Hauntingly beautiful. 
 "Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after." 
 The world Tahir has created is gritty and violent and made me ache. I truly cannot believe that this is her debut novel! And more, I cannot believe I have to wait nine whole months for the sequel. Pure agony. 
 The once proud Scholar Empire was conquered by the Martials five hundred years ago, the oppression the Scholars are forced to live under is hateful. The Empire rules with an iron fist, killing freely. Their main, and most lethal, arm of enforcement - the Masks. Trained for fourteen years to be senseless killers, they wear silver masks of living metal that molds to their faces. And kill with an unrivaled precision. 
 There are prophecies, evil creatures that aren't believed to be real and a story that lines itself up beautifully. And the writing was glorious. 
 "This is not a quiet lie. 
 It is violent and shattering." 
 Laia's world is unraveled when her brother is arrested for treason (view spoiler)[and her grandparents brutally killed in front of her (hide spoiler)]. For the first time ever she is put in the position to make serious choices in order to save her brother. She is pushed beyond her limits and has to muster up resolve she didn't know she had to endure the trials she faces. She is unabashedly honest about how weak she thinks she is and is not disillusioned about her abilities. Oh, but how she grows. 
 Elias is a Mask - taken when he was six years old and trained to be nothing but a weapon for fourteen miserable years, he is every bit the tortured soul forced to endure a life he is trapped in, with no prospect of ever being free. Somehow, he still has a conscience and a heart of gold. Despite the fact that he will be punished for every act of kindness that proves he is still human, he cannot force himself to be the mindless monster he was trained to be. 
 "You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it." 
 When the paths of these two damaged souls who are on opposite sides of life meet, unfathomable events are set in motion. 
 "There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose." 
 The plot was enthralling, I couldn't put the book down. Normally when I reach the end of a chapter I feel compelled to put the book down and pretend I am something other than a devourer of books (okay, only now since I am actually in the middle of final examinations) but reading this I just inhaled the story, unable to even allow the thought of considering putting the book down appear in my head, I burned to know what was going to happen next. 
 While reading this I smiled, I laughed, I cringed. I yelled in my head at the characters, I waited with bated breath and a pounding heart. My heart ached for the characters. I raged at the unfairness, the impossibility. And it was all glorious.