An Ember in the Ashes is a four book series by Sabaa Tahir. They are Teen/Young Adult fantasy novels that are heavily inspired by Greek and Roman hierarchy, as well as their architecture and a little bit of the world-building when it comes to in-book mythology.

While these books have multiple points of view (especially as you go along the series), they mainly focus on a protagonist named Laia and another named Elias. They are from opposite sides of the hierarchy. Elias is a Marshall and training to become a Mask, which is pretty much the highest ranking that anyone can have without being an Emperor or having any of the jobs that have to do with the royal title.

Laia, on the other hand, is a Scholar, the lowest in the hierarchy. The Marshalls conquered the Scholars long ago, which is why Scholars are used as slaves and are general just the lowest class a citizen can be.

Their two fates collide when Laia decides to join the Scholar Resistance after losing her brother to a Mask. She’s tasked to infiltrate Blackcliff Academy, spy on the head of the school, the Commandant, and find out information about the Trials that recently graduated Masks have to go through in order to compete for the Emperor spot.

This is how Laia meets Elias, the Mask who is trying to escape the school and the fate he has with it. This is how their stories mix together and can never come apart again.

These books are tremendously written. Tahir provides beautiful imagery that makes these books more like movies when they’re read. It’s one of the most important aspects of a book, to be able to visualize what’s going on without any problems. Tahir does this incredibly well, which is why these books are hard to put down.

If you’re looking for a book series that has wonderful imagery, beautiful storytelling, and world-building that’s easy to understand, An Ember in the Ashes is the book series for you. It also balances out action and romance pretty nicely so neither feels overwhelming. It has plenty of twists and turns, which keep readers hooked as they flip through the pages.

Overall, the series is written in such a graceful way that it deserves to be on everyone’s TBR. Go check it out if you’re interested!