A fair number of books come out every month, and one of the books that is most talked about this April is An Ember in the Ashes, the debut novel of Sabaa Tahir. It’s a tale of bravery, danger, and magic; one of the best fantasies I’ve read in quite a while, or ever.

The book tells the story of Laia and Elias, two people coming from very different backgrounds in the Martial Empire. Laia is a Scholar living under the Empire’s oppression, whereas Elias is one of the most prized (but unwilling) students at Blackcliff, the Empire’s famed military academy. Laia and Elias meet when she comes to Blackcliff as a spy for the Scholar Resistance, while Elias is fighting for his life in a series of Trials designed to choose the new Emperor. Tahir invites the reader to watch as these two characters navigate their dangerous world, attempting to evade death.

An Ember in the Ashes is so much more than what its synopsis appears. It’s an addictive adventure of a book that is both incredibly well-written and entertaining. There are many aspects of this book that are very well done, one of which is the plot.

What struck me about the plot is that it has very high stakes—danger is everywhere, and I felt like I was on the edge of my seat while reading. It’s only one of the things that made this book so hard to put down. Tahir is adept at drawing readers into the story, and the skill at which she does so continuously left me wanting to turn the page and find out what would happen next.

I also fell in love with the characters. Laia and Elias are both very well-written, and their voices (the book is told in alternating points of view) are uniquely their own and very fun to read. The side characters were well done as well. Elias’s best friend Helene is especially complex and fascinating. The world of the characters is simply amazing and the rich details and realistic nature of the Empire made me feel all the more invested.

An Ember in the Ashes is an amazing book. It made me care so deeply about what was going on, and while I desperately wanted to know how the story would end, I was also dreading the moment when I would turn the last page. It’s the kind of book that you just want to stay up all night reading. And those, without a doubt, are some of the best ones out there.

An Ember in the Ashes will be published on April 28, 2015.