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A review by abookgoblin
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
5.0
If you're looking for a bad ass female lead character, a muscular ''to-swoon-over'' male lead character and a whole new world to explore? Then you're in luck!
What made the cut for me was definitely the lead female character Laia. She is definitely one of the most gruesomely treated characters I've ever read! She kept on being headstrong throughout the book but still allowing herself to crash a few times, which made it so much more believable! Yes, Laia will probably from now on be one of my favorite female characters!
As for Elias, I mean, how can you not love him? I'm not someone who falls for very ''masculine'' guys, but Elias is definitely an exception. He's sweet and compassionate and the twist this story brings that way is one I liked a lot!
The writing style of Sabaa is also amazing. I think I read through the book in like a week, which is pretty fast for me, and it had moments where I couldn't put it away! The world building is amazing, yet doesn't fill the whole picture for me yet. I feel like the story only took place in one city, Serra, while there's a map in the book that covers FAR more than just Serra. Maybe the world will be explored more in the second (and 3rd/4th) book, who knows.
Overall thoughts:
This is the kind of fantasy novels I live for! The books are heavy, but spectacular and sometimes, I just need books like this in my life! I can't wait to read the next book and see how Elias and Laia will fight out of the ending ;)
5/5 stars from me, but more like 4.5/5. The book isn't perfect, though it will definitely be added to my favorites list and top reads of 2016!!
Side note, the cover is so flippin' soft ;_; What paper did they use, WHAT SORCERY IS THIS??
What made the cut for me was definitely the lead female character Laia. She is definitely one of the most gruesomely treated characters I've ever read! She kept on being headstrong throughout the book but still allowing herself to crash a few times, which made it so much more believable! Yes, Laia will probably from now on be one of my favorite female characters!
As for Elias, I mean, how can you not love him? I'm not someone who falls for very ''masculine'' guys, but Elias is definitely an exception. He's sweet and compassionate and the twist this story brings that way is one I liked a lot!
The writing style of Sabaa is also amazing. I think I read through the book in like a week, which is pretty fast for me, and it had moments where I couldn't put it away! The world building is amazing, yet doesn't fill the whole picture for me yet. I feel like the story only took place in one city, Serra, while there's a map in the book that covers FAR more than just Serra. Maybe the world will be explored more in the second (and 3rd/4th) book, who knows.
Overall thoughts:
This is the kind of fantasy novels I live for! The books are heavy, but spectacular and sometimes, I just need books like this in my life! I can't wait to read the next book and see how Elias and Laia will fight out of the ending ;)
5/5 stars from me, but more like 4.5/5. The book isn't perfect, though it will definitely be added to my favorites list and top reads of 2016!!
Side note, the cover is so flippin' soft ;_; What paper did they use, WHAT SORCERY IS THIS??