In a Nutshell: 
 Awkward love square tries tries to demand focus while the two main characters try repeatedly not to be killed. 
 The Elaborate Explanation: 
 In complete honesty, when I first started this book I hated it. I thought that the writing was choppy and rushed and not consistent. I stopped reading it ten pages. 
 However, the hype around An Ember in the Ashes kept growing and growing so I figured maybe I should try the book out again. Now, in the past I have been let down by popular books and I was fearful I would be wasting my time. But nonetheless I tried reading it again. I got past the first ten pages and I still wasn't very impressed. I was confused, but that was only because I was thrown headfirst into the action with little world building. But as the story progressed I learned about the world in which these characters live. And I began to feel like the story had potential. 
 The switching POVs reminded me of the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. However, while I loved Lu's POV swap from the get-go, at first I wasn't a fan of the switching POV every chapter between Elias and Laia. I felt like their POVs swapped too quickly so as soon as I got into the action with Laia then it would swap to Elias where things with him didn't build until the end of his chapter and then it would switch to Laia again. I also didn't like how sometimes Laia would be finished with an event and then it would be Elias' POV from a week or a day prior to what is currently happening. I would've rather their story lines be more intertwined. But once I got used to the pacing of the novel I really began to enjoy it (minus the awkward love square). I didn't think I was going to after the first few chapters but about 80 pages in and I was thinking I'm impressed. 
 Then as the book continued I was BLOWN AWAY! The plot twists alone had me consistently on my toes. I felt like every time I even began to have a inkling of what was going to happen then Tahir would surprise me yet again. 
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 I was left speechless. I wasn't planning on reading the whole book in one day but as soon as I was 100 pages in I couldn't put the thing down. I thought this was going to be like many other YA fantasy/distopian novels with the "insta-love" and series of "trials" to prove who is the "best," but Tahir managed to put a refreshing twist on it all. Her plot twists left me at a loss of what to say. 
 This is honestly one of my favorite YA novels due to the plot twists/characters/world-building and I can't wait for the sequel. Unfortunately there were those few critiques that prevented Tahir from earning a solid five star rating. To name a few she changes her POVs too quickly, is inconsistent with her writing (she uses old-timey language mixed with modern swear words), has the most awkward love square I've read and... 
 [Trigger warning: the next paragraph discusses rape/rape themes that occurs in the book] All the mentions about rape. It seemed at times excessive for the target audience (young adults). I understand why she added the threat to loom over the reader/character's head, but it was mentioned more than necessary for a YA novel. The threat of rape is a recurring theme in fantasy/dystopian novels, but Tahir made sure the reader wouldn't forget the threat always remained.Plus Tahir does the cliche rape attempt to prove the bad guy is truly evil and that the hero is so good because he saves the day while never mentioning the psychological effect of it on the girl. Sometimes it seemed important to the plot and other times it felt like Tahir wasn't quite sure what could add to the threat of spying on one of the most ruthless Masks in the whole Empire so she reminded readers of the threat of rape. In other words, at times it furthered the plot and at other times it was excessive. This could potentially be triggering/disturbing to some readers so I want to make sure to address the issue in my review. I think that if this was an adult fantasy novel I wouldn't have been so shocked by the amount of mentions, but I wanted to give fair warning to younger readers of what to prepare for. 
 However, don't let my critiques or the mature content (as long as it isn't triggering for you) stop you from reading An Ember in the Ashes. For me the positives drastically outweighed the negatives earning Tahir 4 stars. Sabaa Tahir is a wonderful storyteller who does a nice job world-building while not making the reader feel like its information overload. The main characters were kept in the dark about certain crucial world-building concepts, so therefore readers were as well. I hope that Tahir will go more in depth in the sequel. Tahir is able to write a strong character driven novel full of twists and turns. 
 On a slightly different note, Tahir is able to write villains that aren't one dimensional. These villains have traces of humanity that are shown in a variety of ways. No antagonist is left without you feeling some sort of sympathy for him/her at some point in the novel. Usually it is just a glimpse that this person does have a heart before he/she decides to be a horrible person again. But I always love it when authors are able to write villains who make me feel something other that complete hatred for the bad guys (or girls). It makes the story line more interesting and the characters more complex. Tahir also did a great job making the reader constantly second guess who was trustworthy. 
 Elias' POV were typically filled with more action (considering he was the one attending the trials that makes sense) and bloodshed. Laia's POV tended to provide more world-building and moved at a slightly slower pace. All though the pacing was different the two were both entertaining. I enjoyed how Laia isn't some incredibly strong, brave girl who is great at fighting and super smart and is a great leader and blah blah like so many YA "strong" female leads. Laia really grows as a person throughout the novel. Both characters were required to face challenges that went against their gut reactions and had to deal with the grief and guilt after. It was very touching to watch the two grow and overcome their challenges. 
 Tahir is capable of blending together mythology with her story line flawlessly. I loved all of the mythical creatures who make an appearance and can't wait to learn more about them in her sequel. I'm not quite sure how I am going to wait for the sequel. 
 This book made my heart pound. It left me in tears. It left me panicked for what was going to happen to the characters. Their loss became my loss. Their struggles mine. It is so rare to find a novel that makes me feel so deeply with characters when they are placed in situations so drastically different from my own. 
 This is a story about how to maintain faith. 
 A story about how to deal with grief and guilt and loss. 
 A story about making sacrifices to protect those you care about. 
 A story about how to remain yourself when put into impossible situations. 
 But perhaps most importantly this is a story about hope. 
 The situations both characters, Laia and Elias, have to overcome are unbearable to think about. They are tortured and abused both mentally and physically. They are forced to make impossible decisions while still trying to maintain their soul and sense of self worth. I definitely got misty eyed a few times and the ending about crushed my soul. Actually, in complete honesty the sacrifice two characters make for the people they care about at the end was so selfless, brave, and horrific that I was left speechless. I couldn't stop imagining all the ways each will be tortured/forced to do in the future. It was so heartbreaking to read. When I finished reading the book I had to sit for a few minutes and truly comprehend everything that happened and when it was finished I felt like I needed some emergency chocolate ASAP! 
 Although this is a darker novel dealing with mature themes (the threat of rape, torture, and abuse were themes that reoccurred throughout the novel) I still highly recommend An Ember in the Ashes. The violence and torture are descriptive so I don't recommend it for those easily disturbed. This is one of the darker YA novels I have read so younger readers beware. I was afraid that this book was going to mirror too many other revolution themed YA novels, but it was still highly enjoyable. 
 ***TRIGGER WARNINGS: rape, murder, torture, abuse, enslavement, imprisonment