Synopsis: 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.
Review: This was actually a re-read for me and I'm glad I made the decision to re-read the book. I enjoyed it the first time, but I kept hearing this was a standalone so, when I got to the end, I was disappointed at the lack of closure in the story. That aside, I enjoyed this book as much the second time. I remembered a fair amount from the first time I read the book, but I still found myself flipping the pages and falling headfirst into this world again. I loved being back with Laia and Elias and seeing their interactions again. There are a lot of things with their friendship that people will not like because it's build on slavery and colonialism. That's completely fair and I think it should be noted in case anyone wants to know. I enjoyed reading the internal struggles between Elias and Laia as they both struggled to come to terms with aspects of their upbringing that they didn't agree with.
Again, I found the story and the world to be compelling. I loved reading through the different trials and how they were swept up in mystery. There was a ton of action in An Ember in the Ashes, but there was also subtle intrigue that Sabaa included very well. I will say, straight up, I don't like any of the potential romances in this series. I'm sure some people will end up getting together, so I'll try to not hold that against the series. I just don't see any positive things from any of these relationships.
Beautiful world with an engaging story. I'm going to try to pretend the romances do not exist. :)
4 howls
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