Horror for Newbies
Tricia Salonga asked this question about An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1):
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SHIPS HELENE AND ELIAS ?
Miranda I just reread An Ember in the Ashes and honestly my viewpoint has kind of changed. I still like Helene as a character but I as much as I think so I do…moreI just reread An Ember in the Ashes and honestly my viewpoint has kind of changed. I still like Helene as a character but I as much as I think so I don't think she and Elias will become a thing for multiple reasons. First, I think Elias has made it clear or is totally incompetent at handling Helene's feelings. While he does have some sort of reaction towards it it doesn't hold a candle to that enthralling lust/attraction he feels for Laia throughout the whole book. He's also hesitant on acting on his feelings towards Helene, which in comparison to his actions towards Laia who is a scholar girl that is his mother's slave kind of shows his attitude towards Helene. Secondly, and this isn't a very strong reason, the person falls in love with best friend trope is overrated for a reason. It's clear that Helene and Elias have a strong bond, they've seen each other at their weakest at unflattering, and I love that compared to Laia and Elias's somewhat insta love. However, that's also a kind of kink in their relationship and I think Elias knows that too. Third, I think Elias has hurt Helene too much. While Helene has also kept things from Elias, Elias has also betrayed Helene's trust and chosen to put another girl he's just met over this girl who's been his best friend for almost his entire life. Even as normal friends, that would be enough for me to be throughly pissed off. He promises that he'll keep Helene's powers a secret, yet the next minute he threatens to tell his mother about it if Helene goes off. You can feel the shock and hurt Helene might feel and I feel like that was a horrible move, even if it was for a good cause. Last, I think the two are just too different for this ship to ever sail. While I'm not denying that character change isn't possible, Helene and Elias totally disagree on fate and on treatment of Scholar's. They're both firm people and this is a strong matter and we've seen from their arguments that they won't come to peace over this issue.
I really love the concept of Helene and Elias and I love their " I have your back", "I understand you" but in terms of the actual people I really can't put them together, at least not yet. That being said, I don't ship Laia and Elias much either. It feels too much lust/instalove. I see comments that their relationship gets expanded on and I hope that happens. (less)
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An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir (Goodreads Author)
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