  It kept me turning pages for sure.   I hope there is a book two!  Click here to view my video review of An Ember in the Ashes.


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