---
product_id: 23700161
title: "An Ember in the Ashes"
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---

# An Ember in the Ashes

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desertcart.com: An Ember in the Ashes: 9781595148049: Tahir, Sabaa: Books

Review: A intense read that you can't put down! - Have you ever had a book you couldn't stop thinking about? You run over the plot and characters in your mind while at work? You stalk the author for any information regarding book 2? Well...this was me for An Ember in the Ashes. This book blew me away. An epic story full of courage and wonderful diverse characters. A unique fantasy world that was cruel and wonderful at the same time. I just couldn't put this book down. Today's book is An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I honestly can say only one other book had me glued to the pages and kept by my side until finished. That was Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen. Now I found another book to hold me captive. An Ember in the Ashes was masterfully written. The pace flowed steadily to the point I just read and read. The world the book centers around is brutal, ruled by the Martial Empire who enslave scholars, taking from them libraries, books and their freedom. Scholars live in poverty serving the Martials as slaves. They aren't allowed to read or write for the punishment is death. To maintain such order, the Empire has special warriors with deadly weapons to keep the Scholars in their place. If a Martials' child is accepted into the Blackcliff academy, they train to become these deadly warriors known as The Masks. They must wear silver masks 24/7, so they can form over their faces like second skin, given the name. However, there is a resistance that has been rising for years against the Empire. Striking out when they least expect it. The book moves from two different point of views. Laia is a young Scholar who knows how to read. One night a Mask comes to take her brother Darin away, for illegally drawing images of weapons, burns their house down and kills her grandparents. She can only do one thing, join the resistance and go undercover in Blackcliff to spy so her brother can be freed. It's in the resistance she meets the handsome fighter Keenan who helps her during her time at Blackcliff. She endures much cruelty, especially by the Commandment, the leader of Blackcliff. A woman with much power and cruel determination to search out traitors from the resistance. Elias is a highborn student at Blackcliff, training to be a Mask. But he wants no part of it and plans to desert only to be pulled back in by the Trials. Whoever wins these tests become Emperor. Those that lose die. He must compete against his best friend Helene under the watchful eye of his mother, the Commandment. Elias starts to have conflicting feelings for his friend Helene and the slave girl Laia. His story was my favorite part of the book. I loved his turmoiled emotions and how he sets out to do the right thing. Love triangle haters beware, this book has a double whammy of a love triangle. I really don't like love triangles. Elias has feeling for both Helene and Laia. Laia has feeling for Keenan and Elias. But Elias and Laia's emotions are more connected with the moment rather than true feelings. He likes Laia's looks and it seems to be based on that throughout the book rather than her wit. So who knows where it will lead. I love the connection between Elias and Helene and look forward to see what happens in the next book. They seemed the most perfect for each other. So the love triangle wasn't really that bad because the story is what the book is all about. Sabaa did a wonderful job weaving a realistic story in this fantasy world. It's violent with bloody scenes that make the story much more intense. I gasped. I cringed. I yelled. I was a ball of nerves. The description of the world brought to life every detail of the characters and setting. The action was non-stop and with each turn of the page some sweat gathered on my forehead with concern for Elias...oh and Laia! Sabaa did a wonderful job at this debut novel. I can't wait to see what she has next because I eagerly wait for the sequel..which we will get! Wahoo! Should you read it? YES! What are you waiting for? This masterpiece of a story is something you can't miss. You won't put it down. Trust me. It's a wonderful add to your library collection.
Review: Incredible world building, historically inspired, clean YA fantasy - This is one of those stories that I let the hype surrounding it get to me too much. I really try hard to not let the reviews of others (which I don't read before I've read a book) influence me too greatly. This was one book though that was hard to avoid comments about it. Everyone, everywhere, seemed to love it. So I had it built up really high in my head. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed this story a lot. But unfortunately it didn't quite live up to the massive amount of (positive 5 star) hype that I had seen. The world building is incredible! This is one of those stories that has many plots going on at once; many characters with individual backgrounds; many groups of people all fighting for survival of a different purpose or cause. Within the story itself there are myths and rumors and stories of old that the groups of people pass around. It was incredible really to think that Sabaa has all of this mapped out in her head in a way that's both entertaining for the reader and interesting without being overwhelming. Before you read the story, check out the maps in the front (for me they were in the beginning of the Kindle version book). Study it enough to familiarize yourself with the world these characters live in. It was very handy for me with trying to picture and imagine what was being described throughout the story. I can't begin to explain the depth of what comes along with these characters and what they are going through. The one piece that was lacking more for my personal taste, was a deeper romance added in the story line. There are romantic interests but its nowhere near the focus of the story. But even within those romantic interests, I would've like to have seen more development with them. Both main characters have a connection with someone else and they also find themselves having a connection with each other too....but neither romances were really satisfying to me as they weren't explored more. With one character you had the connection with the lifelong best friend but the feelings don't seem to be fully reciprocated. Then you've got the other character who has an insta-connection (attraction?) with someone they really know nothing about. Both of those scenarios left me with a "meh" feeling...until the two main characters meet each other and my hopes soared for the possibilities only to be let down. Again, this is MY personal preference for what I like to see in books - I don't have to have romance be the sole purpose of the book but I definitely like my love stories to take at a minimum semi-center stage. For those who may not know much about the story, Laia is a scholar (lower-status free born person) whose family is murdered and her only brother arrested. To help rescue him she seeks out the help of the Resistance and agrees to pose as a slave for them in the Empire's military academy, where no spy has ever lived to tell about the secrets within its walls, in exchange for their help. It's heavily fortified and the 3,000 military students within it are taught to not show any mercy, especially to slaves and those beneath them. While there Laia meets Elias, one of the top students, ruthless in battle but is battling an inner war of something much greater. If you love Young Adult Fantasy stories, and stories historically inspired, stories with battles and inner-self struggles, this is one you don't want to miss out on! Favorite Quotes: "The Foretelling is truth. A truth you will soon face. You seek to run. You seek to abandon your duty. But you cannot escape your destiny." "But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose." "Fear can be good, Laia. It can keep you alive. But don't let it control you. Don't let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. You heart." Language Rating: 1 (light) Mature Content Rating: 0 (none) Final Rating: a very strong 4 stars

