July Read: An Ember In The Ashes

[Maya]

I'm so pumped to read this one!

Make sure to follow all the rules. Hope you enjoy our July read!

[Kim]

Just finished this one. The world is sooo dark and brutal. Can't wait to start the discussion!

[Anna]

I put a hold on it! Hopefully it'll be in soon...

[Ruthie]

I put a hold on it too, hoping it comes in fairly quickly. Really wanted to buy it but, um, buying myself a tablet so I told myself I have to skip a book order since I'm largely going to use it to read on lol

[magpie 🦇]

Mine came in! Actually going to read the book on time this month!

[Kaylee]

This book was so good! I loved the world and I can't wait for the next book.

[Maya]

So I finished this last night...and wow. I'm still a little emotional from the entire thing. First of all, the world building was spectacular, the characters were spectacular JUST EVERYTHING WAS SPECTACULAR. I loved the brutality of the world, and someone told me the other day that this was meant to be a stand alone? I was shocked. Considering it was supposed to be a stand alone, the ending was dreadful, but now since we know we've got a second book I'm obviously extremely excited.

If you couldn't tell already I gave this book 5 stars. Definitely pick it up if you still have time!

[ella_peach]

Okay I just finished this a few moments ago and I'm astonished. This book is so, so good. No, it's more than that. It's amazing. The worldbuilding, the characters, the plot... Everything about it was great. I haven't liked a book so much (because there hasn't been one quite so good) since reading Throne of Glass.
(view spoiler)[First off, the worldbuilding was fantastic. The Empire is so horrifying; the way Tahir describes it makes me shudder even though I know it's not real. But it does seem real; everything about this book does. While reading it, I felt as if I was really there, standing among the characters.
Onto the characters. They were all superb, all varying in flaws and backstories and emotions and...they seemed so vibrant, so full of life to me. Laia is very different from any heroine I've read about (aside from Kestrel from The Winner's Curse). She's weak: and that's what makes her so great. So many heroines today are the typical "strong" female character; they can beat up people and shoot stuff and walk away as if it was nothing. But Laia is human, and therefore she is weak. I suppose it's cliche to say that that's what makes her to strong, but it's the truth. She is also patient, and above all, she cares about her family. Elias was an instant favorite; of course he was. He's the typical hero-type: strong and caring and gorgeous and smart. I loved how ruthless he was, and yet he never forgot who he was deep down. Helene was such a badass (She and Aelin would be fast friends). The Commandant was a badass too, regardless of how terrifying she was. All of Elias and Helene's friends were fun to read about; I like how they were all given such depth and backstories even though they weren't that important to the story (except they were. excuse me while I go cry).
The plot was awesome. The Trials were truly terrifying. Especially the Third Trial...(excuse me again while I go cry) All of the supernatural creatures were such a breath of fresh air than the typical dragons and ghosts and monsters of the unknown that inhabit most fantasy books. I can't wait for the second book, I am looking forward to learning more about the creatures, especially the Nightbringer.
I only have two cons for this book, which is really awesome. The first con is this: Why, oh why, can't there be at least ONE book where the main character's best friend doesn't fall in love with them? I kind of wished that Helene would turn out to be a lesbian, becasue I thought maybe being around guys 24/7 would make her disgusted about them? I don't know. Perhaps that's frowned upon in the Empire or something? I thought it was acceptable in Rome. *shrugs* whatever. (plus it would be great to have such an awesome queer character. oh well)
The second con was that it didn't have any LGBT+ representation. As I said above, I thought Helene would be a lesbian, but alas. (besides a handful, most of the characters' sexualities weren't stated, so I have hope for the next book) (hide spoiler)]
All in all, this was an amazing book. I'm glad we read it this month. I gave it 5 stars (i'd give it ten if I could). It is so worth it to read, and I totally recommend it!

[magpie 🦇]

I LOVED it. Oh my lord. I could taste the air, feel the stings of the beatings. It was so gripping and fantastic. Definitely giving the second book a read!

[Anna]

Finished this yesterday. Still kind of reeling from it... I thought it was really good, but still missing that something special that would make it a favorite. :/ I liked reading Elias significantly more than Laia. I understand why people are clamoring for a sequel, but I also fear that, if the author didn't plan for this to be a series, making it into a series won't be very good, similar to what happened to Delirium.

[Ashley Marie]

Coming back to leave my thoughts now because I finally read this :) I was actually rather disappointed -- Elias and Helene felt like the strongest characters and I didn't like Laia at all. Not sure if I'll read the sequel/s or not. I gave it 2.5-3 stars.