An Ember In The Ashes Review

I'm going to be honest with you friends. I really didn't like this book. I couldn't even bring myself to make up a catchy title for it. I have a lot of issues with it. Let's get started.

First, the book is written from first person. Probably not an issue for most people, but it's a POV I find myself not liking in a fiction book. It feels more suited to fanfiction written by a 12 year old trying to self-insert into their favorite books. (I should know, I was that 12 year old once). I knew from chapter two I wasn't going to enjoy the book.

Laia is the dumbest main character I've ever known. For most of the book, she stumbles through discovery after discovery, while the truths were made painfully obvious to the reader but she could not see them. Mazen was obviously lying throughout the book. He was obviously keeping secrets. Laia never considered why Sana was leading a totally different half of the Resistance. She never stopped to think "Hey, this Mazen guy must be doing something to make part of the Resistance soldiers break away from him and follow someone else". If she did consider it, she never really dwelled on it until Cook FORCED her to. Half the time, Laia didn't even realize she made a discovery until it slapped her in the face. She barely spied at all (a good thing too, cause she sucked at it). The best part of her spying was listening to the Commandment talk to the Nightbringer, but she didn't even DO anything with it. She told the Resistance who were like "Eh, okay whatever." And then she let it go. Then at the end, the once helpless Laia suddenly was going around setting off explosions and holding a knife to Elias's throat and making demands.

Elias, on the other hand, was totally sex driven for the first 3/4 of the book. Elias is named an Aspirant in the first hundred pages, and they have a party to celebrate. Instead of going "Oh cool, I can be Emperor and change the ways of the Empire" or "Oh woe, I am going to be head of this Empire that I hate. What does this mean for me and my beliefs?" Here is an actual quote from the book about what Elias is pondering during this party: "I nod distractedly. There's a Mercator girl in a tantalizingly flimsy dress eyeing me from the door leading to the crowded garden. She's pretty. Really pretty. I smile at her. Maybe after I find Helene...". Are you kidding me? He spends half of his time eyeing Helene, and the other half of his time eyeing other pretty girls. Then when the Trials begin, he spends his time pondering if he loves Helene or if she is too loyal to the Empire to actually love. A line from the book is him literally wondering if he loves her or if he just wants something from her. Buddy, if you have to ask, you definitely don't love her. He sees one pretty slave girl and suddenly he is giving up his chance to change the Empire for her. Yikes.

Elias also undergoes a magic transformation at the end of the book. He kills his friends and Helene's friends, but he tries to protect Laia from death and he suddenly realizes his soul is free and all is forgiven. Wow. Did he forget he just killed a ton of people? His first trial haunted him for three pages and after that he totally forgot he kills 500 people.

Helene was an interesting plot device. She could have been so much more. She was fierce and fiery, noble and loyal. She was steadfast next to Elias for years and he catches a glimpse of a pretty slave girl and he is suddenly gone. I talk about her as if she is dead. Helene doesn't die; she suffers a fate worse than death. The fate of the discarded female character that the Big Strong Male Character decides he doesn't want to love. Helene becomes a sniveling mean girl, once kicking people's butt for attitude and now giving Elias the silent treatment. She gives up, and is willing to be raped by Marcus for this man who doesn't even love her. Helene baby, you deserve better. I was rooting for you.

The book claims that it's based on ancient Rome, but the most Roman thing they did was tear their hair and robes when the mourn, conqueror people, have a deadly military where kids have to survive on their own, and the chapter numbers are in Roman numerals. The map in the front of the book doesn't even make sense, since Rome is surrounded by 7 hills and the book has mostly flat land.

The synopsis of the second novel sounds like it was copied directly from Six of Crows. I won't be reading it. I wasted my time with this book so you don't have too.

-Love and good books,

Lexi

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