Discern Ratings
Age & Family Safety
Children
Youth (13–18)
Adults
Content Notes
ViolenceSexual contentOccult themesMature themes
Scored Dimensions
Language & Content
Language purity, violence, and sexual content
Moral Framework
Virtue honored; vice has consequences
Theological Claims
Faithful to Scripture when theology is present; 100 if no claims made
Ideological Worldview
Consistent with biblical teaching on sexuality and identity
Composite = Language & Content 25% · Moral Framework 15% · Theological Claims 40% · Ideological Worldview 20%
Informational
Redemptive Arc
Grace, hope, or transformation present in the story
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BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy and 100 Best YA Books of All Time • People's Choice Award winner • Bustle's Best Young Adult Book
“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human—and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” — The Washington Post
The beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (Huffington Post).
Laia is a slave. 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.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street Journal • Buzzfeed • LA Weekly • Bustle • Paste Magazine • Indigo • Suspense Magazine • The New York Public Library • Popsugar • Hypable
“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human—and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.” — The Washington Post
The beloved and bestselling fantasy series that “glows, burns, and smolders.” (Huffington Post).
Laia is a slave. 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.
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR FROM The Wall Street Journal • Buzzfeed • LA Weekly • Bustle • Paste Magazine • Indigo • Suspense Magazine • The New York Public Library • Popsugar • Hypable
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