An Ember in the Ashes - March 2016

[Savanes, Moderator]

An Ember in the Ashes

book summary
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.

[Savanes, Moderator]

I'm so excited about this additional read. I was so happy when it won, I did a little victory dance! :D

Anyways, I went a bit ahead and finished it 2 nights ago and I loooooooved it. I couldn't put the book down. There were a few things that bothered me (view spoiler)[2 love triangles, really!!! (hide spoiler)] but I decided to give it 5 stars nonetheless.

Looking forward to all your thoughts on this one.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Oh wow! Five stars! Excellent! I picked up the CDs from the library, but I'm not sure I'll have time this month. I'm definitely more interested now though.

[Kristie, Moderator]

As it turns out, I will have time to start this! I don't know if I'll finish before the end of the month, but I'll try. :)

Any one else planning to read this?

Edit: This book had 28 votes in the original poll and 81 votes in the tie breaker! I hope some members stop by to share their thoughts. I'll be curious to see what everyone thinks of it.

[Savanes, Moderator]

Yay Kristie!

[Vicki Willis]

I am planning on reading it. It is going to be the next book I start. Let me know when you start Kristie.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Just started today. I didn't get very far though. :)

[Janina]

I've already read it and I liked it. For some reason, I didn't love it and wasn't able to really connect with any of the characters. Not sure if it's due to the writing or me being a little overfilled with these kind of YA dystopia/fantasy novels or just my life being in the way of things. I found it entertaining .. just nothing to rave about.

[Vicki Willis]

I started too and am at about 10%.
I like it so far, a lot. It started out with exciting action and I like the alternating view points.
One question I have is about (view spoiler)[ the Masks and how the mask melds onto the face of the wearer? (hide spoiler)]
I haven't read many books in this genre (YA/dystopia) and I am finding that I love them. May be a new favorite genre for me.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Vicki - I only made it to about 5% yesterday. I'll read your spoiler and reply as soon as I get a bit further. :)

Janina - I completely understand. I just read Red Queen and thought it was ok, nothing I hadn't read before really. We seemed to have been swarmed with YA dystopian books all at once and it was a bit much.

I still have Red Rising to read. I feel like they are all a bit similar, but I typically enjoy the genre. I've been told this is the best of the three, so I am hopeful.

[Savanes, Moderator]

I preferred this one to the Red Queen. I don't know about Red rising. :)

@Vickie: (view spoiler)[From what I understood, the more the person wears the mask, the more it welds onto his/her face until he/she cannot take it off. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki Willis]

Am at 20% and totally hooked...

Savanes - yes, now that i have read a little further I see that now.

So (view spoiler)[ if he is the son of the commandant, I am wondering why she gave him away and what the "tribe" is all about. Now that he came into training and his grandfather knew who he was right away, did he know who he was that whole time growing up? Will people find out who he is? (hide spoiler)]
I like how she is answering the questions so slowly... it is making it hard to put the book down.

[Janina]

For me, red rising was far better than any of the others and I liked red queen more as well. I guess we all have our favorites. I rated this one 3 stars...

[Kristie, Moderator]

I'm about 20% in and I'm finding it interesting. There are some typical YA issues for me, but nothing too bad. Little things such as (view spoiler)[ How was Elias able to keep it together and keep his plans secret without issue for months, but then the last day he is unable to act normally? Also, some of the thought processes of the MCs seem young, but of course, that's because they are young! (hide spoiler)]

Vicki - re: your last spoiler (view spoiler)[ I didn't think it was a secret. I thought one of the other kids commented on it, about him not knowing who his dad was and being raised by tribal people, etc. Seems that they wouldn't know that if they didn't know his history and who his mom was. Otherwise, they'd probably pick on him for not knowing his mom too. Actually, didn't he mention something about them knowing at one point? (hide spoiler)]

Janina - I thought Red Queen was quite predictable. It was good, but not great to me. I'm looking forward to Red Rising too. I have heard good things about that one.

[Vicki Willis]

Kristie... you are right... what they commented on was (view spoiler)[him being a bastard and not knowing who his father was... but...
Didn't Cain bring him to the training and that was where the Grandfather recongized him? Cain knew who he was but his family didnt...
I thought later at the graduation party, he alluded to people being related to him, but not knowing it.
I am not sure why I am so hung up on that. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Vicki - (view spoiler)[ At the graduation he said that his grandfather was surrounded by family, cousins and such. I don't think that he didn't know who they were. They all cheered for him and he said that his grandfather was the only one that treated him like family and his mother was mad that he had survived. My guess is that his grandfather acknowledged him and told everyone (family) who he was and word just spread.

