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An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

“An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir is a book that I have been waiting on jumping on the band wagon. It wasn’t one that I was refusing to read, it was more a book that I wanted to read but because it was posted everywhere I wanted to wait. The waiting is up now and I am finished. I really enjoyed “An Ember in the Ashes.” I thought the book was extremely good.
World Building

The world building was impressive. I thought Tahir did an excellent job with her world building. I wasn’t expecting to have such a thought out world to immerse myself into. This world is one of the most brutal worlds I have experienced though. There is so much hate and harm. Even people who like each other harm one another. It is definitely not a place I would want to live. I also think it truly gave the characters some obstacles to overcome.
Characters

I wasn’t completely sold on the characters in the beginning. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out whether or not I was going to like anyone. Then as the book progressed, I began to fall in love with the characters. Laia started out as a terrified girl and by the end of the book she was the bravest of the brave. I really admire Laia for that. I felt like I could take a few lessons from Laia on how to be tough. Laia was very naive girl. She was too frightened to do anything about her life. I think trying to save her brother gave her a goal to work towards so she would no longer be afraid but be determined. The way she took everything in and the emotions she felt was so refreshing. I really liked having a main character that felt life so deeply.

Elias. I thought Elias was never going to stick up for himself which was something that I was really worried about. I didn’t want to end up hating the main male lead in the book. I liked that he ended up progressing quite nicely. Elias had a huge inner conflict of freedom. He wanted to escape and get away from the world that he is in but then he is given a chance to either leave or move forward. I am glad that Elias moved forward because running away felt a bit like a cop-out. I am glad that he was able to develop a backbone because that is what I wanted to see from him the most.
Romance

I didn’t get the romance all the time. I understand that there is infatuation, but I don’t really feel like there was ever a real romance. Everyone seemed to have a crush on two people but that really was all it was a crush. I didn’t feel like there was a lot of romance to this story. I will wait and see if things develop further in book two or if it will become an instalove situation. I don’t feel like there is a huge romance foundation just yet.
Dislike

My biggest disappointment with “An Ember in the Ashes” is all the rape talk. I feel like the constant talk of rape was way too much. I was like, “Okay, I get it now.” Rape is a real thing but I don’t think we need to consistently throw it in people’s faces. I wish there was a little less of that. All this beating and hitting. Gosh. I know this is not a world I would want to live in at all.

 

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