An Ember in the ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes is Sabaa Tahir first book. She explores the dystopian genre telling a story with villains so totally evil it's difficult to imagine them as human. On the other hand, her heroes are not perfect.

This book has a pretty literary cover, a pretty literary title, and a pretty literary author name too. I mean pronouncing Sabaa Tahir is so fun too to be honest. I honestly cannot count the number of times my friends and book club members have told me to tell them the authors name and i go all "Sa-b-aa-aa Taaa-heiirrrrr"

The two main characters were with too much flaws and they were also heroes.

Laia, the main female character, is filled with fear but determined to do the right thing in spite of her fear. When her grandparents are murdered by the Empire and her brother is kidnapped, she is determined to rescue him. Her parents, resistance fighters, had been killed when she was younger. Her brother is the only family she has left.

Elias, the main male character is one of the dreaded Masks -- a trained soldier for the Empire with a silver mask. He hates the Empire and everything it stands for.

This was a book of two halves for me. The first 60% I was convinced that I seriously disliked the resistance they were so stupid and wicked, putting out a weak and young girl like Laia to get information for them after all what she has gone through.

Also, i was appalled at Elias Mother the commandant's actions and squirmed uncomfortably with faint disgust at what she does, what a crueellla-dee- villl! I really couldn't stand her until probably at the end of he book by then she became tolerable or I just became good at ignoring her personalty and imagining her to be someone else.

I enjoyed this book, The idea of the Mask, Jinns, Trials and almost everything jelled with me. Although i did skip some pages narrating in detail the trials and the horrendous marking and violence.

Rating 4/5 stars.