Title: A torch against the night (an ember in the ashes #2)
Author: Sabaa Tahir.
Format: Hardcover.
Publisher: Razorbill.
Page count: 454.
Release day: August 30th 2016.
Genre: YA, fantasy.
Rating: 5 stars.
*See my review for book one here!*
What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)
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.
My thoughts:
I’m not giving you my separate ratings, since I just want to give this book 5 stars, no matter what my rating system calculation says!
Again, I absolutely loved this book! On the one side I’m like ‘why did I not read this earlier’, but now I can read the first three books quite quickly, and probably don’t have to wait long for book four!
Again I really love the characters and their dynamics! Both Laia and Elias are so interesting, I really like how we see them together but also separated. We see them interacting with each other but also with other characters, and it is interesting to see the differences!
I love this world and their politics! The population is mainly separated in Martials and Scholars, who have some things between them. But we also have all the different Gens, and their loyalties to different people. I really thought the role of the Emperor, the Commandant and The blood shrike was really interesting, and added some extra layer to the story!
We read this book from three POVs, and I think that is exactly the right amount. We read from Elias, Laia and Helene! Which really gives you a view of what happens in most of this world. Since Elias and Laia are mainly together, or at least in the same part of the world, while Helene is somewhere else or at least with different people. So you really learn quite a bit about what is going on everywhere.
There are so many twists and turns! I was fully relying on a certain person, and of course we got betrayed.. And there are so many other people of who I have no idea if I can trust them!
This mistrust mainly comes from the ending of the book! So much happened, and got revealed and I don’t know what is going on anymore! I really need to read book three ASAP! Luckily I already got it out of the library!
The series only gets better and more emotional! Ugh, just thinking about the next book makes me sad.
I’m not sure if this makes me excited or anxious to read book three haha!
Yeah, we need the three POVs, but I won’t lie I was really wanting to read Helene’s perspective the WHOLE time!
Great review! I’m in the position where I don’t have Book 3, so I’m going to have to wait for a bit longer!
Helene’s persepective was so interesting!
It might be good to wait with reading book 3, so that the wait for book 4 is less long afterwards haha!