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #28,721 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #45 in Teen & Young Adult Dystopian #54 in Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy #72 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Romance |
| Book 1 of 4  | An Ember in the Ashes |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (20,452) |
| Dimensions  | 6 x 1.25 x 8.94 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| Grade level  | 7 - 9 |
| ISBN-10  | 1595148043 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1595148049 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 480 pages |
| Publication date  | February 9, 2016 |
| Publisher  | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers |
| Reading age  | 12 - 17 years |

## Images

![An Ember in the Ashes - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/8180W7UObeL.jpg)
![An Ember in the Ashes - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81POU7-na4L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A intense read that you can't put down!
*by T***Y on May 22, 2015*

Have you ever had a book you couldn't stop thinking about? You run over the plot and characters in your mind while at work? You stalk the author for any information regarding book 2? Well...this was me for An Ember in the Ashes. This book blew me away. An epic story full of courage and wonderful diverse characters. A unique fantasy world that was cruel and wonderful at the same time. I just couldn't put this book down. Today's book is An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. I honestly can say only one other book had me glued to the pages and kept by my side until finished. That was Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen. Now I found another book to hold me captive. An Ember in the Ashes was masterfully written. The pace flowed steadily to the point I just read and read. The world the book centers around is brutal, ruled by the Martial Empire who enslave scholars, taking from them libraries, books and their freedom. Scholars live in poverty serving the Martials as slaves. They aren't allowed to read or write for the punishment is death. To maintain such order, the Empire has special warriors with deadly weapons to keep the Scholars in their place. If a Martials' child is accepted into the Blackcliff academy, they train to become these deadly warriors known as The Masks. They must wear silver masks 24/7, so they can form over their faces like second skin, given the name. However, there is a resistance that has been rising for years against the Empire. Striking out when they least expect it. The book moves from two different point of views. Laia is a young Scholar who knows how to read. One night a Mask comes to take her brother Darin away, for illegally drawing images of weapons, burns their house down and kills her grandparents. She can only do one thing, join the resistance and go undercover in Blackcliff to spy so her brother can be freed. It's in the resistance she meets the handsome fighter Keenan who helps her during her time at Blackcliff. She endures much cruelty, especially by the Commandment, the leader of Blackcliff. A woman with much power and cruel determination to search out traitors from the resistance. Elias is a highborn student at Blackcliff, training to be a Mask. But he wants no part of it and plans to desert only to be pulled back in by the Trials. Whoever wins these tests become Emperor. Those that lose die. He must compete against his best friend Helene under the watchful eye of his mother, the Commandment. Elias starts to have conflicting feelings for his friend Helene and the slave girl Laia. His story was my favorite part of the book. I loved his turmoiled emotions and how he sets out to do the right thing. Love triangle haters beware, this book has a double whammy of a love triangle. I really don't like love triangles. Elias has feeling for both Helene and Laia. Laia has feeling for Keenan and Elias. But Elias and Laia's emotions are more connected with the moment rather than true feelings. He likes Laia's looks and it seems to be based on that throughout the book rather than her wit. So who knows where it will lead. I love the connection between Elias and Helene and look forward to see what happens in the next book. They seemed the most perfect for each other. So the love triangle wasn't really that bad because the story is what the book is all about. Sabaa did a wonderful job weaving a realistic story in this fantasy world. It's violent with bloody scenes that make the story much more intense. I gasped. I cringed. I yelled. I was a ball of nerves. The description of the world brought to life every detail of the characters and setting. The action was non-stop and with each turn of the page some sweat gathered on my forehead with concern for Elias...oh and Laia! Sabaa did a wonderful job at this debut novel. I can't wait to see what she has next because I eagerly wait for the sequel..which we will get! Wahoo! Should you read it? YES! What are you waiting for? This masterpiece of a story is something you can't miss. You won't put it down. Trust me. It's a wonderful add to your library collection.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Incredible world building, historically inspired, clean YA fantasy
*by H***9 on September 21, 2015*

