About the Book:

Title: A Torch Against the Night

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: August 30, 2016

Pages: 452

Genre: YA Fantasy

Synopsis:

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.

 

Review:

Wow! Typically sequels are not as good as the first book, but in this case, it was even better. I absolutely loved this book. It was a nonstop, heart pounding ride, from start to finish. The story begins right where An Ember in the Ashes ended, with Laia and Elias running for their lives. I love that we also get Helene’s point of view in this one. She has now been ordered by Marcus to hunt down and kill Elias and Laia. There are just so many twists and turns, and things that come to light, and it was just flipping amazing. I laughed and I cried, and felt like I was getting my heart ripped out in some parts. Definitely be prepared to buckle up for this one, and hang on for the ride. I am so ready for A Reaper at the Gates!

About the Author:

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.