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. @goodreads
MY REVIEW:
5 STARS
OMG! 19 pages in and I already want to kill the evil bastards! I. CAN'T. EVEN.
This book pissed me off and almost gave me a panic attack many times because of all the cruel, evil people I wanted to set on fire with a flamethrower! So why the 5 stars? Because it's bloody brilliant! The writing is incredible and even though there were so many terrible things going on, there might be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Not necessarily in this book, but maybe the next one or the next one. I'm not sure if this is going to be a trilogy or just the two books.
Anyway, you have Elias who is a Mask in the evil military school -Blackcliff Military Academy. But . . . he doesn't want to be a Mask and his identity amazed me, among other things.
And this is no ordinary military academy. You can get flogged to death and other horrible stuff if you don't stay on your toes and become evil. And the place is run by the Commandant, the most evil of them all. There were some astonishing things about the Commandant that we find out in the beginning of the book. I won't say, I want those that haven't read it to get that shock. Blew me for a loop.
Then you have Laia who is a sweet Scholar. They have it bad in this book. Some are left alone in their little world but most are turned into slaves or worse.
One night when Laia's brother Darin comes home late in the night, he has done something that causes a raid on their home. This doesn't pose well for Laia and their grandparents, or Darin for that matter.
Laia sets out to find the Resistance to see if they will help her free her brother from the evil Blackcliff and they set her up to be a spy as trade. She becomes a slave to the Commandant. Fun times. NOT. The cadets at the academy are not the only ones tortured. The slaves are tortured in horrific ways. There is torture all around for craps sake!
There are several characters in the book that I really liked; Laia, Elias, Helene, Cook, Izzi, Cain and the weapons dude who's name I have forgotten. He's not in it much.
I really did enjoy this book and I can't wait to read the next one. Unless someone I really like gets tortured and killed!
"You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes. That is your destiny. Being a Resistance spy - that is the smallest part of you. That is nothing."
This book pissed me off and almost gave me a panic attack many times because of all the cruel, evil people I wanted to set on fire with a flamethrower! So why the 5 stars? Because it's bloody brilliant! The writing is incredible and even though there were so many terrible things going on, there might be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Not necessarily in this book, but maybe the next one or the next one. I'm not sure if this is going to be a trilogy or just the two books.
Anyway, you have Elias who is a Mask in the evil military school -Blackcliff Military Academy. But . . . he doesn't want to be a Mask and his identity amazed me, among other things.
And this is no ordinary military academy. You can get flogged to death and other horrible stuff if you don't stay on your toes and become evil. And the place is run by the Commandant, the most evil of them all. There were some astonishing things about the Commandant that we find out in the beginning of the book. I won't say, I want those that haven't read it to get that shock. Blew me for a loop.
Then you have Laia who is a sweet Scholar. They have it bad in this book. Some are left alone in their little world but most are turned into slaves or worse.
One night when Laia's brother Darin comes home late in the night, he has done something that causes a raid on their home. This doesn't pose well for Laia and their grandparents, or Darin for that matter.
Laia sets out to find the Resistance to see if they will help her free her brother from the evil Blackcliff and they set her up to be a spy as trade. She becomes a slave to the Commandant. Fun times. NOT. The cadets at the academy are not the only ones tortured. The slaves are tortured in horrific ways. There is torture all around for craps sake!
There are several characters in the book that I really liked; Laia, Elias, Helene, Cook, Izzi, Cain and the weapons dude who's name I have forgotten. He's not in it much.
I really did enjoy this book and I can't wait to read the next one. Unless someone I really like gets tortured and killed!
"You are full, Laia. Full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes. That is your destiny. Being a Resistance spy - that is the smallest part of you. That is nothing."
GOODREADS REVIEW:
AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:
Woot!!! I'm glad you locked this one! I did too and I can't wait to read book 2.
ReplyDeleteLoved * sorry I can't type today :/
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