An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since the third book is coming out in June, there was a lot of hype around this series. So, I thought I would check it out. I really enjoyed this first book and look forward to the rest of the series. It’s a YA fantasy series written by Sabaa Tahir that has a lot of Roman Empire influences.
It’s told from two different perspectives. Laia is a Scholar, a group who have been conquered and mostly enslaved by the Martials. Laia has tried to keep a low profile, but when her brother is taken to prison, she finds herself involved with a Rebel group and became a spy in hopes to rescue her brother. Elias is a Martial, the oppressive ruling group. He is a student at a harsh, dangerous school for elite soldiers and plans to escape. But events change his plans and fate brings these two perspectives together.
The plot was fast-paced. And it’s pretty dark. I like the theme of faith, not just believing in yourself, but believing in a bigger part of a story you can’t see. Faith is something personally important to me. It’s how to function through dark or tough times.

There is some light profanity. They used “hells” and “bleeding” as curse words. Also, as far as sexual content, there are a couple of kissing scenes which imply more graphic sexual desire. Also, there are some threats of rape or sexual assault. And there are a lot of instances of violent content. There are fights to the death throughout the story, some to answer the question what would you sacrifice for the greater good?

It’s a well-written book that I really enjoyed. It’s not very in depth, but I felt like it hit the theme points pretty well. I’m hoping I will enjoy the rest of the series just as much! It’s a recommend from me!