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An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)

Sabaa Tahir

Start date: January 1, 2017

Finish date: January 31, 2017

Discussion: Currently Reading

Why we're reading this: It won the BOTM Poll.
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What Members Thought

Sep 15, 2017 Suzzie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was so enthralled with this book! So much action. At time this is a book of betrayals and the world's worst mother but they really add to the story! I loved it and am reading the sequel today! ...more

40 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2015 Fiona Knight rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: absolute-favourites, kfa

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

While I frequently find myself with grand ambitions to read more epic fantasy, I rarely have the follow through - it's hard to really commit to a brick of a novel when there's no extended periods to read. But I made excuses to keep reading this (I've never had so many bathroom breaks in a day), and finished it in just a couple of days.

The world was brilliantly built - I have an excellent sense of the setting and characters, but without any pesky infodumps to weigh down the sto ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2015 Melissa Richardson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Riveting novel By Sabaa Tahir. This was devastatingly violent and dark while being moving and sincere. Elias and Laia lived through horrific circumstances in a tumultuous setting. Each took a very different road that led them to each other. I really enjoyed the dark, gritty story. Tahir did not sugar coat the natural harshness of the characters and delivered them as flawed and believable. The whole book was mysterious and at times frustrating to the point of madness. Right to the explosive endin ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2018 Tanya (Novel Paperbacks) rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Okay. Just a disclaimer before I begin: I did not love this book so much. If you did that’s great but some of it was not for me and I just wanted to share my thoughts. (I add this disclaimer because I know a lot of people love this series).

Alright, let’s get started with plot.
The plot was one of the best bits of this book. It was engaging enough throughout most of the book (after Laia got to Blackcliff) that it made me want to find out what happened next. The writing was also fast paced so tha Okay. Just a disclaimer before I begin: I did not love this book so much. If you did that’s great but some of it was not for me and I just wanted to share my thoughts. (I add this disclaimer because I know a lot of people love this series).

Alright, let’s get started with plot.
The plot was one of the best bits of this book. It was engaging enough throughout most of the book (after Laia got to Blackcliff) that it made me want to find out what happened next. The writing was also fast paced so that helped the plot in some places and made for some exciting chapters. (In other places it just ruined everything. Pacing is important in writing to set and atmosphere, use it wisely. It doesn’t have to be all go all the time.) Although, most of what happened towards the end I predicted so I was a little disappointed when I finished.

Next: the writing. The writing was terrible. Particularly in the beginning. It was so basic and dull that I had to force myself to keep reading. Laia’s grandparents being killed and her brother being taken had no affect on me . I did not care. Because I did not know Laia or her family enough to care because it was right at the beginning. If you are going to do that, as an author, you have to make the reader care by writing it in enough horrifying detail that you get sucked in and feel every emotion and everything going on in that scene. But the writing was so fast paced and so lacking in anything resembling detail that it had no affect on me. This is supposed to be an Event, a point in the story that directs the plot and the characters. It is supposed to be a big thing and it felt like nothing as I was reading it.
In the end I only continued reading because everyone and their mother have been raving about this book and I had to find out why. Also, throughout the first half of the book there were practically no details about the world. I had no idea what the world looked like, what the people looked like, their mannerisms, customs...nothing. That is something that frustrates me to no end because it makes it impossible for me to imagine it and to become immersed in the world.

Characters. Oh boy. Whilst Helene was interesting, most of the others I did not care about. And Laia and Elias are just YA tropes that I have seen time and time again. Elias is the sensitive warrior who just wants to be free of his life and Laia is the vulnerable, beautiful girl whose only purpose is to be saved by Elias. I know nothing about Laia. The only characteristics given to us are that she is beautiful, she is scared, she wants to save her brother and has issues with her parents. I knew nothing about her as a person, so I didn’t care what happened to her. She felt very under-developed. I am glad that she began to show a little courage in the end, to become something more than just a pretty thing to be saved. I have hope that this progression will continue into the next book. Elias was a bit more interesting, his desire to do what is right and be free conflicting with his loyalty to his friends made for some interesting reading.

I know a lot of people love this series but so far I fail to see why. It feels as though I have read this before. It was okay but I felt let down. Maybe because it has been so overhyped. I am going to read the rest of the series, I hope it gets better. ...more

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