A Torch Against the Night is the outstanding second book in Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes Quartet. I started reading this series a couple of days ago, and finished all three books in three days. They were that good. I was fortunate in that my library had an extra copy of this book on their shelves. Once I realized that this book was available, I rushed to go pick it up.
The following review may contain spoilers for An Ember in the Ashes.
In the first book, our heroes, Elias, Laia, and Helene, were tried in various ways. As A Torch Against the Night begins, Elias and Laia are running for their lives, and Helene has sworn an oath to the foul Marcus to be his Blood Shrike. Could things get any worse for these people? Oh yes, they can.
Elias has promised Laia to go to rescue her brother, whom we discover is in the Kauf, the worst prison of the Empire. Along the way, they run into all kinds of trouble, but they also find the help of allies, and discover that they can show kindness to others, even when they are in all kinds of distress.
Helene has been tasked to track Elias down. If she doesn’t, there will be consequences for both her and her family. As a result, she is put into a very tough predicament. Will she become a completely different person in pursuit of her duties?
When we last left our cast of characters at the end of An Ember in the Ashes, we were left with questions about who is going to fall in love with whom? Will Elias and Helene get together while Laia and Keenan find love? Or will it be Elias and Laia? If you read the first book’s description, you already know, but by the end of this book, there will be no doubt about who loves whom in this series. Whether they end up happily ever or not… remains to be seen.
Like the first book, A Torch in the Night has beautiful scenes, great characters, and a lot of action. If you’re looking for a feel-good book, this is not it; however, if you’re looking for a book with a lot of excitement and magic, this series is great. I highly recommend this series for people who are interested in this genre.
Other reviews in this series: