'An Ember Bright' by ayo723 is a fantasy story about Caralynn, who lives in the kingdom of Serola, where two kinds of people live: Standards (normal people) and Aurelians (superior people with powers). The Aurelians are generally seen as being better and more worthy than Standards, which makes them privileged... and also gives them a free pass to treat Standards like shit.

Caralynn is a normal Standard, or so she thinks. When shit goes down (I don't want to say too much as not to spoil), something she didn't even know about herself is revealed, which draws the attention of high Aurelians. She is soon tortured so she'll reveal her secrets to the Aurelians, but what is there to tell when you don't even know them yourself?

The plot is pretty original, I believe, though there are obviously common fantasy tropes being used. The story actually reminds me a lot of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series (not saying it's ripped off). Author, if you hadn't heard of those books before, I recommend them; I think you'll like them.

The characters are pretty well-developed and seem to have their own voices, though sometimes it feels like characters are introduced that don't add anything to the story. Example: The twins Thomas and Daniel and their mother Lia. We see them for like... 2 chapters, and then they're never mentioned again. If they appear later in the story, it's fine, of course, but if they don't, what was the point of introducing them in the first place?

The GPS is very good, aside from some minor typos and a few wobbly sentences. Maybe some editing, but I wouldn't make it your top priority!

The last thing I'd like to bring up, is worldbuilding. 20 chapters in and I still have very little idea of how your world works, aside from a few basics... maybe some more info on that? However, don't infodump! Sprinkle little details throughout your chapters, reveal the workings of your world and unravel its secrets slowly; that's a way to success.

Rating: 6