A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

*Warning this blog post contains spoilers for the first book in the series, An Ember In The Ashes*

Series:An Ember In The Ashes, #2

Publication: August 30th 2016 by Razorbill

Goodreads Description:
Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must 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.

My thoughts:
I have to say I was a bit disappointed with A Torch Against The Night. Maybe the hype got to me and my expectations were too high but I just didn't enjoy it like I wanted to.

The plot was all over the place. At times it was fast and at others it was painfully slow. I found myself getting bored while reading the slower parts and really had to push myself to keep reading.  Edited weird~ end was very quick. 

There is a lot of steroetypical YA tropes in A Torch Against The Night. It made me cringe because I loved Ember so much because it was so unique. But there were so many tropes going on in book 2 it annoyed me.

Ember had two narrators but Helene was added into the mix in A Torch Against The Night and that is what really kept me reading. Firstly can I say, the POVs are not easily distinguished, none of the narrattors have distinct voices and I kept getting muddled while reading. That being said Helene was my favourite, her internal conflict and decisions she has to make make her narration the most engaging. Laia and Elias on the other hand bored me to be honest.

The world building is a lot better in A Torch Against The Night than in book 1. This one has a bigger fantasy element. The mythology that was brushed over in Ember is explore a lot more.

Overall, I think Ember is definitely the stronger book in the series so far. I haven't decided if I will continue with the series yet.

My rating: 3 stars
Thanks for reading,
A :)
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