Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes

"An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir(An Ember in the Ashes #1)

Publication Date-April 28, 2015

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Dystopia

Hardcover Edition-446 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads, I would give this book all the stars in the world if I could!

Would I Recommend It? Yes!! Everyone needs to read this book especially if you love Fantasy!

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quotes:

Page 20-"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. 

Page 65-"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."

Page 286-"But there are two kinds of guilt, girl: the kind that drowns you until you're useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose."

Page 422:

"Fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be". 

"Too much fear and you're paralyzed, too little fear and you're arrogant."

"Fear can be good, Laia. It can keep you alive. But don't let it control you. Don't let it sow doubts within you. When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it:your spirit. Your heart."

Hey guys! I'm back with a review. Today I am reviewing a new favorite book of mine which is "An Ember in the Ashes". This book has gotten so much hype in the past two years. I recently added this book to my TBR because it sounded different and I love my Fantasy books. I can't believe I didn't read this book sooner because I loved it so much!! This book was perfection and so amazing! It's definitely a new favorite of mine. This is probably my second favorite read of the year right after ACOWAR. Oh my gosh I loved this book! Anyway, read on if you wanna know why I loved this book so much. 

 Plot-5/5(Goodreads summary)

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

I really loved the plot of this book. This book is so unique. I've read a lot of YA fantasy books, but this one really stood out to me because it's so different. I've never read a book about a slave and a soldier. Before going into this book, I had no idea how dark it was. This book is very dark. It's very cruel, and there's violence in it. I loved the setting of this book. It takes place at a military academy called "Blackcliff". I thought that was so cool because I've never read a book at a military school before. I feel like the whole "my brother got kidnapped and I need to save him" trope is used a lot in books but it didn't really bother me in this book. It was a huge part of the plot. Overall, the plot gets a perfect rating from me. 

World-5/5

This book doesn't have a lot of world building and she doesn't really describe the world. However, I really liked the world and the setting. 

Writing-5/5

I really like Sabaa's writing style. She's a talented writer. I loved that this book is in multiple pov's. I got to see inside Laia and Elias's heads and I loved that! It made me connect to them even more and I just love reading books in different perspectives like the "Falling Kingdom" series. 

Pacing-5/5

Some people on goodreads said the beginning was slow. I didn't think it was slow at all. It took me a little while to learn the world and the beginning was kind of info-dumpy but it wasn't bad at all. The pacing was amazing in this book, it was non-stop action. There was always something going on.This book was very addictive and I did not want to put it down. 

Cover-5/5

I really like the original cover. I also like the paperback cover but I hate the new covers, I think they are ugly. Since I read the hardcover with the original cover, I'm giving it a perfect rating because the original is the best in my opinion. 

Characters-5/5

Oh man, where do I begin? The Characters were the best part of this book. I hated the Commandant with a burning passion. She's so mean to the slaves but she's also mean to her own son Elias. She's a cruel, heartless person. How could you treat your son like that? She was a great villain but she was so horrible. All the side characters I liked. I loved Izzi, she was so cute. I really liked Cook even though we don't know a lot about her. I liked all of Elias's classmates except for Marcus. He is such a jerk, I hope he dies.I liked Keenan, but I'm not sure that I can trust him. I'll have to see in the next book.  I really liked Helene. Her loyalty to the school bothered me a bit but at the end you find out why she acted the way she did. She is a nice girl and very tough. I liked her friendship with Elias. A lot of people ship them but I don't. I only see them as friends. As for Elias, I absolutely loved his character so much! He's definitely my favorite character besides Laia of course. He's so sweet and kind. He hates his lifestyle and hates all the cruelty with the slaves. He is such a brave and amazing guy. I just love him and I loved reading his pov. It made me understand him even more. I also loved Laia.  I felt so bad for her, she lost so much and she didn't deserve it.  She's a coward and she's not very brave but I liked that. I'm getting sick of all the female protagonist that are confident, strong and brave in YA Fantasy. I found her very realistic because that's how I am. She does become a better person at the end of the book. I love her kind nature, she's very sweet and is very selfless like Elias. I definitely ship them together and I want them to become more than just friends. Overall, the character development in this book was so amazing. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the next book. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this was the best book I've read in a long time. This book was perfection and I loved every part of it. Ember is a masterpiece. I totally get the hype now. If you love Fantasy with great characters, I highly recommend this book. An Ember in the Ashes is definitely worth a buy, go out and buy it right now! You won't regret it. Obviously I gave it 5/5 Lily Pads because that's how amazing it was. 

So yeah that was my review. Thank you so much for reading. I'll have a book review for "A Torch Against The Night" up soon so stay tuned. Thanks again and happy reading! :)

Book Review: P.S. I Still Love You

"P.S. I Still Love You" by Jenny Han(To All The Boys #2)

Publication Date-May 26, 2015

Genre-Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Hardcover Edition-337 Pages

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quotes:

"Maybe really, really good things aren't meant to last for too long; maybe that's what makes them all the more sweet, the temporariness of them."-Page 260

"People come in and out of your life. For a time they are your world; they are everything. And then one day they're not. There's no telling how long you will have them near. It's the goodbyes that are hard."-Page 334

Hey guys, I'm back with another review. I just finished a book that I started months ago and put down because I wasn't in the mood to read it at the time. I decided to try picking it back up again and I'm so glad I finished it. That book is "P.S. I Still Love You" by Jenny Han. This is the second book in the "To All The Boys" trilogy. I have to say, I liked this book but not as much as the first book. Let's get on to the review.