This is one of those stories that I let the hype surrounding it get to me too much. I really try hard to not let the reviews of others (which I don't read before I've read a book) influence me too greatly. This was one book though that was hard to avoid comments about it. Everyone, everywhere, seemed to love it. So I had it built up really high in my head. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed this story a lot. But unfortunately it didn't quite live up to the massive amount of (positive 5 star) hype that I had seen. The world building is incredible! This is one of those stories that has many plots going on at once; many characters with individual backgrounds; many groups of people all fighting for survival of a different purpose or cause. Within the story itself there are myths and rumors and stories of old that the groups of people pass around. It was incredible really to think that Sabaa has all of this mapped out in her head in a way that's both entertaining for the reader and interesting without being overwhelming. Before you read the story, check out the maps in the front (for me they were in the beginning of the Kindle version book). Study it enough to familiarize yourself with the world these characters live in. It was very handy for me with trying to picture and imagine what was being described throughout the story. I can't begin to explain the depth of what comes along with these characters and what they are going through. The one piece that was lacking more for my personal taste, was a deeper romance added in the story line. There are romantic interests but its nowhere near the focus of the story. But even within those romantic interests, I would've like to have seen more development with them. Both main characters have a connection with someone else and they also find themselves having a connection with each other too....but neither romances were really satisfying to me as they weren't explored more. With one character you had the connection with the lifelong best friend but the feelings don't seem to be fully reciprocated. Then you've got the other character who has an insta-connection (attraction?) with someone they really know nothing about. Both of those scenarios left me with a "meh" feeling...until the two main characters meet each other and my hopes soared for the possibilities only to be let down. Again, this is MY personal preference for what I like to see in books - I don't have to have romance be the sole purpose of the book but I definitely like my love stories to take at a minimum semi-center stage. For those who may not know much about the story, Laia is a scholar (lower-status free born person) whose family is murdered and her only brother arrested. To help rescue him she seeks out the help of the Resistance and agrees to pose as a slave for them in the Empire's military academy, where no spy has ever lived to tell about the secrets within its walls, in exchange for their help. It's heavily fortified and the 3,000 military students within it are taught to not show any mercy, especially to slaves and those beneath them. While there Laia meets Elias, one of the top students, ruthless in battle but is battling an inner war of something much greater. If you love Young Adult Fantasy stories, and stories historically inspired, stories with battles and inner-self struggles, this is one you don't want to miss out on! Favorite Quotes: "The Foretelling is truth. A truth you will soon face. You seek to run. You seek to abandon your duty. But you cannot escape your destiny." "But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose." "Fear can be good, Laia. It can keep you alive. But don't let it control you. Don't let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. You heart." Language Rating: 1 (light) Mature Content Rating: 0 (none) Final Rating: a very strong 4 stars

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by T***R on August 7, 2025*

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is a perfect book if you enjoy a good fantasy with a touch of romance. Set in a whole new, richly imagined world, this book is tough to put down. This novel’s plot is filled with so many twists and turns, I found myself reading on well after I should have turned out the lights! ❀ INTRICATELY PLOTTED WORLD An Ember in the Ashes is set in such an intricately plotted world that readers will easily picture themselves in it. Tahir’s descriptions of each hallway and secret passage of the story’s main setting, the academy, are so meticulous that readers can envision these easily. This setting is so different from other fantasy novels, which really sets it apart and makes it a really interesting book. ❀ EXTRAORDINARY AND UNIQUE The plot in An Ember in the Ashes is so extraordinary and unique. As I was reading, I thought of this book as a bit of a cross between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling and Legend by Marie Lu. Similar to Harry Potter, An Ember in the Ashes, in Elias’s perspective, is about a game that takes place in an academy for those who had to earn their position. Like Legend, Laia is a spy who is sent to discover secrets about the game called the Trials. She spies on Elias and their paths cross. I really enjoyed how there are two different stories about two different people that connect to create a fantastic fantasy. An Ember in the Ashes has such an unpredictable plot that is nearly impossible to put down! ❀ OPTIONED FOR FILM Another thing that really impresses me about An Ember in the Ashes is the fact that this YA book series has already been optioned by Paramount Pictures. It really deserves the highest of accolades, even before publication! I am excited to see if the film will accurately portray the book and its characters. ❀ WILL KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year! I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who love the fantasy genre. It is perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. The setting and unpredictable plot will keep you on the edge of your seat!

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