YA Fanatic

An Ember in the Ashes is everything I want in a dystopian and definitely the most powerful one I've read yet, and that's saying something. Its a very brutal setting, with the threats of rape (not very descriptive) and beatings throughout. An emotional roller coaster that the author really makes you feel. 

Laia's world goes to hell when the masked men kill her family and kidnap her older brother. She makes it her mission to save him and goes under cover as a slave girl to the commandment. Brutal beatings are given and she has to do whatever she can just to survive. 

Meanwhile, Elias is a masked soldier. But he's just as every bit of a slave as Laia is. The one thing he's only ever wanted is freedom. Freedom from his mother, freedom from the emperor. But just how far will he go to get that freedom? 

Man are there strong theme's in this book. I love both of these character's so much that I really didn't mind the small parts of the love triangle throughout. It actually worked in this case. 

It is a long book, nearing 500 pages but I never felt bored and every chapter is as heart pounding as the next. Dystopian fans will surely love this and I know I can't wait for the sequel!