Review: A Torch Against the Night

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 BIG BRIGHT BLAZING STARS FOR THIS ONE!

b> So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light.

GUYS

THIS BOOK!!!!!! GET HYPED BECAUSE ITS A FANTASTIC SEQUEL!! AHHHHH!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH PENGUIN FOR SENDING THIS TO ME!

*deep breathes*

Okay let's start from the beginning..

let me list my feels

This one picks up right where we left off with Elias and Laia running for their lives from Blackcliff. They're on the run with nowhere to go, just this mission of breaking Laia's brother out from Kauf, a highly secured and terrifying prison. They have enemies chasing them from a multiple different directions and things are VERY INTENSE AND NERVEWRACKING.

Perhaps grief is like a battle: After experiencing enough of, your body's instincts take over. When you see it closing in like a Martial death squad, you harden your insides. You prepare for the agony of a shredded heart. And when it hits, it hurts, but not as badly, because you have locked away your weakness, and all that's left is anger and strength.

It was heart stopping, breathless, riveting, and addicting to read. The stakes are so much higher in than the first one. Life, love and death loom just around the corner of every page. It was so hard to put down, and so easy to just sit and read as the hours ticked away and disappeared completely. I absolutely LOVED this sequel!! So many parts made me SO NERVOUS!!!

Defiantly, I edge closer to him. He clenches his jaw but doesn't move. Without looking away, I bring a tentative hand to his mouth. Those lips, curved like they're always smiling, even when his eyes are lit with desire, as they are now.
"This is a bad idea," he murmurs. We're so close that I can see a long eyelash that's landed in his cheek. I can see the hints of blue in his hair.
"Then why aren't you stopping it?"
"Because I'm a fool." We breathe each other's breath, and his body relaxes as his hands finally slide around my back, I close my eyes.


There's some romance, heartache, adventure, a SHOCKING plot twist..and then another HUGE plot twist and all of it leads to an epic ending.

(BUT REALLY THOSE PLOT TWIST WERE KILLING ME. Seriously some of the biggest twist that I EVER read! Still not over it!!!)

Perhaps I have become so accustomed to the burden of secrets that I do not notice their weight until I am free.

In this book we get three different point of view and it's broken up into four different sections. We follow alternating points of view between Elias, Laia, and Helene. I loved having this constant switch of back and forth. It's such a clever way of storytelling and each chapter would end with a cliffhanger, but then it picks up from someone else's point of view where something completely different is happening, so you need to keep reading and reading until you get back to the other point of view that was driving you crazy. It seriously keeps the reader engaged and eager to learn more just like the first one. Each point of view had a unique voice and it was extremely simple to distinguish between who was who. Such talented writing! The world building was so much better than the first one. In the first book, I struggled to get a good visual of this world but in this one it was so clearly laid out. And it was so MUCH FUN being back in this world!!

When you love, there is always more pain.

We have two separate storylines going with Elias and Laia on the run and then Helene who is the new Blood Shrike and has been tasked with her first mission: to hunt down and kill Elias, who was her best friend for most of their life.

Elias and Laia are each other's countermelodies. I am just a dissonant note.

My heart ached for Helene throughout the entire book. In the first one, she was a really frustrating character but in this book, seeing from her point of view it really made me love her! She is so STRONG and kickass! And dedicated to her family! I loved her development from then and now and it was truly one of the highlights for me.

"But you, Helene Aquilla, are no swift/burning spark. You are a torch against the night- if you dare to let yourself burn."

*slow clap for amazing character development*

I loved following her story and watching it interweave with Laia and Elias's story was brilliant!

this entire book was brilliant though

I loved watching Elias and Laia start to get to know each other better and eventually care for one another. It was so SWEET!!! Elias is so STRONG and some of what he goes through in this book is heartbreaking!!! I'm so in love with him and it was so hard to read some of the things he was going through!! Ahhh!! Elias girls, be prepared!!

""Look at me." I meet his gaze. The Commandants eyes. No Elias's. "I'm not her," he takes my chin, and while it must look threatening to those watching, his hand is light as a breeze."I won't hurt you. But you can't let the fear take you.""

And as for Laia, she became so BRAVE! She's growing more into herself and becoming more secure in what she believes in and for her people. She's so loyal to her brother and it's so touching to see as to what lengths she would go through to get him back.

You're emotions make you human. Even the unpleasant ones have a purpose. Don't lock them away. If you ignore them, they just get louder and angrier.

Honestly, this book blew through all my expectations and is easily one of the best books I've read in 2016. I don't know how I'm supposed to wait AN ENTIRE YEAR FOR THE NEXT ONE!!! Ahhh!!! Until then, I'll just be rereading all of my favorite parts. If you loved, Ember in the Ashes, then get excited because this sequel was PERFECT! If you haven't read An Ember In The Ashes then get on that!!! Such an amazing series!!

"I thought you told me you loved stories. Have you ever heard of an adventurer with a sane plan?"
"Well..no."
"And why do you think that it?"
I am at a loss. "Because...ah, because-"
She chuckles again. "Because sane plans never work girl," she says. "Only the mad ones do."

Thank you again Penguin!!

Thank you again to Penguin!!!



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