The Laughing Listener
Reread March 2019
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Fiona Hardingham & Steve West
Length: 15 hours & 22 minutes

Story Rating: 4 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars

Okay, I’ve already read this and written a raving review and normally I don’t write a second review when I reread stuff. But my feelings about this book have changed slightly and I wanted to write a review that reflected that. Plus, the old one was super embarrassing. It was one of my first reviews and I think I had an out-of-body experience rereading it. *Cringes*



THE GOOD

Like I’ve praised before, the universe of this book is super cool. I absolutely LOOOOOVE the strong Roman vibes and it was great rereading this and being immersed in this world again. As awful as all the soldiers are (excluding our dear Elias of course), I really liked reading about them and the school. It’s interesting seeing how Blackcliff Academy operates and it gives the reader such an excellent villain/force to hate. Plus, I really liked watching all the friendships and close relationships the students are able to form in such a demonic hell hole. There’s also such a huge world outside of the school and it’s so obvious that Tahir thought through every detail when she was creating it.

Also, the Augurs are so cool?? They remind me so much of the Silent Brothers from the Shadowhunter Chronicles and I LOVED puzzling out all their little warnings, especially since I know what happens in book two. I caught so many little things I didn’t notice the first time!

And Elias!! I love him! I was worried rereading this book would make me hate him or see him in a different light, but it didn’t. It’s true that his “attentions” tend to wander whenever a pretty girl walks by, but I found it more funny than anything else. And the guy has been surrounded by a bunch of dudes since he was a preteen. I can’t blame his hormones for running amok. Honestly he’s kind of a f*ckboi, but a lovable one??? Like a f*ckboi with a conscience.



Helene was better for me this time around too because I was NOT a Helene fan at first. I always felt bad that Elias and his wandering attentions were leading her on, but she completely lost me talking about the scholars. She makes a whole speech at one point that basically says they should be treated better, but they deserve what they’ve gotten. And old me was like NOPE—anyone who’s okay suppressing and abusing an entire group of people is not okay with me. I still struggle a bit with her character for that very reason, but this second read gave me an appreciation for Helene that I didn’t have before. She’s so strong and badass and SMART, which I LOVE. I understand her personality and her history more. I know what her family is like and the struggles she’s had. If anything, I can appreciate her because Helene is definitely the most rich and complicated character in this book.

THE UGLY

One of the only things that really suffered during this reread was my opinion of Laia. I didn’t notice during my first read that she just sort of stumbles her way through surviving??? She almost dies a dozen times and somehow comes out of it without doing much of anything. And there isn’t much growth to her character over the course of the book, just at the end when she “makes her big move” (*winks at all the people who have read the book*) to save her brother. I don’t know. Laia isn’t bad, but she blends into the background and a main character shouldn’t be blending into the background.

Lastly, the awkward romance between Helene and Elias felt soooooo unnecessary. Why is that a thing??? This book would have been perfectly fine without it. There was already a love triangle between Elias, Laia, and Keenan. Why the heck do we need a second one??? It would have made me so much happier to see Helene and Elias as friends working together. Friendships in books are underrated people!!



FINAL WORD

Despite my shifting opinions, this book is still A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and I love it! It’s kinda like Roman [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775]??? If you love drama and tons of action, this book is for you.

#1 ↦ An Ember in the Ashes ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#2 ↦ [b:A Torch Against the Night|25558608|A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes, #2)|Sabaa Tahir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1463675717s/25558608.jpg|45355236] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✦
#3 ↦ [b:A Reaper at the Gates|30809786|A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes, #3)|Sabaa Tahir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507476834s/30809786.jpg|51397188] ↦ ?????
#4 ↦ [b:Untitled|31520883|Untitled (An Ember in the Ashes, #4)|Sabaa Tahir|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|52201861] ↦ ?????