Plot-4/5

This book isn't very plot-driven. I felt that more things happened in the first book and that's one of the reasons why I loved the first book better. This one didn't capture my attention and it wasn't as addicting as "To All The Boys I've Loved Before". 

Writing-5/5

Jenny is such a great author and I love her writing so it gets a perfect rating from me. 

Pacing-4.5/5

Like I said before this sequel wasn't as fast-paced as the first book but it was still good. Even though it took me months to read, I was never bored while reading it. I felt that the ending was rushed though. I know it was originally going to be the last book, but it was a weird ending. 

Cover-5/5

I just love these covers so I'm giving it a perfect rating. 

Characters-4.5/5

I guess I'm biased since I read her 'Summer I Turned Pretty" trilogy first years ago and it's one of my favorite trilogies ever. I think the character development is way better in that series than this one. I'll tell you why I didn't give the characters a five in this series. 

I really love Lara Jean, she is a great protagonist and I find her very relatable. I love her sisters, Margot and Kitty and her Dad. I love  all the side characters  except for Gen. The one character that stopped me from giving it a full five is because of Peter. I know I'm probably in the minority but I'm just not a fan of Peter. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad guy. I like him, but I don't love him. I honestly think Lara Jean deserves better than him. He's a nice guy but he can be selfish and rude at times and he's self-centered. I guess I'm not a fan of popular high school jocks. I just don't think him and Lara Jean are a good couple. They are very different, their personalities don't really mix in my opinion. I also couldn't stand his relationship with Gen. I understand that he wanted to help Gen but I felt he spent more time with her in this book than with his girlfriend, Lara Jean. So yeah, I'm not in love with him, his character is kind of dull. There are moments when he can be really sweet but I just never cared for him. The reason I gave this book 4 Lily Pads is because of John Ambrose McClaren. I loved him so much!He is such a great guy! He's like the perfect guy and he's so nice and sweet. I liked him so much better than Peter. John is everything I love in a guy, he really made the book for me. He was the best part of this book. I loved him with Lara Jean, I really wanted them to be together. They would make a way better couple in my opinion. I am Team John all the way!

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I liked this book but didn't love it. I don't know what's wrong with me. It seems like everyone else loves this series but I honestly think it's overhyped. It was a fun book to read but I definitely liked the first book better. Even though I don't love this series, I'm still going to read the last book "Always and Forever, Lara Jean" because I wanna see what happens. If you liked the first book, I'm sure you'll like this one. This book is worth a buy. So yeah, that was my review. Stay tuned for my review for the last book. Thank you for reading this review. Have a great day and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Elegy

"Elegy" by Amanda Hocking(Watersong #4)

Publication Date-August 6, 2013

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Mermaids, Romance

Hardcover Edition-542 Pages

Rating-4.5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? Yes, it is a great conclusion!

No Spoilers!!

Favorite Quote:

"For the first time, Harper truly realized that she couldn't fight Gemma's battles. She would help her every chance she got, and she'd always have her back. But some things, Gemma would have to take care of herself."

Hey there, I'm back with another review. Today I am reviewing the final book in the "Watersong" series, "Elegy". I finally finished this series. I started the "Watersong" series three or four years ago and I'm so glad I finally finished it. Let's get on with the review. 

The Plot-5/5

This book was a lot more plot driven than the last book "Tidal". It was mostly about trying to figure out how to break the curse, and there was some drama. 

The Writing-5/5

As always I love Amanda's writing, so I'm giving it a perfect rating. 

The Pacing-5/5

The pacing in this book was absolutely amazing and intense. This book was very action-packed and I was never bored even though this book is over 500 pages. The last 100 pages were so intense, it was hard for me to put the book down and go to bed because every chapter ended on a cliffhanger. 

The Cover-5/5

All of the cover's in this series are amazing and I really like this one so it gets a perfect rating from me. 

The Characters-5/5

The Character development in this series is amazing. I love all of the main characters. They felt like real people to me. I love the sisterly bond with Gemma and Harper, and the romances in this series are awesome because I love both guys. Like I said in my last review, I'm not gonna go in depth about the characters because I describe them more in my review for "Wake". 

"Elegy" was an amazing conclusion. Everything wrapped up so well. There was one death in this book that sort of crushed me but oh well, someone has to die in a battle right? There was a really sweet moment in the epilogue that made me so happy but I'm not going to spoil you. My Overall rating for this book is 4.5 Lily Pads because while I loved this book and thought it was a great conclusion, I didn't think it was worth a 5. My overall rating for this whole series is probably a 4.5 because I really enjoyed this series but it's not a favorite series of mine. I have lots of other favorite series and I didn't think these books were amazing enough to be on my favorites list. However, I had a lot of fun reading these books and I highly recommend this series if you love books about Sirens and Greek Mythology. These books are worth a buy and I would possibly reread this series someday. Anyway, that's my review. Thank you so much for reading and stay tuned for more coming soon. Happy reading! :)