An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa TahirMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be... Too much fear and you're paralyzed. Too little fear and you're arrogant... Fear can be good. It can keep you alive. But don't let it control you. Don't let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. Your heart."
It took me longer than usual to finish this book, mainly because I've been too anxious and distracted by what's going on in real life. But I'm glad I read it, it brought me much-needed *kilig* (that Filipino word for romantically associated thrills) and joy!
It's like Hunger Games meets Gladiator, with a bit of 1,001 Arabian Nights thrown in. Laia is a slave girl secretly working for the Resistance, while Elias is the deadliest fighting machine produced by the Martial Empire's military academy, and is one of four aspirants to be the next emperor.
Add a sprinkle or two of jinn and efrits, despicable bad guys, horribly violent action sequences that shocked me with their bloodthirstiness, and a love rectangle, and you've got a winner book! Will definitely get Books 2, 3, and 4!
It's still unclear to me why Laia is "the ember in the ashes." I'm hoping the next couple of books will clear it up for me.
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