Review: Borrowed Ember

Borrowed Ember by Samantha Young
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Everything in Ari’s life until this point has been borrowed.

Her human life with a man who wasn't her real father.
A love for a boy who needed more than her to be strong.

Kisses with a Jinn who refused to do anything but lend them out in moments of weakness.
And even her resolve, which seemed to fail her whenever she needed it most.

But Ari is done borrowing. She finally feels strong enough to make hunting Jinn not just a hobby to get her through her dismal situation, but to make hunting a permanent and necessary career. Her friendship with Charlie might finally make it onto real and steady ground if only she can save him from the trial on Mount Qaf. And her love for Jai could be eternal, if only she could gain control over the darkness of the Seal within her.

Ari believes all of this is doable. That finally she will truly own the relationships in her life and to a certain extent have ownership over her future.

But none of that matters when it isn't up to her…

…For high in the emerald mountains of Mount Qaf, the Sultan Azazil has been keeping secrets.
Even from the Jinn Kings.
Secrets that will change everything… and bring Ari to the crashing realization that once again…

… she’s borrowed something that will never truly belong to her.

Something that is desperate to be unleashed.
Something that could destroy them all.

***
I seriously love this series of books. I was hooked with Smokeless Fire and read it in under a day, and when Scorched Skies delved further into the Jinn world I was captivated, but I think Borrowed Ember so far has to be my favorite out of the three. Why? Four reasons with a big, huge, ginormous emphasis on reason number three.

One, I love Mount Qaf and everything to do with the Jinn world and in this book Samantha Young really dives into that world. We learn all about Lilif and a lot of the questions that carried over from the first two books were answered here. Two, we meet Ari’s Mom! I love Sala. I had a feeling she was Miss Maggie or maybe they told us she was in another book, I can’t remember, but either way it was nice that Ari got to see her. I was so said when she was killed.

Three, Aria and Jai are a COUPLE! Yes, yes I know that was sort of decided at the end of the last book, but here we get to see it! I think they work so well together because neither one of them are perfect. They have flaws and this isn’t some kind of kiddie love, it’s the real thing. You have no idea how excited I was. Four, we got to learn more about Jai and what his life was like when he was younger, so sad. Sensing a pattern yet? Jai might be one of my favorite male characters, like ever.


Despite my Jai love, and trust me there’s a lot of it, there’s more to this story than just that. The great thing about the author of this book is that she’s developed this amazing world with characters that you can’t help but love because she does such a good job of getting inside their heads and showing you what they are feeling and why they do things. There’s nothing better than being able to relate to the main characters in a book, to feel like you’re taking their journey with them and this series does that.

I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat when learning more about the different Jinn Kings, Sultan Azazil, and of course Jai. All of the characters are so intricately entwined that it drives me crazy, but in a good way. I need to know what happens, it’s literally almost as bad as my coffee addiction and that’s a compliment.

I love Trey and his unwavering loyalty to Jai and Ari. He is seriously one of the most dynamic characters I’ve ever read. He’s like this burst of comedic relief when everything gets all intense, but at the same time he’s got this serious, very intense side that I love too. He is my third favorite right behind Jai and Ari.

I was pretty much devastated when Fallon was killed and if I didn’t dislike Charlie before this would have done it, or one of the many other things he’s done over the course of three books. It takes a good author to make you love a character, but it takes a great author to make you hate one as much as I hate Charlie. He doesn’t deserve Ari or her friendship and I get it, he holds a place in her heart that will most likely always be there, but every time he does something stupid I want to junk punch him. [Watch What Happens in Vegas for that reference.]

Anyway, enough about Charlie because he bugs me, another thing I love about this series is the villains. Samantha Young writes great villains because they aren’t just villains they’re people. They are multifaceted characters and not just all ‘Grr arrg’. They have a purpose, a past, a history and their choices, and who they’re loyal to define what side they are on in the moment. And I love that. I love that the Red King is playing both sides, not because he doesn’t care about Ari, but because he’s loyal to his Father. I love that Lilif wasn’t always this power hungry being, but the darker half to Asmodeus’s light.

I seriously love this entire seriously of books and I am anxiously waiting for the fourth installment to come out and when I say anxiously I mean I keep checking back at Young’s website to see if the date has changed because I need it now!