#an ember in the ashes

[stumbleonhometomycats]

decided that my favorite book trope is when the female love interest is in mortal peril and the male main character goes absolutely fucking feral to protect her

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

why couldn't Nesta get her own Clifford Burke or Hunt Athalar or Theo Silva? her own Fenrys or Lucien or Wendell? she deserved an Aaron Marino or an Avitas Harper

why did she have to get... that

[brothersnackariahsbitch]

The Ember in the Ashes series absolutely deserves as much attention as all the most popular fantasy books. Those books are so beautifully written and carry such important messages. I’ve never read a book that’s felt so fanciful but still felt so relevant to this world.

[reyreadersblog]

She carried thw whole series i fear.

[for-hiraeth]

reading a tone of fantasy books results in one thing: FUCKING STAY AWAY FROM READHEADS. (Yes. Kvothe is involved. The only people that kvothe didn't fuck was me and Denna. Yes.)

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[ x ]

🦇 Heir Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite fantasy book?❓ 🦇 An orphan. An outcast. A prince. And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees. An old tragedy fuels Aiz's need for vengeance, while love of her people that propels her. Sirsha agrees to use her magic to hunt a killer who is murdering children across the Martial Empire. And Quil is the Empire's crown prince, though he's loath to take the throne. Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of these three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives—and their hearts. Literally.

💜 *Insert a plethora of creative curses here* For fig's sake. I can't even begin to describe the pure AWE I have, not only for this story, but for Sabaa Tahir, fantasy and Muslim-American literary goddess, in general. I honestly can't think of a story I've read that was so well intertwined, so fully conceptualized, while respecting roots of the series that came before it. Earlier this year, I had the fortune to read The Fragile Threads of Power by VE Schwab, which continued her Shades of Magic series. Reading Heir sparked that same feeling; the sensation of returning home after a long journey through other vast worlds. I'm grateful that Penguin Teen hosted the Ember in the Ashes read-along this summer. While Heir introduces us to new characters, 20 years after the Ember in the Ashes series ends, each mention and emergence of a familiar character provided a sweet taste of nostalgia I didn't know I needed. These books have seeped themselves deep within my marrow since 2015, and Sabaa Tahir has been on my favorite/auto-buy author for just as long. She's the first Muslim-American to win the National Book Award for Young People's Literature; a feat that gives me hope and inspiration as a Muslim-American writer.

💜 Reading Heir, you can see how much Tahir's prose has flourished over the past decade. Despite stepping back into this familiar world, it's richer, more vivid. The action is just as intense and ruthless, the characters undeniably unique. The underlying themes resonate deeply. I loved every nod to South Asian, Pakistani, and Islamic culture. It's always the five-star book reviews I struggle with the most. I could talk about this story for hours, but I'd spoil so much that I want you to experience for yourself.

💙 Don't worry: if you haven't read the An Ember in the Ashes quartet, you can still enjoy Heir. The three main characters have their own vivid story to tell, and while there are mentions of many beloved characters from the original series, they're supporting cast to Aiz, Sirsha, and Quil. I will say that the first part of the story took a moment to adjust to, and there's the lingering question of HOW these characters are connected, but once you realize how the breadcrumbs were laid out for you, you'll realize the execution is FLAWLESS. The fast pace keeps you on your toes, the ever-growing tension driving you to the last page. As for the underlying romantic story, AH! It was perfectly built, the sass and chemistry playful without stealing from the main plot, yet heart-wrenching; that kind of painful that keeps you invested long-term. OH! And can we talk about our villain? That BUILD?! I love a villain with reason--a character who doesn't realize they're the villain at all, someone with a mission that goes about it in all the wrong ways. This story had EVERYTHING and then some. I'll be recommending it for the next 20 years.

🦇 Recommended for fans of The Red Queen series, The Lunar Chronicle series, and The Throne of Glass series.

✨ The Vibes ✨ 🫀First in a Duology ✨ Young Adult High Fantasy/Romantasy 👑 Political Intrigue ⛏ Enemies to Lovers 💓 Found Family 👁 Multi POV

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #Heir

💬 Quotes ❝ Get what you need. Forget the rest. ❞ ❝ "You are a daughter of the evening star. You are not meant to be caged." ❞ ❝ “I give my heart unto her keeping, a gift with no compare.” ❞ ❝ "The past will distract you from the now. And it’s the now that matters.” ❞ ❝ “You seek to understand the fibers that make the world,” Loli Temba said, “but not your own pain, nor that of others. You’d be better served understanding the latter.” ❞ ❝ He looked at her like her secrets were the sea, and he was at home in dark water. ❞ ❝ “Quil—” His name rolled off her tongue, a prayer. “Please—” “Mmm,” he said. “You should say that more, Sirsha. I’d give you whatever you wanted.” ❞ ❝ “Care about yourself as much as you care about those you love. As much as— as we care about you.” ❞ ❝ Sirsha grabbed his hand, wishing she could articulate the desire suffusing her, something more than I need you and I wish I didn’t. ❞

