An Ember in the Ashes (2015 original; edició 2016)

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It's a Romanesque mashup of a Triwizard Tournament and the Hunger Games. I really liked it, despite some of the brutality, and will definitely be grabbing the next book in the series. ( )

Phenomenal. ( )

The story takes place in a fantasy world that is loosely based upon Ancient Rome. There are two main characters and the chapters alternate between their perspectives. Because I liked both characters a lot and found both plot lines equally exciting, this worked very well for me.
On the one hand there is Laia, whose family is murdered by the henchmen of the Empire during a raid and who wants to save her brother who is taken away. She embarks on a dangerous mission to do so. On the other hand there is Elias Venturius, who is a student at an elite academy, shortly before graduation. Although he is a model student and has spent almost his whole life at the school, he secretly despises the Empire.
From chapter 1, the novel is very fast-paced and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. To my mind, the characters are very well written, not only Elias and Laia, but also the supporting and minor characters. I became totally immersed in their world, thinking about the story throughout the day until I could finally continue reading.
There were only two aspects that I have to criticize: There was a little too much violence in the story, especially in the beginning of the book. And I didn't understand that while in the beginning, Blackcliff Academy is shown as a place where no step is unwatched and there is no chance to do anything without being seen and punished, towards the end of the novel Laia and her friends walk around all the time, looking for secret tunnels and even sabotaging the most important event that has ever taken place there. This was not credible to me and lacked continuation. It's not a very big point, but I must take away half a star for that.

As said above, this story totally captured me and gave me a huge bookish hangover. I'm still rooting for Elias and Laia in my mind and I cannot wait to read the second book, although I might wait a little longer just to savor the anticipation. ( )

“You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.”

“You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes.”

Despite this book taking me a long time to read, I really enjoyed it. I love Tahir’s writing and her characters.

Completed for the 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge; prompt #24—a book by a Muslim American author ( )