Hi friends! I’m back today with a sequel I bought this summer and… yes, I only read it quite recently, though I think I have a good excuse for that. I was kind of terrified to do so. And, aerm… I was right. Still, i’s rare when a sequel is AS GOOD as the first book in a series and that was the case here.
There are no spoilers in this review.
📚 The book
Sabaa Tahir, A Torch Against The Night, Published by Harper Voyager, September 8th, 2016.
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 ENJOYED… ❤️
💭
- If you know me just a tiny little bit, you know I’m a marshmallow and this series seems a bit… harsh? Well, if that’s true, there is a reason why I keep on going, it’s because I absolutely LOVE the characters. A Torch Against The Night is told through 3 P.O.V, which allows us to know the characters deeply and I loved it.
- Laia is such an incredible character and her growth is absolutely stunning. She is fierce and determinate and I just LOVE her so, so much, she’s one of my favorite badass awesome characters for sure. She’s not flawless or fearless, she feels so real and that’s why I love her.
- Elias, oh Elias. I love Elias so much and this book was torture. That’s all.
- I didn’t really care for the third POV, Helene, as much, but it was good to get to know her better and her struggles.
- The world-building keeps on expanding and complexifying and it’s SO interesting to see it. Also slightly terrifying, at times, but I love how fantastical elements are woven into the story and growing with importance, too. SO captivating.
- THE TWISTS AND TURNS AND OH MY GOD I gasped out loud multiple times while reading this and I’m here for that kind of read okay.
- This was REALLY INTENSE OKAY.
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…💔
💭
- The thing that prevents me from rating this book – and the series as a whole, is, well…. let’s be honest, I am a marshmallow and some scenes were particularily hard to read at times. That’s completely personal though!
- And…. to be completely honest, I didn’t quite care for Helene as much as I did for Elias and Laia. Even if some moments made me really, really, really sad, I just… I don’t know I didn’t feel as compelled to read her parts.
OVERALL
With this kind of jaw-dropping sequel, A Torch Against The Night follows in its predecessor’s footsteps, An Ember in the Ashes. Amazing world-building, characters you grow to love and see develop more and more and oh-my-what-is-happening moments, it’s definitely a series I’d recommend for fantasy fans.
As for me… yes. I’ll read A Reaper At The Gates, but my emotions need a break first.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Trigger warnings: murder, death, violence, genocide, torture, PTSD.
Do you want to read A Torch Against the Night? Why, or why not? Did you read this series, or are you planning to?
Do you have any recommendations of epic fantasy book series! Let me know in comments!
I keep going back and forth with this series. I am not sure if it is worth all the hype it’s getting. I tend to stay away from hyped books. Someone please tell me why I should read this series!
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I personally am really loving it, so I’m biaised, but if you like fantasy books with complex world-building and characters and really, really compelling reads, I would definitely recommend it. If you’re not sure though, best thing is always to wait a little bit and to see if you’re still curious about it in a few weeks. You can always try the first book or get it at your library if you have that possiblity and give it a try 🙂
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Marie I loooove your bullet reviews so much! It makes me want to some of my own, but I wouldn’t want to plagiarise your idea of course! It’s great to hear that you liked the characters, and reading this has reminded me of how much I need to read the first book. Great review 🙂
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Ahh thank you so much Kate, this makes me so happy! 🙂 Oh feel free to do your own reviews like these if you’d like, if you can link back in your posts to here to let know that it’s where you got the idea, it’s totally okay for me! 🙂
I hope you’ll get to read this series soon, it really is fantastic 😀
thank you so much Kate! ❤
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I have yet to read this one! I will get to it someday, I know. The characters are definitely amazing in this series and I can’t wait to get back into it. I am glad that you mostly enjoyed it. 🙂
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I hope you’ll be able to continue the series soon, it is fantastic! 😀
thank you so much! 🙂
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I cannot agree more! I found Helene okay, but she’s also… someone that sometime still excuse the Empire? And for such I’ve problems standing here. One thing that rubbed me wrong of this book is that certain part, that were supposed to add drama and heart wreaching, weren’t that much.
I couldn’t feel near. I mean, I was totally sad about it, but like I was watching the scene from the distances. Maybe some characters deserved more pages.
But the rest? PERFECT
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Oh I understand what you mean. I personally loved Elias and Laia’s parts SO much, but had a harder time… feeling that same kind of deep connection and care for Helene overall. Still this was a fantastic sequel!! 😀
Thank you so much Camilla! x
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Yes you loved it! And Marie I was like you not caring for Helene but look at my review of A Reaper at the gates and this was a 180 turn!!!
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Wow, well that’s fantastic news haha, I’m impatient to see that happpen for me too, hopefully haha 🙂
thank you so much! ❤
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Sometimes all we need are great characters who will take you through the journey of a book .
