A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against the Night (Ember Quartet, #2)

by Sabaa Tahir

‘Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy’ – Us Weekly

The sequel to the explosive New York Times bestselling debut An Ember in the Ashes, that’s captivated readers worldwide.

After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt Elias and Laia as they flee the city of Serra.

Laia and Elias are determined to break into the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison to save Laia’s brother, even if for Elias it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

They will have to fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene — Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own — one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape . . . and kill them both.

Reviewed by littleread1 on

5 of 5 stars

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I don't know how my heart can be both broken and full, but this book managed to do that. I HAD to stay up late to finish it, and hopefully sleep will bring me the clarity I need to put coherent words together to explain my feelings without spoilers.

FULL REVIEW

What can I say other than amazing. A Torch Against the Night is without a doubt one of my top reads of 2016. Picking up exactly where An Ember in the Ashes left us, we start with Elias and Laia attempting to escape Blackcliff and Serra intact. While Ember had only their points of view, a third is added into Torch, that of Helene, Elias's best friend during his training at Blackcliff. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to know her point of view, however she became almost as important as the other two.

There is almost no down time in Torch, for anyone. The entire story had me anxious to see what happened next, but nervous to find out. We see many familiar faces, and there are a few moments where our heroes get to enjoy some peace, but those are few and far between. I was shocked and destroyed a few times, and there was a twist I did not even a little bit see coming that wrecked my soul in the worst and best possible way. I can't really explain it here without ruining the story for you, but read it and you will see what I mean. And I am happy to discuss it with you privately. Email me, message me, tweet me - I need NEED to discuss this with someone.

The ending was pretty much exactly what I needed. It obviously doesn't wrap everything up because this is a trilogy, but it doesn't leave us in the middle of an escape like Ember did. So if you are one of those people that don't like to read cliffhangers, relax, this is one you can read before the next book comes out.

If you have yet to read Ember, what are you waiting for? It is one of my all-time favorite books (I own an ecopy, the audio book, AND hard cover) and Torch does not suffer from "second-book syndrome." Read it. Love it. Then talk to me about it.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 26 August, 2016: Finished reading
  • 26 August, 2016: Reviewed