[lucyshypemaster]

if only daughter of smoke & bone and an ember in the ashes have bigger fandoms, I just know bitches would LOVE liraz of misbegotten and helene aquilla

[sparkoflena]

Some book reccomendations for absolutely no reason today:

[Standalone Dystopian & Fantasy]

- The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins (prequel to the Hunger Games but the Hunger Games also applies here)

- Babel by RF Kuang

- 1984 by George Orwell (and everything else written by this author)

- The Spear Cut Through Water by Simon Jimenez

- Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

- She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

- Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin

- The Women by Kristin Hannah

[Fantasy & Dystopian Series]

- The Blood Trials by NE Davenport (a duology)

- An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (a series)

- The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin (a trilogy)

- The Bone Season by Sammantha Shannon (a series)

- A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair (a series)

- Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent (a trilogy)

- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (a series)

- The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (a trilogy)

[Nonfiction]

- Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

- Healing Resistance by Kazu Haga

- The Color of the Law by Richard Rothstein

- The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall, Douglas Abrams, & Gail Hudson

- The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

- Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y Davis

- This Book Will Save The Planet by Dany Sigwalt (and the rest of the series by Quarto Publishing)

[ceaselesslyinlove]

when helene’s chapters changed to “blood shrike” and elias’ chapters changed to “soul catcher”

[clockworkbee]

When Elias Veturius changed his grandfather's mantra to one of his own for Laia, and when Kell Maresh used the antari commands to teach them to Lila but also make love to her, and when Julian Blackthorn used the very parabatai vows' that forbid love to defy them and express his love physically to Emma and when Cardan Greenbriar kind of begged Jude to lie to him when he always dreamed of that coming from her? That's EVERYTHING to me 🤌🏼

[totchipanda]

Emberlings, where you at! Have you read or are reading Heir? We must discuss!

[bookcub]

Book Rec of Djinn . . .Jinn. .. Jinni. . .

Rated on how likely the jinn would be my friend

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah- Qadir is the jinn with the largest role and I cannot decide if he would find me mildly amusing or mildly annoying. Either way, he would probably not be talkative and not view me as a threat or a priority.

5/10

The Daevabad Trilogy by SA Chakraborty- While the term djinn is a controversial one in this world, there are plenty of djinn to choose from. Nahri might be my friend, if she didn't see me as an easy mark (which is very likely). I would very much enjoy her company if she didn't have her defenses up. Ali would probably find me interesting as a human and ask me a mixture of interesting and boring questions. Both would care if I died, unlike Dara, who wouldn't care if he accidentally caused my death.

6/10

A Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark- I don't want to cause any spoilers but our main djinn would absolutely find me adorable, if not easily manipulated. We could definitely have a few fun nights for sure.

7/10

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi- Alizah would 1000% defend me with her life and successfully save it, but I am uncertain how receptive she would be to friendship, considering how guarded she is. I, however, would absolutely put in the effort for her.

7.5/10

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir- If I remember book two correctly, I would absolutely never become friends with this jinn. And I think they would actively want to kill me.

0/10

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker - Ahmed would not be friends with me and be very very rude to me, although he would not kill me. I would rather be friends with Chava, the golem instead. We would be besties.

1/10

Nayra and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata-

Majan is a delight and I think we are likely to get along fairly well, although certainly not to the extent Nayra and Marjan have bonded. But we could tell each other stories and reignite some of the spark in each other's lives, encouraging exploration and connection. A fun and emotional time!!

8/10

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

"it's okay but very YA" (said in an "iykyk YA obviously being a code word for awful" way)

S H U T T H E F U C K U P

I have actually had it, stop reading YA books if you don't like them and then shitting on them for being YA

Stop using YA as a negative descriptor when it is literally just a category

No one is forcing you to read YA, fuck off to the adult section and leave the rest of us alone

If it's boring, fine. If it's underdeveloped, fine. If the characters are one dimensional, fine. If the plot was lacking, fine. Say that. None of that is because it's YA. Some of the absolute best books I've ever read are YA and some of the most garbage worse than that Episode app shite I've read has been adult but you don't see me going around saying "bleh it's so..adult🤢👀" as if that's automatically supposed to be a given negative towards it

That's like reading a picture book and saying "eh very toddler-y" like??? Fucking DUH

(don't mind me i saw this twice in a row and got triggered or smth)

[brothersnackariahsbitch]

Why are we rooting for the popular toxic fantasy book couples when we could be rooting for Laia and Elias? A book couple that always wanted to build each other up, never acted abusive towards each other, and fought tooth and nail to end up together.

[reyreadersblog]

My girl really said if i can't have him i'll have his half-brother

[autumnbabylon]