Book Review: An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Title: An Ember In The Ashes 
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Series/Standalone: An Ember In The Ashes (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction
Pages: 446
Publisher: Razorbill
Year Published: 2015
First Line: "My brother reaches home in the dark hours before dawn, when even ghosts take their rest."

"Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Laia and her family do not challege the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, she 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. he and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are interwined- and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself."

My Rating: 4.5/5

So I've read this book in the course of a few days because I had a beautiful stomach flu. Yay for working with children. But anyways I thought that this book was an excellent fantasy read. It was action packed and filled with characters that are unique. I will say that there are a few things in this book that I found to be bothersome. One of them is just a pet peeve I have about many books which I'll explain further in the spoiler. This being said, it didn't get a full 5/5 just based on these feelings (I know the emotion). I found that the action and twists really kept me interested in the story of both our main characters. I also found that there were many characters that made me wonder more about the world and the its past. I also wonder about many characters past that we won't have the opportunity to see, unless it digs deeper in the next book (which I plan to pick up very soon). I can't wait to continue the story and see what happens with the characters we know, and am hopeful in exploring a change of setting.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny