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

I give it a 3.6 and no roundin’ up

I really wanted to like this series. I sat outside on the rocker and tore through it. Tahir can write entertainment. It’s a fast read and I want to know more and more. Everything just goes so fast and I can’t help but want to see what happens. She got me there.

However, the descriptions and character development can be so lackluster. Almost dull with no life. Like how many times do I need to read “like smoke and fire” or “tastes like wind and ice”‘ or more very unimaginative descriptions. That goes for the whole series. She has good ideas and the tropes would be even better to read if she just fleshed them out. Weeks would pass in the book and I feel like nothing would change. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I wasn’t rooting for anything. I was just a reading machine.

I rushed to buy the sequel but I ain’t paying for the 3rd book until its released on paperback because I feel like this series is a cash grab. The four hundred pages could be condensed to 100. I like meat on the bones. I like to see the world being built, people being built, places being built and not everything so fast!!

My fav characters have to be Harper and Helene in this book. I am seriously reading to see where their relationship goes because that was unpredictable.

Anyway, it wasn’t much different from the first. Passable really. Reminds me why I quit YA a little bit ago.

This book already has a ton of reviews, so aside from saying you should read it, I want to tell you something I really enjoy about this series, aside from the characters, the plot, the mythology, etc., and it’s this: I absolutely LOVE that the characters in this book TALK to one another. They’re open about what’s going on. They keep the people they care about informed of things that come up. They don’t keep vital plot information from each other just to drag out the suspense, or cause unnecessary conflict that could have been avoided with a simple conversation. This happens in so many books, and it’s so annoying when it does, so I really enjoy the fact that Sabaa Tahir’s characters don’t do this. It’s refreshing. The first time I noticed it, I wanted to jump up and down and scream in joy because finally, FINALLY, we have rational characters going through crazy things and deciding to be open about the crazy things happening to them instead of hiding it for some stupid reason, like they’re not all in this together. So, yes, you should read this book, because the story is compelling and the characters interesting, but mostly you should read it to find out how freaking awesome it is to see characters not hiding stuff so the author can drag out the story to five hundred pages.

Picking up immediately after the explosive events of EMBER IN THE ASHES, Sabaa Tahir’s TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT follows the tense flight of Elias and Laia as they race to free Laia’s brother from the notorious Kauf prison. Helene is hot on their trail as time runs out, loyalties are questioned, and dark forces come to light in this entertaining and heartbreaking adventure.

I knew it was coming, I knew that Tahir is an evil author and tortures her characters, but this book still broke me. Like the first book, TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT is a fast paced, bloody, and political tale. However, there’s far more magic and mysticism in this one, which is an aspect I particularly enjoyed as our three favorite characters discover and learn to hone their magical skills. Magic is secondary to the emotion and self-discovery enveloping Elias, Laia, and Helene as they’re forced to make decisions that never quite turn out the way they hope (i.e. everything is always a disaster and it’s amazing).

I rated it 4/5 stars because I felt the first half of the book dragged a little. I didn’t find the “cat and mouse” chasing and hiding very compelling. Some of decisions by the characters were unclear and frustrating. However, this might just be me nitpicking and comparing it to the wonder that was EMBER IN THE ASHES. Once you hit that 50% mark, the story delves into the compelling chaos that is Tahir’s forte.

Pick it up, read it, yell at it, love it, and be pulled even further into this fantastic series. I can’t wait to see what happens next, but will wait a little because of the fact book 4 doesn’t even have a release date and that’s *terrifying*.

I ran, literally, to get my hands on this sequel as soon as I finished book 1. I thought Book 1 had broken me enough, well, I was wrong.

The book jumps right in where we left Elias and Laia off from Book 1. They are running from Martials and are branding as fugitives. Helene faces her own monsters as she is sent on a mission to retrieve Elias alive.

Laia, the ever-determined strong female lead felt somehow overshadowed by everything else happening in this book. Towards the end of it all, I truly started missing the head-strong girl we met in Book 1.

Elias, on the other hand, did show a lot of character development, and I enjoyed reading his POVs.

Helene seemed confused out of her wits, and her POV seemed to drag and loop. Regardless, I still cared for her character and was emotionally invested in her.

If you thought Book 1 was dark, you are so DAMN wrong. I literally had to pause mid-chapter to take a breath and steel myself for what else was around the corner. We had The Commandment in Book 1. Now, we still have her, ruthless even more (if that was possible), there is the Warden of the Kauf Prison, the Nightbringer, and of course Marcus Farrar. After the first 100 Pages or so, I found myself saying please no more. Alas, the (multiple) plot twists that happened in the last 100 pages, were unexpected to say the least. Upon finishing this book, all I could was take a long sigh.

The book is written and paced well. It alternates between POVs of Elias, Laia and Helene. The world building has expanded, and we meet some old and new characters, along with new details about the supernatural being.

Overall this book was an emotional ride and while Im not ready for book 3, Im counting the days until I finally have it.

I give this 4.5 starts out of 5.

It is so very hard for me to review this book. I absolutely loved An Ember in the Ashes and fell in love with Elias and Laia within a couple of chapters. The higher powers surrounding them who already knew of the future sending them on a complicated path of self-discovery, torture and worse.

Then this book comes along and made me excited, worried, then a little bored in the middle there, but then I was torn apart and heartbroken. A Torch Against the Night follows three POVs; Laia, Elias and Helene. Laia a talented Scholar girl who has such strength and bravery in her heart that Elias, The Mask, can’t help but care for her and admire her…perhaps love her a little. Helene, A Mask and now the Emporer’s Blood Shrike told a heartbreaking story of hunting down the man she loves deeply to kill him to save her family and gain respect from the entire Empire.

Elias swore to Laia they would travel to Kauf prison and break her brother free after discovering that her brother holds a secret that could save the Scholars from genocide at the hands of the Empire. They are hated for their weaknesses, but have a deep strength none of the Empire understand. They travel together, care for each other and offer each other strength. They compliment each other perfectly. Then there is Keenan, a Resistance fighter who Laia cares for, maybe loves a little but his love weakens her, makes her feel silly and foolish. His protectiveness hides her away from the strength that Elias gave her. Two different loves, one strong the other suffocating.

But love, or the love stories here, never really has a time and place in this book, as with the last one. It is hinted at, it is used to offer strengths in times of hardships…or to further a plot point. But there is always so much more going on for it to be the focus. The characters face horrors, tortures, death, the manipulation of creatures far more powerful than themselves. They discover a loss of control on their personal destinies.

My reasoning for not giving it a glowing 5 stars is this: I admit to skim reading a little in the middle. I adore the characters but they can sometimes remain within their own heads a little too much. My personal opinion is that the characters can not seem to settle on their feelings. I openly ship Elias and Laia so her hesitations with Keenan bugged me. Elias is such a strong character but far too hesitant with Laia and that bugged me (especially knowing what he knew about himself and her accepting it was going to happen and still wanted to remain close to him) I am unsure how Elias’ new ‘occupation’ will allow for a growing love story between him and Laia so I feel I have lost a little hope and heart there. Though I will try to trust the author with this one. I understand a fantasy is not always about the romance but these two speak so loudly to me. I have my fingers crossed something will work.

Overall its a great book with fantastically well rounded characters that develop within themselves as the story progresses. The villains are fantastic. The Heroes are worth caring about. I look forward to book 3

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