An Ember in the Ashes - 3.5 stars rounded down

[Denizen]

An Ember in the Ashes has good bones. The story and world building are strong with plenty of action sequences.

The characters would have been likable if they didn't endlessly wallow in their emotions - Why does he/she make me feel this way? He/she couldn't possibly love me. Elias and Laia make The Hunger Games Katniss look decisive.

3,5 stars rounded down. If the emotional morass had been cut in half, I would have given An Ember in the Ashes 4 stars. I found the emotional drama excessive, however, even for YA literature.

[Jen]

Ha ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I do agree with you and think perhaps you captured the reason why I didn't love it either.

[Jennifer]

I liked the wallowing. :) I wouldn't want to read only books like this but every 5-8 books I read is kind of teenaged angsty. And about equally an adult angsty one gets thrown in too. I liked a suspicious and mysterious world she built.