Hello hello! Today I’m reviewing a sequel to a book that I’ve already reviewed on here. Today's review is on A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir. If you haven’t read An Ember in the Ashes, I’d recommend doing that before reading this review.
(Will have spoilers for the first book in this series) After saving him from execution, Laia and Elias are on the run from the empire. At the mercy of the newly appointed emperor Marcus, Helene is tasked with hunting the two fugitives. With rumors of genocide, plots agaisnt the new regime, fugitives on the run, and an impotant prisoner in need of rescue, this sequel is every bit as compelling as the first book. I usually dislike the second book in a series (for some reason they’re never as good as the first) but this sequel did not disappoint at all. It was just as fast paced and intense as the first, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Ok first of all, I am SO HAPPY that we got Helene’s POV in this book. I had a feeling we would, but I was still very excited about it because she is my favorite character. I feel terrible for her, she is put in an impossible situation, with literally everyone working against her. Her family are really the only ones trying to help her and even they can't do anything. The one time her father does manage to help her is by getting her out of prison, and for that he makes a sacrifice that ends up becoming very problematic later on. On top of making sense plot wise, I think Helene’s POV also got the reader more invested in the lives of her family (RIP Gens Aquilla). Hannah’s death would not have been as impactful if not for the snippets of love seen between her and her sister, as well as the fact that moments before death, she looked to Helene for salvation. I see similar traits in Livvy, and am very curious to see how her marriage to Marcus plays out. Moving on, the biggest plot twist for me was Avitas’ being related to Elias. There weren't too many clues leading up to that and it just caught me SO off guard. I don't have too much to say about it here, as I don’t have enough info on it. I was also not expecting Keenan to end up being the Nightbringer...Like many of the other characters, I got bad vibes from him but that’s about as far as my intuitions went. His vehement discouragement of Laia’s invisibility was incredibly unnerving, and I started to piece together those familiar phrases as soon as Elias did. (Also, poor Elias was literally being tortured on Laia’s behalf while Laia was fucking the Nightbringer, RIP). I think the takeaway here should be to not trust gingers. I loved the differences between Elais and Kennan. Keenan was always described as warm, bright, the tension between him and Laia described as fire, or sparks. Elias on the contrary, was always described as cold, grey/dark, the tension between him and Laia associated with rain. Very subtle way for Tahir to draw the difference between the two AND subvert our idea that warmth/fire = good. Elias remains one of my favorites, and him becoming the soul catcher just makes sense. I’m excited to see how that plays out, and it was lovely to see him help others move on. Especially Tristas, who only moved on when Elias took the blame off of himself, which I think is very unique, you would think it'd be the other way around. Overall, this book was just as stressful and entertaining as the first one, and it did not disappoint.
Half of this post is solely about Helene, but I will not apologize. If you enjoyed that review, please feel free to like, reblog, ect. Wherever you are, I hope you stay classy, and have a lovely evening! :)
