I bought this book on a whim and was not disappointed.

The story is told in the alternating POVs of Laia and Elias.

Laia is a Scholar. Her people were conquered and enslaved by the Martials. Laia is not even supposed to know how to read - that has been forbidden to her people since the Martials took over. However, Laia's family has secretly defied the laws meant to deprive them of even their most basic rights, though this defiance comes at a high price. Both of Laia's parents were killed and she and her older brother Darin now live with their grandparents. Then one day Laia discovers that Darin has been doing more than secretly teaching children to read or selling books - he has gotten the Martials angry and they stage a raid on his home. In one fell swoop, Laia loses everything she has left - her grandparents are killed and Darin is arrested.

Elias is a Mask, a specially trained Martial who has been trained from childhood to be a killer. However, he is deeply unhappy with the Mask way of life and wants out. He plans to escape after his graduation, even though he has seen more than once the high price that renegade Masks pay. Once a Mask, always a Mask - except when you're dead. Laia and Elias cross paths when she agrees to spy for the resistance at his military academy.

"Ember" is well written and engrossing. I quickly grew to care for Laia and Elias. Tahir does an excellent job of world building. This is not a generic fantasy world where little to nothing sets apart different races or nations. The Martial Empire is supposedly based on ancient Rome, but it reminds me more of the Assyrian Empire - violent, militaristic, and controlling. The Romans, for all their martial qualities, still knew how to have fun. I seriously doubt the Martials or the Masks do, unless it involves torture of some kind.

The only problem I have with "Ember" is that its world is so very brutal and unforgiving. I kept having to take breaks and read something else. However, it says something for Tahir's writing skill that the world would affect me like that.

I am very interested in how things turn out for Laia and Elias, and definitely look forward to the next book.