Books like An Ember in the Ashes
What should you read after Sabaa Tahir’s novel? It depends on what you loved most about it.
- Sabaa Tahir
- 2015
- Young adult fantasy
What did you love about it?
Choosing one reorders everything below.
Best books to read after An Ember in the Ashes
Ranked overall. Pick what you loved above to re-rank them.
Best overall matchShadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo
An occupying military power, a girl conscripted into its magical elite, and a commander who is very good at seeming kind. Easier going than Tahir, similar shape.
- Romance across enemy lines
- An empire modelled on Rome
- Much less brutal
Worth a look — with a warningThe Gilded Wolves
Roshani Chokshi
A heist crew in Belle Epoque Paris, recommended for the ensemble chemistry rather than the empire. Stylish, clever, and structurally nothing like Ember.
- Romance across enemy lines
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- No military brutality
Best for the long seriesThrone of Glass
Sarah J. Maas
An assassin pulled out of a labour camp into a competition run by the regime that put her there, with a court full of people she cannot afford to trust.
- Romance across enemy lines
- A brutal military academy
- Real brutality inside a YA book
- First book is the weakest
Great matchThe Bone Season
Samantha Shannon
A girl held by a power that considers her a resource, kept alive by the one person in the hierarchy who might be worth trusting. The captive-and-keeper dynamic, done well.
- Romance across enemy lines
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- An empire modelled on Rome
- Terminology is heavy going
Best for the oppression plotChildren of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
A regime that killed the magic and keeps its people terrified, told partly from inside the ruling family. The dual-side structure Tahir uses, with the moral stakes just as raw.
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- Real brutality inside a YA book
- An empire modelled on Rome
- Romance beats feel rushed
Great matchThe Queen of the Tearling
Erika Johansen
A young ruler inheriting a kingdom that sends its own children away in tribute, and refusing on day one. Strong on the machinery of an unjust state.
- An empire modelled on Rome
- Rescuing a brother from a prison
- Odd sci-fi underlayer
Great matchRed Queen
Victoria Aveyard
A girl smuggled into the enemy's court, pretending to be one of them while feeding a rebellion. Laia's job description, with lightning.
- Romance across enemy lines
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- Familiar genre beats
Best for the darknessThe Young Elites
Marie Lu
Lu's cruellest book, about a girl the world has taught to be vicious and who obliges. Closer to Ember's moral temperature than anything else here.
- Real brutality inside a YA book
- A commandant with no mercy
- Bleak with little relief
Worth a look — with a warningSnow Like Ashes
Sara Raasch
A conquered people, a captive kingdom, and a girl fighting to free both. Competent and comfortable, without Ember's teeth.
- Romance across enemy lines
- Rescuing a brother from a prison
- Softer than Ember by far
Worth a look — with a warningTruthwitch
Susan Dennard
Recommended for the friendship rather than the empire: two young women whose loyalty to each other outranks everything, chased across a continent.
- Romance across enemy lines
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- Politics are confusing early
Best for the enemies-to-lovers threadThe Cruel Prince
Holly Black
A mortal girl in a court that despises her, arming herself with cunning and violence. The antagonism Laia and her captors generate, sharpened to a point.
- Romance across enemy lines
- A commandant with no mercy
- Real brutality inside a YA book
- Faerie court, not an empire
Great matchGraceling
Kristin Cashore
A young woman used as a king's instrument of violence who decides to stop. The Elias problem — being very good at something you refuse to keep doing.
- A brutal military academy
- Real brutality inside a YA book
- Alternating slave and soldier chapters
- Slower middle section
Great matchThe Girl of Fire and Thorns
Rae Carson
A girl marked by prophecy who is taken captive and turns out to be a better strategist than anyone expected. Strong on desert warfare and on growing into competence.
- An empire modelled on Rome
- Romance across enemy lines
- Rescuing a brother from a prison
- Slow opening third
What should you read after An Ember in the Ashes?
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir works on several levels at once, and which book you should read next depends on which of those levels got you. For most readers the closest match is Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo — an occupying military power, a girl conscripted into its magical elite, and a commander who is very good at seeming kind. Easier going than Tahir, similar shape.
If what stayed with you was romance across enemy lines, read The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi instead: a heist crew in Belle Epoque Paris, recommended for the ensemble chemistry rather than the empire. Stylish, clever, and structurally nothing like Ember. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is the other strong option — an assassin pulled out of a labour camp into a competition run by the regime that put her there, with a court full of people she cannot afford to trust.
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