⅘ stars
****
If you're up to date on popular YA fantasies, you've probably read or at least heard about the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir.
After I read the first few chapters of Ember in the Ashes, I couldn't put it down. I read the whole four-book series, but this review is focusing mainly on the first book, which is undoubtably my favorite of the four.
The brutal, ancient Rome-inspired world is heavily divided by class, and the Martial Empire holds an unmatchable amount of power over the rest of the people- but there is resistance stewing under the surface.
Laia and her family, all Scholars, try to live their lives avoiding risk, including rebellion, of any kind until her brother is arrested for treason and she is suddenly thrown into great danger. Laia must make the choice to work with the rebels in order to save her brother's life, but in turn she must risk her own by posing as a slave to spy for the rebellion called the Resistance within the walls of Blackcliff, the Empire's elite military academy.
Each chapter switches between perspectives, going from Laia's story with the Resistance to Elias's, who is attending Blackcliff. Despite Elias being the academy's best student and warrior, it turns out that he hates the Martials more than anything and longs to leave his life at the Academy- but things are much more complicated than they seem, and Elias and Laia begin to find out that they have are more vital to the Empire's destiny than they could have ever imagined.
This book is in first person perspective, and I absolutely adore the voices Sabaa Tahir uses for all her characters. She's a master at characterization- my favorite is Helene, the only female student at Blackcliff and Elias's best friend. She is fierce and proud, and often appears cold-hearted but despite her not having her own perspective you will quickly grow to learn more about her and love her. I was super excited when I saw she had her own perspective in the second book, and her chapters were usually my favorites.
The protagonists are all extremely likable, and while they do make mistakes these flaws made me root for them even more, at least during the first book. Towards the third and fourth, some of the character's repetitive grievances, especially Laia, was hard to tolerate at times.
The plot moves at a reasonable pace, and even though Laia and Elias don't actually meet until a good portion into the book, I never felt myself skimming pages to try to get there faster. It also allows us to fully absorb the world, being in two places at once until Laia arrives at Blackcliff.
The story is definitely not surface level, and Tahir is not afraid to emphasize the ruthlessness of the world they live in with sometimes graphic and gruesome violence, as well as themes of slavery, abuse and sexual assault. I think while it could be considered too much violence, it gives the reader a sense of just how desperate and dangerous their situation is. The Empire stands out to me over other fantasy worlds- her worldbuilding is really amazing. Throughout the whole series she explores more classes past the Scholars and Martials, such as the Augurs and Tribes, and continues to expand the world.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book if you love YA fantasies. I'd give this first book 4 stars, and the series as a whole 3.5 stars.
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