A Torch Against the Night Book review

 A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

2016

Young Adult fantasy fiction

A Torch Against the Night follows Laia and Elias as they travel to Kauf prison to free Laia’s brother. Along the way, we’re introduced to more incredible worldbuilding, as well as the different tribes of people that live within the Martial empire. A solid follow-up to An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night left me counting down the days until I can pick up the next book from my local library.

I overall enjoyed reading this sequel as much as the first book, and had to put the book down reluctantly every time! The characters are all complex and a joy to follow. One of the standouts of this book is Helene, as we finally have her first person perspective. 

The only reason this isn’t a five-star rating is because of the way the love triangle plays out. At the beginning, the love triangle is annoyingly clichéd. While it’s an issue that does eventually get sorted out and has relevance to the plot, the jealous love interest trope is worn out by now.

Rating: 4/5