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An Ember in the Ashes
Juvenile Fiction
Razorbill
April 28, 2015
464
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.
Like the smallest ash, love has the potential to ignite.
An Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir makes a stunning writing debut with her first novel, An Ember in the Ashes. Set in a savage world where violence and pain are the primary currency, Sabaa intricately weaves the stories of two lives on complete ends of the power spectrum into an engrossing and compelling tale.
This book came to me on the recommendation of my teen daughter. She is a die hard YA reader and has very high expectations for books in that genre. This was a “Mom you have to read this!” book. She was right. Sabaa wastes no time in locking you in her world and dragging you through the pain and suffering of Laia and Elias. You become engrossed in the struggles they face with who they are supposed to be versus who in their hearts they want to be. As their lives intermingle their fates become entwined and ultimately dependent on the other for their survival. But will this spark they have for each other be enough…? I can’t wait to find out and will be one of the first to download book two in the series, A Torch Against the Night, to my Kindle August 30, 2016.
As you can guess I highly recommend this book! Great writing, great story, and a great reminder of the power of love and the human spirit to overcome great adversity.
For more information, please visit Sabaa at SabaaTahir.com or on Twitter @SabaaTahir.
Tanya’s love for books has been a lifelong passion that she likes sharing with others. Reading is also the thing that relaxes her after a day of juggling the many responsibilities that come with being being wife to an amazing man, mother to four great kids spread around the world, business manager, and farm hand on their place in southwest Missouri; home to Akaushi cattle and a menagerie of pygmy goats, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
