An Ember in the Ashes

By: Sabaa Tahir

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Steve West

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. It's a story that's literally burning to be told.

Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim they will help to save her brother from execution.

Elias is the academy's finest soldier - and secretly its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he's ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias' paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.

©2015 Sabaa Tahir (P)2015 Listening Library

Critic reviews

Named one of the best books of the year by:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

The Wall Street Journal

Buzzfeed

LA Weekly

Bustle

Paste Magazine

Indigo

Suspense Magazine

The New York Public Library

Popsugar

Hypable

“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human - and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” (The Washington Post)

“[An Ember in the Ashes] thrusts its readers into a world marred by violence and oppression, yet does so with simple prose that can offer moments of loveliness in its clarity. This complexity makes Ember a worthy novel - and one as brave as its characters.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Sabaa Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy.” (Us Weekly)

Pretty decent

A little heavy on the romance but if you like clean romance novels, this one is for you. It also has plenty of other elements. It's sort of a Roman fantasy novel. It's well written and does a good job of switching between the characters and narrators. The characters are well thought out and three dimensional. The story and the world are realistic and things happen the way you'd expect them to. The story is kind of predictable but is still a good read. There really isn't a lot of action but the writing is beautiful. I have already purchased book 2 but if things don't start happening, I probably won't continue the series. I recommend.

Good story but cringy reading

Fiona Hardingham's reading style is too theatrical and very cringy to listen too. i wish she could have read the story with out pausing between almost every word.

Incredibly Written.

Anxiously waiting to hear what will happen next. Intense story. I cried for Laia and Elias, and then find hope that maybe it'll be okay for them in the future.

Sucks you right in.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the multiple perspectives offered by the author. I was hooked after just a few chapters and now I can't wait to find out where the story will go in the next book.

I had to listen to the book on 1.25 speed though, as I found the reader to sound a tad breathy and overly melodramatic. It actually sounded more natural with the increased speed.

A MUST READ!!!!!

I loved the book. Entertaining and the first audiobook I've ever read. I read a lot of books and it was a much more satisfying way of hearing the story. Sometimes I read so fast I don't get the full effect. A great story with a heroine with a heart of gold!

Hardingham and West do it again!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Steve West and Fiona Hardingham make an excellent pair - they're fantastic with The Scorpio Races and I'd listen to them read anything.

What did you like best about this story?

It's not set in stone as a romance from the get-go. These are characters in a tough situation and they struggle.

What about Fiona Hardingham and Steve West ’s performance did you like?

They bring a depth to the characters and a liveliness to the story without it being forced or tiring. The pace is good, not too fast to be unintelligible, or so slow that it drags.

Eagerly anticipating next novel

Moving across the country and we lost cell reception so we relied on Audio Books to get us through hours of no radio or phone. We listened to this book twice - fantastic first novel from Tahir. Can't wait for next installment!!

Beautiful Storyline

loved the story but the audio could've have been better, some mistakes here and there.

Awesome!

This book is awesome! The characters are great so is the story line and the writing.

BEAUTIFUL

I love! love! loved! this audio book, the performance was beautiful the voices of both narrators made for such a nice experience. their voices were great, the story was captivating. I love that both of the main characters are so like able because they aren't perfect. they mess up and i love that. I especially loved Laia, I really loved her journey from being scared and feeling helpless to finding her courage. I though her emotional journey was completely relatable. I always kinda hated books were the main character was courageous from the start because I feel like thats not most of us. Im so excited to read the second one.