A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: An Ember in the Ashes, Book 2
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Read my review of An Ember in the Ashes HERE.
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.
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.
After finishing An Ember in the Ashes, it was hard to keep away from A Torch Against the Night. I knew that I needed a little break in between books–no matter how much I absolutely ADORED the first one–so grudgingly I parted with the beautiful copy I received for review for a while. Once I'd finished the "halfway book," I pounced on this one and started it frantically. I was a little bit afraid that the sequel would fall under the second book syndrome, and would not live up to the hype and the brilliance of the first one, but I'm so glad that wasn't the case.
My wish was granted! Helene was such an interesting character in the first novel, and I was desperate to learn more about her, since at the end of An Ember in the Ashes it's clear that her position becomes more conflict-inducing, both for herself and those around her. I'm just super happy that along with Laia and Elias we get her point of view in the book.
❝Loyal to the end.
The motto of Gens Aquilla, whispered into my ear by my father moments after I was born. I've spoken those words a thousand times. I've never questioned them. Never doubted.
I think of those words now, as I sad between two legionnaires in the dungeons below Blackcliff. Loyal to the end.
Loyal to whom? My family? The Empire? My own heart?
Damn my heart to the hells. My heart is what landed me here in the first place.❞
The motto of Gens Aquilla, whispered into my ear by my father moments after I was born. I've spoken those words a thousand times. I've never questioned them. Never doubted.
I think of those words now, as I sad between two legionnaires in the dungeons below Blackcliff. Loyal to the end.
Loyal to whom? My family? The Empire? My own heart?
Damn my heart to the hells. My heart is what landed me here in the first place.❞
–p. 30, ARC*
*text is subject to change in the final version
Laia and Elias weren't too different compared to the first book, which kind of makes sense, since we only got their perspectives the last time round, and we saw them grow then. In this book though, what I really enjoyed was the development in R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-S. I mentioned that in the first book there was some love triangle-esque romance going on. That still continued on for a while in A Torch Against the Night...until there was this HUGE-ASS twist, and now things are shifting, so there's a different outcome. There's also what I'm hoping is another potential love interest for one of the characters, because this new addition to the book is super interesting and I'm basically just rooting for the two characters to get together. JUST FALL IN LOVE AND KISS DAMMIT.
The appearance of magic is a lot more prominent in this book, as there was just a touch of it in An Ember in the Ashes. I believe we've only seen the beginning of the mythology for this world, and I know that so much more is going to happen during the rest of the series. The stakes are also a lot higher in this one–there's a hidden plot, deathly experiences, capture and torture, escape plans, secrets, a tyrannical ruler who may be hiding something, a new character who is ALSO hiding something, and just a whole lot of pain. The first book broke my heart a few times with the deaths of so many wonderful secondary characters, and this one did too. Brace yourselves, because while this world is beautiful and absolutely captivating to read about, the tables have turned and things are getting deadly.
An exciting sequel that matches the phenomenal start to the series, A Torch Against the Night exceeded all my expectations, and, like An Ember in the Ashes, has left me breathless and thirsty for more. Sabaa Tahir's latest novel is exhilarating from start to finish, and my only regret is that now I have to wait a really long time for books three and four. Seriously, if you haven't started this series yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!
If you like this, try...
- Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard ● Goodreads
- The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen ● Goodreads
- City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster ● Goodreads
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SABAA TAHIR
Sabaa Tahir is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult fantasy An Ember in the Ashes, which has been published in thirty-four languages. Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s eighteen-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash, and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks, and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.
For more information, please visit Sabaa at SabaaTahir.com or on Twitter @SabaaTahir.
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Check out the rest of the international blog tour!
The Nocturnal Library (Aug 30)
Books on Petrova Fire (Aug 31)
With Love for Books (Sept 1)
Book Review Temple (Sept 2)
Book Stop Corner (Sept 3)
Bookevin (Sept 4)
Confessions of a Readaholic (Sept 5)
Chasing Faerytales (Sept 6)
Bookwormaniac (Sept 7)
Jasmine Pearl Reads (Sept 8)
Book Freak Revelations (Sept 9)
Musings of the Book-a-holic Fairies, Inc. (Sept 10)
Blackplume (Sept 11)
When Books Defy Gravity (Sept 12)
Amidst the Pages (Sept 13)
The Bookaholic Blurbs (Sept 14)
Home of a Book Lover (Sept 15)
Amaterasu Reads (Sept 16)
Random Things in Action (Sept 17)
The Bibliophile Confessions (Sept 18)
The Royal Polar Bear Reads (Sept 19)
The Soul Sisters (Sept 20)
Defiantly Deviant (Sept 21)
Mr. Book Wonder (Sept 22)
Bibliophile Soprano (Sept 23)
Feed Your Head (Sept 24)
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Thank you so much to Ingrid at Penguin Random House for having me on the blog tour and for sending me a copy for review!
Thank you so much to Ingrid at Penguin Random House for having me on the blog tour and for sending me a copy for review!
This is a series that's been getting a lot of buzz. And per usual I'm late for the party :/
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