Reviews with content warning for Child death - An Ember in the Ashes

"You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage, and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it."

It took a minute to get into the story, but the plot twist about 30 pages in, won me over completely. I knew something fishy was going on with both the resistance and the evilness of the commandant. I adore Laia. She has a quiet strength that is easy to overlook and underestimate. She learned so much truth and saw through the mask that Elias wore. I love Elias' character as well. They both grew separately throughout the book. The battle within Elias, his mother, his friendship, and his own feelings. It's so complicated. The love triangles in this story, which would usually bother, honestly added so much depth and humanization to the characters. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's dark and ugly and bleak. The evilness of Marcus and Keris is terrifying. One of the worst villians I have experienced in all my reading. She's evil for evils sake. There is nothing redeeming. No understanding. I'm worried for Laia and Elias. But also for Helene and what she will become under Marcus.

Content Warnings

takarakei's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

If you like books where no one is who they say they are and you don't know who you can trust... this is it! It's very dark, honestly I am surprised this is labeled as YA. Besides it following young adults and them all being horny teenagers, the subject matter that this deals with is very adult (see TW). I really enjoyed the dual POVs, world building, and the mysterious qualities. It is very attention grabbing and interesting right from the get-go, and it was a very unique concept. I can feel a much more intriguing plot line to come in the rest of the series...

You have a soul. It's damaged, but it's there. Don't let them take it from you...

Content Warnings

atla98's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.75

Content Warnings

scorttarius's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I went in expecting this book to be a lot all the other fantasy books but it was more dystopian than anything and I loved it. It even got me to look past a double love triangle if you think about it and I HATE that trope 😅. It reminded me a lot of Hunger Games and even though I haven’t fully finished Game of Thrones I can see why people would relate it as such. The chapters were short and so it was easy to get through. I finished in 5 hours. I cannot read to read the next book in the series

Content Warnings

blubonby's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

this was so good I absolutely demolished it. I was completely gripped from the first few pages and I never wanted to put it down. I loved that it was duel pov. I was constantly wondering about what was going to happen to both the characters and I genuinely never felt like it was super predictable. There were a few parts that really got to me and I ended up ugly crying. I’m so interested in this story and where it’s going to go next. I wish I could’ve picked this up sooner.

Content Warnings