My current issue is with the trials. If only one can survive, then there are two brothers who know that only one could possibly live and Helene & Elias. I don't think I would agree to a competition to the death with either my brother or my best friend. Although I don't know that he really had a choice, the disgrace probably would have gotten him killed, but I didn't like that no one really seemed to acknowledge it. Like wait, if only one of us can make it....hmmm. Maybe there'll be a conversation after the fact. I suppose there wasn't an opportunity to discuss it in the moment. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki Willis]

Kristie - At first I read it and thought what you are thinking, but then (view spoiler)[I read it as the winner of the trials will be emperor and one of the other four will be the Blood Shrike, who is the second in command. So that mean 2 of the 4 will die. So I am thinking they will pair up. Marcus and his brother against Helene and Elias (hide spoiler)]

Also at 25% it said (view spoiler)[ Helene thought she was better suited for Blood Shrike and she didn't want to compete against Elias.

I do not know how Laia will survive being in the house of the Commandant. I am more worried about her getting disfigured than dying. lol
These books always seem to have an evil woman character that is just crazy, I am noticing. (hide spoiler)]

I am at the beginning of The Trials -Part 2

[Savanes, Moderator]

I'm enjoying the comments. I'm so happy you both like it even with its flaws.

@Janina: I looooved red rising too except the beginning was a bit slow to me while I was hooked from the first page with this one. Then I find red rising story more original. To me, they were both favorites of mine this year. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

Oh!! I must have missed that, Vicki. I assumed they would (view spoiler)[ pair up against each other (convenient how that worked out, huh?), but I thought only one lived. I like that much better. But now, I'm wondering how it will work out once Laia is on the scene. How is Helene going to handle all that? She seems open to protecting Elias, but to what point. Plus, she will want to be emperor, not the blood shrike. (hide spoiler)]

I'm only at 20% I'll read your other spoiler later. :)

[Vicki Willis]

41%
As for Elias (view spoiler)[ the trials have started. The first one was good, playing on fears like that. Am wondering why the commandant is so against her son. Curious to her back story and how far she will go to see him defeated. (hide spoiler)]
Also, (view spoiler)[ not sure about the ghuls and all that. I do not like the commandant (I am sure noone does), but her character is a little over the top. The slaves are already beaten down, so it seems like her treatment of them is overkill and unnecessary. It is kind of annoying. (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Re your 25% spoiler - (view spoiler)[ I loved that she decided it should be that way and that they should stick together and support each other. She is right, it is their best chance at survival. The funny part is that Elias doesn't even want to be emperor and she automatically assumed he'd be best there.

I'm surprised that Elias's mother doesn't support him. I understand that she left him to die and was disappointed when he came back (She is SO evil!), but I would think that having her son be the emperor would bring her some sort of honor. Instead, she wants to plot against him? Weird. She just hates that he lived.

I am also more worried about Laia getting disfigured! Or raped. I keep thinking that this is a YA book, so she will get away relatively unscathed. I hope... (hide spoiler)]

I'm at 29%. I got a bit sidetracked by outside events, but I plan to get through a chunk today.

[Kristie, Moderator]

35% and (view spoiler)[ something I've been dreading has happened.... Poor Laia was carved up by that psycho! I can't wait until that crazy lady gets what's coming to her. At least she didn't take out an eye. Plus, trying to get Elias & Helene killed. She's so awful.

I'm still concerned about Laia with the men around her, particularly Marco. I'm glad she met the guy in the shop though. I think he's going to be a help. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki Willis]

Kristie wrote: "35% and
Re to your 35% (view spoiler)[Yes! The commandant is horrible! I want to know more about her backstory and how she became this. She seems so very powerful and not like Grandfather, though who totally believes in all that is going on, he isn't mental about it!
And Yes, to the sword maker... He seems powerful in his own way too, because he makes the knives no other can make. I hope he stays on her side and helps her at some point. (hide spoiler)]

100% I finished! I tried to wait for you Kristie, but I am on vacation this week and I couldn't put the book down... :)
(view spoiler)[ I was bummed that Helene and Elias had to go against each other. I didn't see how this could come out in any way favorable.
And yes, it totally was more than a love triangle. It was like a love hexagon, Savanes.
I am not sure if it was completely believable that after everything that had happened that Helene would help them escape. Especially after she was going to chop off Elias' head. She seemed so by the book and so loyal, but I guess in the end he was more loyal to Elias than to the Empire and trusted that if she did what the Augurs told her to do.
I did really like her character and I wanted her to end up with Elias. But it sounds like they are enemies now and who knows what will happen in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

Needless to say... I have already preordered the next book.

[Savanes, Moderator]

I'm so glad you liked it Vicki! I'm looking forward to book number 2 too!!!! :D

(view spoiler)[I liked Helene too but I was rooting for Laia. And I didn't really like the other guy (can't remember his name).
I'm sure Marco will get what he deserves and Elia's mother too! b**ch! (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Haha! No worries, Vicki! I am really enjoying it too, but don't have quite as much time. :) I am at 52% right now. (view spoiler)[ I feel like there are sort of 2 love triangles going on right now, in a way and I'm really hoping that the author move away from it. There is so much more that this book has to offer. I don't want it dragged down by that. (hide spoiler)]

re: your 41% spoiler (view spoiler)[ I get the impression that the commandant enjoys inflicting pain on her slaves and looks for any excuse to do so.