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Exactly! 😀
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Great honest review! I loved the first book in this series but I haven’t read the second book yet. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ve been hearing mixed reviews about Reaper’s Gate but I really hope you love it. Happy reading! 🙂
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Thank you so much Raven! I hope you’ll get to the second book soon, it really was incredible, I loved it! 🙂
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Sounds like a good one. I will look out for it.
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It really was a great one 🙂 I hope you’ll love it and the series 🙂
thank you for your comment! 🙂
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One of my absolute favorites!!!! I don’t really like reading Helene’s perspective either, though I see how it’s necessary to the story.
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Agree, I found it necessary to the story too, but I just wished I could have cared for her a bit more overall haha 🙂
Thank you Elizabeth!! ❤ ❤
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Great review for this book Marie. I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed this series so far, and hopefully when your emotions are ready for A Reaper at the Gates you’ll love that one too. 🙂 ❤️
It’s been a while since I read this one (I’ll need to do a re-read before I pick up the third book myself) but I actually really liked Helene’s character, and I enjoyed seeing how she developed in the first and second books because I think she has some interesting places to go. Of course the world building was something I loved from the start, and reading your review has convinced me to get back onto this series sooner rather than later! 😀 ❤️
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Thank you so much, Beth! I agree that Helene was interesting as a whole, I just wish my heart could have cared a bit more for her overall hahaha. I’m still looking forward to seeing what will happen to her next in the next book 🙂
I hope you’ll get back to reading this series soon, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about it! ❤
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Maybe in the next book you’ll enjoy her character more. 🙂
I’ll have to make this a priority for the start of 2019 then! 😀
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Yes yes you should! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts 😀
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Oh I’m so glad to hear this one’s just as good as the prequel! I’ve been meaning to read it for ages but never got around to it… Also, avoiding spoilers as much as I can on Twitter (which is hard!)
I have to say I’m the exact opposite of you xD I always enjoyed Helene more than Laia, so I’m happy to know she’ll have her own POV in this book (I actually don’t remember if she had one in the previous one? Ugh, brain!)
I also totally understand the squeamish feelings you may get while reading certain scenes. They were quite gruesome and terrifying and I was not totally at ease with them either. But at the same time I find they shaped the story really well and were necessary so there’s that!
Anyway, amazing review as always Marie ❤ Keep up the lovely work!
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Oh yes avoiding spoilers can be really hard, I really hope that I won’t ever get spoiled for this series, because…. I’m loving the twists and turns and surprises and it’s the worst when these are taken away! 😦
Well you’ll be happy to read that one for sure then! It was great to have Helene’s POV in that one and to understand her better, I just wish I cared more for her haha 🙂 I hope you’ll love it 🙂 ❤
thank you so, so much!! ❤
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Oh yeah I’m the same! And that’s understandable, I mean, she’s a tough character to like – but those are usually my favourites!
Thanks so much, lovely ❤ ❤ 🙂
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I SPED through the first two books in this series and loved them!! Though I think my favorite so far is the first one. I started Reaper at the Gates a while ago but keep stalling on it! I got like halfway through and couldn’t go further. 😩 So frustrating.
Great review!
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Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that – I noticed that Reaper seems to have mixed reviews overall
I hope you’ll be able to get through it and that you’ll end up enjoying it better than you are now ❤
thank you so, so much!! ❤
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Great to hear your thoughts on this sequel! Helene definitely felt like a drag in the first book, so it’s not surprising that continues to be the case in the 2nd book. I don’t think I’ll continue with this series but i’m glad you enjoyed this installment!
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Ahah yes she really was, unfortunately I just can’t manage to get on board with her. Who knows, the next book might make me feel differently? 🙂
thank you!! ❤
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We already talked about this, but I didn’t have very strong feelings about the first book, so I don’t think I’ll read this one [I remember loving Elias, so I’m a bit heartbroken to hear about this book being torture in regards to him. :’)] – I’m super happy that you still enjoyed it, though, and this is a wonderful review! ❤
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Oh this book was torture for poor Elias, I’m still shook thinking about it haha. Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the review ❤
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It sounds like this was a strong sequel for you and that you were able to enjoy it for a lot of reasons! I have been hearing good things and bad things about this series and I really don’t know whether to give it a shot or not 😛 We shall see!
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It really was a strong sequel, I appreciated it so much! 🙂
I get that… I guess the only thing left to do is try it out, maybe get it from a library if you have that possibility? I hope you’ll try it out someday, I’d love to know what you think of it 🙂
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That is a possibility and a good idea! I’ll try it that way 🙂
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Great that the character growth was so amazing and the world kept expanding. Completely understandable that some parts were hard to read. Awesome review!
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Thank you so, so much! ❤ ❤
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Yay! Happy to see you enjoyed the second book! I definitely recommend taking a break from the series before the 3rd book if you are emotionally exhausted because things are just as intense in the next book lol
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I’m…. yeah I’m not ready for that next book but I’m going to read it for sure, because I need to know what happens next 😂😂
Thank you so much Amanda! ❤
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