An Ember in the Ashes
By Sabaa Tahir
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: 8/10

This is a new book that just came out this last April. It's been getting a lot of hype on Goodreads so I thought I'd give it a try.

This story takes place in a harsh dystopian wold and is told is in the perspective of two people from opposite backgrounds. Elias is a student at Blackcliff--a harsh and deadly training school. Laia is a rebel spy working undercover at Blackcliff in order to save her brother. Both of these characters have one wish: to escape Blackcliff. But if Laia will have any hope of rescuing her brother she will need to stay there under the rule of a vicious master, and Elias's plans for deserting the school was foiled when he was chosen to complete in a competition to choose the next emperor. As the stories of these two characters intertwine, everything they thought they new about their world and those they trust will be challenged.

This was definitely a very interesting and unique book. It was fast paced and the plot was complex. My only real complaint about it was that it got really bloody at parts, so much so that I needed to take a break every now and then from reading it. There's nothing overly graphic in the book, but there is still a bit of a Hunger Games feel to it. The characters where wonderfully developed--especially the villains.It was a real worth while read, and I can't wait for the sequel.