Why did I wait so long with reading this?! An ember in the ashes review!

Title: An ember in the ashes.

Author: Sabaa Tahir.

Format: Hardcover.

Publisher: Razorbill.

Page count: 446.

Release day: April 28^th 2015.

Genre: YA, fantasy.

Rating: 5 stars.

What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)

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.

My thoughts:

Why did I wait so long with reading this one?! I wanted to read it as soon as it released, and for some reason I just didn’t?! And now it is a new favourite! I really need to continue this series ASAP!

I loved the characters! Both main characters were so interesting, and well developed! I love that Laia sounded as a shy girl, but is then willing to do everything to save her brother. She turns into a way more bad ass girl! The other main characters, Elias, is also so interesting, I love that he keeps his own opinion, and doesn’t let the people around him change his mind. I loved the relation development between these two characters! It is very slow going, and it is the best!

Also some of the side characters were interesting, especially Laia’s friend (I forgot her name.. but starts with an L). Another side character that was interesting was Marcus, I really liked his role in the story. The only character I was not a huge fan of was Helene Aquilla.. She kinda annoyed me most of the time..

I really liked the world in this book. It was very interesting! Loved learning about the two different groups, and how they are related. I would love to learn even more in the sequel!

Why did no one tell me there is a competition in this book?! I probably would have pick this one up so much sooner! Competitions are one of my favourite plot points! The competition is mainly Elias part of the story, while Laia’s part of the story is more focussed on the rebellion. And I think I loved both parts equally! I’m very curious to how the story will continue after the ending!

So basically I loved every part of this book, and I cannot wait to continue on!

Have you read this book? What did you think?