An Ember in the Ashes
BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy and 100 Best YA Books of All Time • People's Choice Award winner • Bustle's Best Young Adult Book
“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human — and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” — The Washington Post
A gorgeous, collectable look for this beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (Huffington Post). The deluxe paperback editions each feature tip-ins with exclusive character art!
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
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.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street Journal • Buzzfeed • LA Weekly • Bustle • Paste Magazine • Indigo • Suspense Magazine • The New York Public Library • Popsugar • Hypable
“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human — and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” — The Washington Post
A gorgeous, collectable look for this beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (Huffington Post). The deluxe paperback editions each feature tip-ins with exclusive character art!
Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
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.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street Journal • Buzzfeed • LA Weekly • Bustle • Paste Magazine • Indigo • Suspense Magazine • The New York Public Library • Popsugar • Hypable
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Community Reviews
Pacing
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES started off a little slow. The first 3-4 chapters dragged on, leaving me wondering when the real plot and action was going to kick in. However, the wait was worth it. After the intro the book picked up and sailed through the rest of the story. I found it hard to put it down, but sleep always takes presedence for me. :p
Dual Point of View
I loved how the dual-viewpoints of Elias and Laia offered a compare and contrast effect. The reader gets to see the city, Blackcliff, and even society from two differing perspectives. Thus, the reader was really able to explore the mechanics of the world and, as a sucker for good world-building, this story mesmerized me. I found myself wanting to jump into the book and go off exploring other parts of the land of the Martial Empire.
Good vs. Evil
This book really delved into themes of âgood vs evilâ. Often times we view people as âgoodâ or âbadâ, but we donât always know whatâs going on inside. We donât know whatâs driving them to act the way they do. Perhaps theyâve been scorned and now will do anything for retribution. Or perhaps theyâre just trying to stay alive and will do whatever it takes to do so, even if it means forfeiting their souls in the process. Whatever the case, people may not always be what they seem and you may find allies in the most unexpected places.
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES started off a little slow. The first 3-4 chapters dragged on, leaving me wondering when the real plot and action was going to kick in. However, the wait was worth it. After the intro the book picked up and sailed through the rest of the story. I found it hard to put it down, but sleep always takes presedence for me. :p
Dual Point of View
I loved how the dual-viewpoints of Elias and Laia offered a compare and contrast effect. The reader gets to see the city, Blackcliff, and even society from two differing perspectives. Thus, the reader was really able to explore the mechanics of the world and, as a sucker for good world-building, this story mesmerized me. I found myself wanting to jump into the book and go off exploring other parts of the land of the Martial Empire.
Good vs. Evil
This book really delved into themes of âgood vs evilâ. Often times we view people as âgoodâ or âbadâ, but we donât always know whatâs going on inside. We donât know whatâs driving them to act the way they do. Perhaps theyâve been scorned and now will do anything for retribution. Or perhaps theyâre just trying to stay alive and will do whatever it takes to do so, even if it means forfeiting their souls in the process. Whatever the case, people may not always be what they seem and you may find allies in the most unexpected places.
4.5, amazing start to this series, I know I'm going to love it. Not sure how some of the characters survived (and thrived) on such little sleep but good for them ig
What an adventure. Laia starts off incredibly scared and powerless when her home was raided, and her family was ripped away from her. Her parents have long since passed and her and her remaining sibling Darren live "free" with their healer grandfather and grandmother. In the raid her grandparents are murdered by a mask and Darren is taken into custody for what his sketchbook contains. These drawings are confusing to Laia at first worrying that he is working with the oppressive empire, then thinking he must be working for the resistance as Darren was turned in by captured/tortured resistance fighters in Kauf. Laia is determined to save Darren as he is all she has left. She hunts down the resistance and begs for their help to free him in exchange for her service, she will serve as a slave of the Commandant of Blackcliff, the school that trains the empires forces.. specifically the masks. The commandant is known to be soulless and tortures her slaves often disfiguring them. Along the way she meets her fellow slaves Cook and Izzy.
The ending is perfect and makes up for the crazy tension and fear the first two parts of the book sowed into me. I was so afraid for the characters, and the world choked me.
I only cared about Laia and the slave characters for the majority of the book, so even though the plot was interesting in the Elias chapters, I hated going through that world. I had to read this slowly, alongside more lighthearted works. I reread every Ms. Marvel comic I own and read fluffy YA contemporary novels while reading this series starter.
All of this is credit to the author though. If you’re reading AEITA for the first time and feel like me, get through it. Part 3 of the book and the plot leading up to it make the journey more than worth it.
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