A Torch Against the Night: 2 (Ember in the Ashes)

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The Nightbringer establishes himself as a layered, complex character that is not as straightforward as one might think. I'm not sure I'll be able to get more opinions into this review, because I'm starting to feel that my excited brain is starting to confuse everything again.

She forgot how Keenan belittled her or suffocated her because he was so warm and familiar and I couldn’t help but shout YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM DARN IT, GET OVER HIS WARMTH! But I guess the good things is -with the amount of sheer hatred all readers must develop towards the villains- it will feel a lot satisfying when they do get beaten (if that happens). I cannot wait to see how this colder, broken, hollowed Helene is going to enact her revenge and show the world her wrath. A Torch Against the Night is the second instalment in the An Ember in the Ashes quartet and I honestly didn’t think Sabaa Tahir could outdo herself after such a perfect first book but oh boy, was I wrong. First off, while the book tip toes around a pace that is sensible for the setting and action dwelling, it slows the scenes to a unbearable pace by contemplating every single characters emotions for what feels like a eternity.And I still can't wrap my brain around how she has created such an original, fast-paced, entertaining masterpiece AND THEN TOPPED IT WITH THIS. Sabaa Tahir is a former newspaper editor who grew up in California's Mojave Desert at her family's eighteen-room motel. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that things will heat up a little, because I'm dying for some romance. Okay, it probably wasn't as shocking as I'm making it out to be but I never pick up on hints or foreshadowing so I was legitimately shocked. It happened to me before that I became very attached to a certain character, but in the next book she/he changed a bit, and the connection broke off.

I can’t wait to see what happens between them in the third book because I just need them to get together!Regardless, there is a sort of redundancy in both Elias and Helene's POVs as they both battle their own demons.

In An Ember in the Ashes, I had supposed that she would be a fascinating character, and I was certainly right! I think, if I tried, I could feasibly come up with an original-ish idea for a fantasy that has not been done before. Laia is so precious, Laia is so brave, Laia is such a special snowflake we should worship the ground her holy feet touch oh my God just stop it already! This book is told from the same perspectives as the 1st, Laia and Elias’, but since they’re off on their own journey, we also have Helene’s perspective to let us see into the Empire. She is deeply torn between her due loyalty to her family and the Empire and the strong relationship that binds her to Elias, and from the very beginning she resolves to act according to the obligations of the first.

There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, listening to thunderous indie rock, and playing guitar and piano badly. Straight after finishing An Ember in the Ashes I started listening to A Torch Against the Night and what a Sequel. This really helps to raise the tension at the beginning and each chapter/point of view (POV) ends with a disquieting moment, or important revelation which serves to drive the pace of the story and encourages you to read further.

But I literally had to read two whole books to get to a good last 50 pages, which doesn't soften the blow much.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. A thrilling sequel to an incredibly riveting series, A Torch Against The Night is ultimately a story about strength in the face of unknown danger, compassion in the face of violence, and it explores themes of slavery, racism, and colonialism through the experiences of incredibly well-developed characters. I just hope that A Reaper at the Gates will meet the standards of the first book, and resurrect my somehow shaken faith in these characters and their respective quests! When her loyalty is questioned, Helene finds herself taking on a mission to prove herself-a mission that might destroy her, instead.