Review: A Torch Against the Night

    A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir is the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes. It picks up right where the first book left off, with Laia and Elias escaping Blackcliff and heading to Kauf to free Laia's brother, Darin--if he's still alive. Meanwhile, Helene is assigned her first mission as Blood Shrike: hunt down Elias and publicly execute him, with her family's life as a reward for success.

    This book is, in my opinion, better than An Ember in the Ashes, mostly because Helene has a few chapters in her point of view. She's such a conflicted character, and her internal struggle had me writhing in sympathy while still enjoying the book. The writing is beautiful--Sabaa Tahir definitely has a way with first person present tense--and all the characters are fully fleshed out. This installment of the series also has some really nice plot twists. Plus the magic and magical creatures... those were really well written. On the downside, I didn't like Laia and Elias at all, and was a love some-kind-of-shape really necessary? The reason for the Laia/Keenan subplot was revealed, so I get why the author included that, but Helene and Elias's character development could have been the same if they were just best friends. As for Elias, he was just... too morally good. Sure, he was raised as a Tribesman, but one would think that spending so long at Blackcliff would make him at least a little bit of an antihero. I definitely enjoyed the book as a whole--three and a half out of five stars--but I wouldn't read it if you're triggered by genocide and child abuse. 

    If you like An Ember in the Ashes, or even if you don't like An Ember in the Ashes, give A Torch Against the Night a chance. So far, the series definitely deserves its place among other YA books.