Book Review: A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes, #2)

About The Book:

  Title: A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes, #2) 

  Author: Sabaa Tahir 
  Pub. Date: August 30th, 2016 
  Publisher: Razorbill 
  Pages: 464 

  Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, High Fantasy 

  Rate: 4.5/5 stars

Synopsis :

A Torch Against the Night takes readers into the heart of the Empire as Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

In the city of Serra, Helene Aquilla finds herself bound to the will of the Empire’s twisted new leader, Marcus. When her loyalty is questioned, Helene finds herself taking on a mission to prove herself—a mission that might destroy her, instead.

Review:

“You are a torch against the night - if you dare to let yourself burn."

Torch Against the Night is the follow up to An Ember in the Ashes, which was one of the most popular books of 2015. It picks up right where An Ember in the Ashes left off. Torch had all of our favorite characters back in full force, and I couldn't be happier to see them again. The plot was steady and kept me glued to the pages. It was a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it to all fantasy lovers.

If you would have told me at the end of the last book that I would love Helene Aquilla, I wouldn't have believed it. I felt like I couldn't really connect with her in book one. Helene is an added POV in this book and it WORKS. I wouldn't have thought it works. Ringer's point of view really hurt my opinion of The Infinite Sea just because she wasn't a character I connected to. However, this was nothing like that. She was kickass and we got to see a more sensitive side to her. The only thing keeping me from giving this book a full 5 stars is that I feel like I didn't see a lot of character growth from Laia. She seemed a lot like book one Laia and maybe even more selfish than she was in Ember.

“But you are dead. You just don't know it yet."

Torch Against the Night is a fantastic follow-up to An Ember in the Ashes. It had everything I want to see in a second book: passion, love, surprises, magic, and more. This added on so much to how much I loved the first book and the characters,  I can't wait to see where Ms. Tahir takes this series next. Have you read A Torch Against the Night? How do you like it compared to Ember?

“When you love, there is always more pain."

- Jocelyn