Review: An Ember in the Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir

Hello Readers,
I’ve been meaning to write a review for An Ember in the Ashes ever since I reread it last year, but I couldn’t gather enough thoughts to write a full review. Now I’m almost finished with the series and still don’t have that review.

I tend to do this a with a lot of books, especially the ones I love. I get so immersed in the story I don’t spend enough time asking myself why I found it so appealing.

Instead of beating myself up, I’ve decided to write a condensed review for An Ember in the Ashes series books 1-3. I think once I finish the last book I’ll add it to this review, but I’d like to share my thoughts on the series so far.

Series Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Books: An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night, A Reaper at the Gates
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Genres: YA fantasy, high fantasy
Links: IndieBound, StoryGraph, Amazon, Goodreads
Content Warnings: Attempted rape (on-page), rape (mentioned and threatened), sexual assault, abuse (physical and emotional), child abuse, child death, death, guilt, slavery, torture, violence, genocide

• 

• 

• 

Blurb (From Book 1)

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia 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. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Review for An Ember in the Ashes Books 1-3

I first started this series in high school, and my teenage self ate up all the angst in An Ember in the Ashes. I continued with the next two books, but the time between releases was enough for me to lose interest. Last year, I decided to reread the series after Noura announced her read-along for An Ember in the Ashes. I’m so happy I decided to go back to this series! I’ve immensely enjoyed getting reacquainted with Sabaa Tahir’s dark fantasy world.

Writing Style

An Ember in the Ashes series is a multi-POV, character-driven story. The narrative focused a lot on each character’s inner conflict, which I think is pretty typical of YA and worked well for this series. I especially like this type of writing for fight scenes/battles because I usually get bored trying to keep track of how someone’s swinging their sword and where that one guy’s arm is. What I really want is to be emotionally invested in the fight’s outcome.

Overall, Tahir’s writing is informative and engaging. She has an almost supernatural way of creating tension so I was on the edge of my seat right from the start.

Although she explores a lot of dark themes in the series, Tahir manages to thread hope into the narrative at every turn. The darkness in the world seemed to fade into the background in comparison to the good each character held onto. Even the occasional time when a character lost all hope, I found myself continuing to root for them.

Characters

By far the characters are the most compelling element in the series. Tahir has a way of drawing you into their inner worlds and making you want the best for them, no matter what atrocities they commit. Most of the narrative focuses on three main POVs: Laia, Elias, and Helene.

As a Scholar living in the Martial Empire, even a small mistake could lead to death or enslavement for Laia. She starts out as a terrified young girl at the mercy of a brutal world. I haven’t come across many fantasy protagonists that were fearful and hesitant, so getting to know Laia was a unique pleasure. I loved getting to see Laia earn her courage with every decision she made. She wasn’t a brave warrior or leader, but her determination gave her strength.

Elias was also an interesting character to follow. It’s obvious from the start that he has a good heart. He hates the atrocities committed by himself and other tools of the Empire, but he’s a victim of his circumstances. His options are to comply or be killed. Poor guy. Yet, his determination to do what’s right, no matter what it cost him, made him easy to love.

Helene has one of the most interesting character arcs I’ve ever read. She’s loyal to the Empire and doesn’t have the same aversion towards evil as Elias, but it’s impossible to call her evil. Tahir did a fantastic job at showing how even a “good” character can choose to do terrible things. How’s it’s not as simple as “good vs. evil”.

World Building

An Ember in the Ashes is based on Ancient Rome, and while it’s one of the most interesting fantasy worlds I’ve ever encountered, I’ll admit that I don’t know enough about Ancient Rome to say how close the resemblance is. The Martial Empire dominates this fantasy world, and their superior weapons give them an advantage over other nations. The Scholar people have been subject to the Empire’s rule for generations. Although they’ve made attempts at resistance, the Scholars are no match for the Empire’s strength. The tension between the Martial Empire and other nations sets up most of the conflict in this series.

Tahir had an enchanting way of weaving magic and mythical creatures in with the tangible, “real-world” elements. I found it fascinating how each culture thought of and interacted with the fantasy elements, whether they knew it or not. Ghuls were especially irritating creatures that plagued Laia and other unwitting characters while they dealt with grief.

One of my favorite parts of the worldbuilding was the lore surrounding the Jinn and Augurs. I loved how much mystery surrounded them and their history. I spent most of the series trying to figure out if the Augurs actually were evil, or if they were just jerks that still had good intentions.

Rating and Recommendation

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved reading this series in high school, and it’s been such a pleasure rereading it over the past year. An Ember in the Ashes is perfect for anyone looking for a tense fantasy about people doing their best to survive in a brutal empire.

Have you read this series? What are your thoughts?

Happy Reading,

• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Instagram
• Link