Plot Overview: Under the Martial Empire, Laia and Elias live under oppression. Elias has lived an upper class life marked by brutal trials in his training to be a Marital, while Laia has lived with the bare minimum and suffered the loss of many of her family members. When the only family Laia has left is taken from her, she will do what ever she can to get him back. On her journey she meets Elias Veturius. Over the course of the novel, they face their struggles separately and later, overcome them together.

Critique: The most compelling aspect of this book are the relationships between the characters. Laia and Keenan as well as Elias and Helen have complicated relationships with each other. It’s interesting o see how they develop.

There was nothing I disliked about the book.

Cover: I really like the cover of the book. It relates well to the title of the book.

Star Rating: 4/5

Additional Comments: This book is the first in the Ember Quartet series. Currently, 2 out of the 4 books in the series have been written. I liked this book a lot, and the second book is really good as well.