An Ember in the Ashes Series

Recommended Reading Order

1. An Ember in the Ashes

   • Sabaa Tahir

   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

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2. A Torch Against the Night

   • Sabaa Tahir

   • 480 pages
   • 17 hours of reading

   Elias and Laia are running for their lives. Following the events of the Fourth Trial, an army led by Masks hunts the two fugitives as they escape the city of Serra and journey across the vast lands of the Martial Empire. Laia is determined to break into Kauf--the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison--and save her brother, whose knowledge of Serric steel is the key to the Scholars' future. And Elias is determined to stay by Laia's side ... even if it means giving up his own chance at freedom. But Elias and Laia will have to fight every step of the way if they're going to outsmart their enemies ... Helene's mission is horrifying, unwanted, and clear: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape ... and kill them both

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3. A Reaper at the Gates

   • Sabaa Tahir

   • 480 pages
   • 17 hours of reading

   BOOK THREE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • An Entertainment Weekly Summer Reads pick! A gorgeous, collectable look for this beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (Huffington Post). The deluxe paperback editions each feature tip-ins with exclusive character art! Beyond the Martial Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger. Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is desperate to protect her sister's life and the lives of everyone in the Empire. But she knows that danger lurks on all sides: Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable and violent, while Keris Veturia, the ruthless Commandant, capitalizes on the Emperor's volatility to grow her own power—regardless of the carnage she leaves in her path. Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But in the hunt to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would help her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she'd have to fight. And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that demands his complete surrender—even if that means abandoning the woman he loves.

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4. A sky beyond the storm

   • Sabaa Tahir

   • 400 pages
   • 14 hours of reading

   Laia, Elias, and Helene must risk everything to defeat their foes - both human and supernatural - and prevent the coming of an otherworldly maelstrom

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