My TBR List: April 2021 — Review | A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Posted May 1, 2021 by Stephanie in My TBR List, Reviews / 9 Comments

My TBR List is hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading
Find the full rules here.

 

It’s time for my review of A Torch Against the Night that was the winner of the poll earlier this month. I wasn’t quite sure I would be able to post the review on time but I ended up devouring the book!

 

THE REVIEW:

 

Title: A Torch Against the Night
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Series: An Ember in the Ashes #2
Publication: September 8th 2016 by HarperVoyager
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

Set in a rich, high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome, Sabaa Tahir’s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES told the story of Laia, a slave fighting for her family, and Elias, a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

Now, in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT, 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.

I finished reading the first book, An Ember in the Ashes, almost exactly six years ago. Yes, that’s right… it’s been SIX years! I really can’t give an answer as to why I haven’t been able to get around to reading the sequel, A Torch Against the Night, faster because I just don’t know. But thanks to the My TBR List meme and those voting for the book I finally have read it. Do I regret waiting so long to read it? Hell yes because this book was hella epic!

I’ve got to admit that the start of the book was a little slow for me but I think that’s normal when it’s been so long since I’ve been in this world. Luckily the more I read in it and the more I got reacquainted with the characters the more I started loving the book. Soon it was hard to stop reading, I was that into it.

I absolutely loved that A Torch Against the Night had three narrators, I had forgotten that about the first book. Multiple narrators are one of my favorite things in books because it always brings so much more to a story for me. I equally loved all of the narrators but I’ve got to admit that I was really a fan of Helene’s POV. Don’t get me wrong I loved reading Laia and Elias’ points of view also but Helene’s character is so complex and intriguing. I can’t wait to see where her character goes next.

I think in my review of the first book all those years ago I wrote that the world in this book is a harsh one and my view on that hasn’t changed at all. It’s a very harsh world and I could see so many resemblences with how our world has been in the past and is now. But that only made this book all the more compelling in my opinion.

Will I be continuing the series now that I have finally read this book? Yes I absolutely will. I don’t plan on waiting another six years to continue. In fact, I have already bought the next book and am planning on reading it when I finish my current read. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

About the author:

#1 New York Times bestselling author of the An Ember in the Ashes series, which has been translated into over thirty-five languages. She 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.

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9 responses to “My TBR List: April 2021 — Review | A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

  1. verushka

    I think it’s great that the books have evolved for you where they clearly grabbed you and won’t be letting go anytime soon!

  2. verushka

    I think it’s great that the books have evolved for you where they clearly grabbed you and won’t be letting go anytime soon!

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