An Ember in the Ashes is a sweeping fantasy which follows two characters: Elias and Laia. Laia is a lowly Scholar, the lowest class in their conquered lands, and Elias is a Mask, an order of elite warriors. Despite their different status in life, both long for freedom from the Empire, and their paths are brought together. The writing is fast paced, the characters well thought out. I hesitate to call this young adult, because the stakes are much higher than you would normally expect, and the tale much darker. At the beginning of the book, Laia's parents and older sister are dead, and within the first chapter her grandparents are killed in front of her and her brother is taken prisoner. Elias, on the other hand, is forced to train at a military school for Masks, where students endure whippings and beatings and are forced to kill. There is action, but a lot of the book is the characters' internal struggle as they try to fight for their freedom, and realize who they truly are. 
 I really enjoyed An Ember in the Ashes, and I would've given it 4.5 stars if not for the love triangle. Which in this case was actually a love square. I would have been fine with some romance. It seems natural that there would be feelings between Elias and his best friend, Hel. But Elias's sudden surge of feelings towards Laia felt forced. I understand that they're some type of kindred spirits, but I would have preferred it if they had formed some bond of everlasting loyalty or something, which slowly grew into a romance. That being said, I'm glad that one love triangle got cleared up (I assume), but I'm not looking forward to watching the other one play out in the second book.