Also, I'm not sure where this is going with all the ghouls, etc. I guess we'll see. I think there is something special about the fact that Laia can see them. (hide spoiler)]

I'm really glad that you enjoyed it. I can't wait to finish. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

55% and (view spoiler)[ I'm already getting annoyed at how whiny & needy Helene is being about Laia. She just found out about her and who she is. I'm really hoping that she doesn't go all crazy about this. This sort of thing really bothers me in books. You have this strong, focused woman and she chooses the most inopportune time to suddenly be all boy-crazy and jealous. If that wasn't her typical behavior, why would she choose the trials to start acting that way? She certainly seems intelligent enough to understand that any romantic interest would have to wait until after the trials, as it could be a deadly distraction. I really hope this gets resolved quickly because other than this stupidity, I am loving the book. This jealousy and questioning of feelings, love-triangle-isn stuff can really ruin the book for me. :(

That reminds me that this author did a similar thing with Elias. He was able to hide all of his plans until the day before graduation when he suddenly seemed unable to act normal, right when it mattered the most. Hmmm... I'm not loving the characters being so inconsistent.

I found it interesting that Elias realized that Helene should be emperor and he should be blood strike. Brilliant. Their personalities seem more aligned that way. I'm curious to see what happens. (hide spoiler)]

[Savanes, Moderator]

About your spoiler Kristie (view spoiler)[Isn't jealousy an emotion that is totally irrational and unintelligent by definition? I find that a lot of very smart and focused people tend to be a victim of this feeling at the worst possible time.
I understand your frustration though but that aspect didn't feel unbelievable to me, quite the opposite actually. And sometimes, you realize you have feelings for someone just because of that jealousy, don't you think?

Concerning Elias, likewise I find it more difficult to hide feelings and excitement as an event gets closer and closer in time (hide spoiler)]

[Kristie, Moderator]

Very true, Savanes! I just felt that it was a bit out of character for them, but I suppose with everything that is going on their behavior could be out of character without that being odd or inconsistent with human nature.

I'm still really enjoying the book regardless of my spoilers. lol I noticed that they sound negative, but they are really just pointing out things that bother me in the story. I think the story itself is very interesting and engaging overall.

[Vicki Willis]

I am not reading your responses as negative at all. I find that the best books of all are ones that provoke thoughts and conversations. I am glad you have a lot of say about it!

[Kristie, Moderator]

I'm at 79% now (view spoiler)[ These trials are awful. I'm thinking that by setting the partners against each other that doesn't necessarily leave you with the two best. They may have set the two best against each other. I'm curious how Helene will react to the knowledge that Elias would have killed her. :( Also, I'm curious what they took Laia for. I feel like it has to do with the trials too. (hide spoiler)]

Hopefully, I'll finish tomorrow.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I've had one of my migraines again for the past couple of days, so I haven't been able to finish this one. I am really enjoying it and it has kept me up a couple of nights thinking about the story and where it's going. I have so many thoughts, but not enough brain power to organize any of them at the moment. Hopefully, this bugger goes away soon as I'm leaving on a short vacation tomorrow and traveling with a migraine is pretty miserable. I'm really hoping to finish tomorrow, if I can tolerate more reading. (I think I'm at 86% now.) Traveling is the perfect time to get some reading done!

[Savanes, Moderator]

Get some rest Kristie. I hope your migraine subsided. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

Thanks, Savanesl. Its finally starting to break today. So frustrating.

I finished this one yesterday and thought it was great, aside from the minor issues that I had with it. (view spoiler)[ I really don't like love triangles. I think they take away from the story. Though, this one seems to be working itself out. Also, the inconsistencies in the characters seemed to work out too and made more sense as the story went on, so it ended up not really bothering me. (hide spoiler)]

I definitely enjoyed this one more that Red Queen. I didn't feel that this one followed a formula or was really predictable. I really liked some of the twists they added in with the (view spoiler)[ otherworldly creatures (hide spoiler)]. I definitely look forward to seeing where this story goes and will read the next in the series. I ended up giving it 4 stars (4.5 really).

ending spoiler (view spoiler)[ I was so surprised that Marcus was named emperor. He's so slimy! I was also sad that Helene said she is dealing with all this to save Elias, but at the same time they will be enemies the next time they meet. I really wanted her to leave with them, though this should take care of part of the love triangle issue, I still wanted them to be best friends. I am so happy that Izzy seems to have gotten away. I can't wait to see if Izzy makes it safely away, How Keenan deals with what Laia has done. What happens to Cook...so much to still find out! (hide spoiler)]

One more thing...I typically prefer books with a beginning, middle, and end. This book had a beginning and a middle, no end. So for anyone that hasn't read it yet, be prepared for the book to end pretty much mid-story. It is not a series where each book is a separate story, but where each book seems like it will continue where the last one left off. I know some people wait for the entire trilogy or series to be completed before starting it and this is one where that is probably a good strategy.