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An Ember in the Ashes (Ember Quartet, Book 1)

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An Ember in the Ashes (Ember Quartet, Book 1)

By: Sabaa Tahir
Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Jack Farrar
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About this listen

‘Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy’ – Us Weekly

Read the explosive New York Times bestselling debut that’s captivated readers worldwide. Set to be a major motion picture, An Ember in the Ashes is the book everyone is talking about.

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution?

For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she’s never had much of a choice.

For Elias it’s the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire’s elite soldiers. With the Masks’ help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands of Scholars, all in the name of power.

When Laia’s brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.

©2015 Sabaa Tahir
Action & Adventure Coming of Age Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Military Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Romance War & Military War Ancient History

Critic Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE EMBER QUARTET:

‘The writing is as smooth as silk and keeps one reading long after the lights should have been out’
Robin Hobb, bestselling author of Assassin’s Apprentice

‘Sabaa Tahir shows us light in darkness, hope in a world of despair, and the human spirit reaching for greatness in difficult times’
Brandon Sanderson, bestselling author of the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series

‘A harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human’
Washington Post

‘Takes you into a world as bloody and ruthless as Game of Thrones, but there’s a tender and humane heart to these books, too’
New York Times

‘An explosive, heartbreaking, epic debut that will keep you glued to the pages’
Marie Lu, bestselling author of Legend

‘This book is dark, complex, vivid, and romantic—expect to be completely transported’
MTV.com

All stars
Most relevant
I loved the plot twists and intrigue. Well worth the read. The narrators were excellent.

Very engaging

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This book is so wholesome 🤗

It has all the best tropes

Down trodden civilisation that was overthrown by conqurers taking over the land

Romeo and Juliet vibes of the two different cultures

Magic beasties who've been asleep and are coming alive

Rebels with questionable motives.

A main character who starts off ANNOYING AS HELL but comes into herself and becomes someone you could love.

Everything a girl needs

I love the male Audible narration but the female makes our main character sound like a 5 year old. I actually could not stand it. Usually I will warm to a voice narrator after a few chapters but this was almost story ruining.

Amazing story, questionable female narration.

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Series starts pretty well. Characters can be a bit frustrating with how stupid they are.

Pretty Good Read

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Agh this was the perfect book to get me out of my last book series hangover. Utterly captivating. I can’t wait to read the next instalment. There’s 5 or so in this series so I just hope they are all as good and engaging as this one.

So good

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Hooked me in so quickly I didn't want to stop. Amazing story telling and world building.

Amazing 👏

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