Rating: 5/5
Summary: Elias is the best soldier in Blackcliff, he’s also their most reluctant. He hates what they carved him into and wishes desperately for freedom. Laia loses everything one night during a Martial raid of her house. Her grandparents are killed and her brother captured. She is scared and has no one. She turns to the underground Resistance in hopes they will help her free her brother. In order to get them to help her, she agrees to become a slave to the Commandant at Blackcliff, the evil overlord of the academy. When Elias & Laia cross paths, they will change and influence each other in ways they never thought possible.
The world in this book is amazing. The culture and structure of it is so refreshing and I loved it. I loved the how the society was slowly introduced, it wasn’t poured down my throat, but I had a good understanding that constantly built through the book. I loved the environment of the world, it was so different from the green and lush terrains I’m used to with the other books I’ve read.
I liked Laia the moment I met her. Something about her resounded with me and I was cheering for her since moment one. In the beginning, Laia is a terrified and frantically loyal girl. She will do anything to save her brother even if it means enslaving herself to a vile maniac at a school that is a death sentence for Scholars. Laia believes she is not brave, but her willingness to do whatever it takes to rescue Darin says otherwise. As Laia survives, she starts to believe in herself more and she blossoms into her own strength in the end.
Elias was so awesome!! I loved his rebellious streak, but at the same time I was like “Don’t get yourself killed Veturius!” He had amazing leadership skills and was such a nice guy despite the conditioning of Blackcliff. Occasionally I did want to hit him upside the head for being dumb, especially when he made comments about how Helene was a girl and thought differently. Yeah well no duh there numb skull! I still loved him and the attraction between Elias and Laia was so tantalizing! I want more, so much more of the two of them. I think they are good for each other and I want them to happen a lot.
The plot does start off kind of slow, but I was hooked from the beginning. Sabaa’s writing is flawless and she drags you so subtly into her world, you don’t realized your hooked until it’s too late and oh my god where did the book go? The Trials are amazing and mysterious and downright insane, I was shrieking and yelling pretty much the whole time one would go down. The last sixty pages I was trying very hard to contain my excitement but I definitely flailed my arms around a lot and got super giddy. It would’ve been embarrassing if anyone else had been in the section of library I was occupying.
Overall, I have found a new amazing author and I cannot wait for the sequel. I’m betting it’s going to be just as awesome if not better than An Ember in the Ashes. Especially if she does crazy shit at the end like she did with this one. Let me just say HOLY SHIT BALLS THAT ENDING!!!