Elias pretends to be drunk at one point to distract a guard.

'Skies' seems to be replacing the religious exclamation of 'Oh my god'.ĭrinking: Some mentions of drinking/getting drunk. Language: Some words like 'hell' are used, but nothing too overt. References to Masks seeking pleasure from female slaves.

The Commandant is brutal and kills people and tortures them. Many references of female characters getting raped/nearly raped. Many characters are killed, as the nature of the story is set in a very violent, Ancient Rome-like world. But overall it was a good read -plus, it looks like Helen will be getting a larger role in the sequel (yes!) which is awesome. LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told. Honestly, Elias' best friend/second love interest, Helen, was more interesting to me, and I would rather have them together, as they have spent more time together and have good chemistry. An Ember in the Ashes Publisher’s Synopsis: Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. But then, near the end, she does a (not quite) 180 and becomes a bit too cold. She was realistic, but I got annoyed with her insecurity - she keeps talking about how cowardly she is (a self-fulfilling prophecy) and it just gets annoying. What is it like to never feel safe The question is at the center of Sabaa Tahir’s bruising debut young adult novel. Elias was a very realistic character, and I felt that he had the most interesting storyline. A Sky Beyond The Storm Elias Veturius is Blackcliff Academy s finest soldier, but secretly also its most unwilling. The setting is very interesting, but even more so than that is the characters. I'm pretty squeamish when it comes to violence, but the story was so good that I trudged through it.

Books like an ember in the ashes