Recommendations
Books Like Ember in the Ashes
Ancient Rome meets forbidden desire in a brutal fantasy world
Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes builds a world inspired by ancient Rome where Scholar slaves serve Martial soldiers, and two young people — Laia, a Scholar girl who goes undercover as a slave to save her brother, and Elias, the Empire's greatest soldier who wants nothing more than to be free — discover they're fighting the same war from different sides. The brutal world, the slow-burn forbidden romance, and the moral complexity of every choice are what these eight picks deliver.
- 1Buy
Red Queen
by Victoria Aveyard
A girl from the underclass discovers she has powers that don't fit her world's rigid hierarchy — and is immediately thrust into the court of those who will use her. Red Queen shares Ember's class war, forbidden romance, and the constant danger of betrayal.
- 2Buy
Shadow and Bone
by Leigh Bardugo
A soldier girl discovers extraordinary power and is swept into the Grisha court — where the most powerful man alive wants to claim her. Bardugo's world-building matches Tahir's depth, and the relationship between Alina and the Darkling has the same dangerous magnetism as Laia and Elias.
- 3Buy
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
A teenage girl who volunteers for a death arena to save someone she loves — and discovers the system that built the arena is the thing that needs to die. The survival stakes and revolutionary themes align with Ember's best arcs.
- 4Buy
Legend
by Marie Lu
Two protagonists on opposite sides of a war discover they're aligned against the same enemy — told in alternating perspectives that build toward an inevitable meeting. Marie Lu's dual-POV structure mirrors Tahir's approach almost exactly.
- 5Buy
Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
A heist crew of morally grey criminals in a fantasy Amsterdam that feels as tactile as Ember's empire. Bardugo's ensemble writing and the complexity of Kaz Brekker's choices echo Elias's moral weight in Ember.
- 6Buy
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
A girl from a dispossessed magical people goes on a dangerous quest to restore power to the oppressed — in a West African-inspired world with the same colonial brutality and the same fierce heroine as Ember in the Ashes.
- 7Buy
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
A mortal girl raised among dangerous faeries must outmaneuver the cruelest prince in the court to survive. Black's palace of dangerous beauties, impossible choices, and enemies-to-lovers slow burn are the closest fantasy match for Tahir's world.
- 8Buy
A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas
A girl taken to a world of immortal creatures where beauty masks brutality — and the rules of the court are designed to destroy her. ACOTAR readers who want the darkness dialed up with more moral complexity should read Ember; Ember readers who want more romance should read ACOTAR.
More Ember in the Ashes Resources
More Reading Recommendations
View all →Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.