A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Paperback ARC
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance
Ratings: 
I talked a little bit about this book back when I first read it. Now that the release date is upon us, I have some more thoughts about the things I liked. In list form. Because this is my blog and I can do what I want.
- More action: There’s a lot more going on in this second book. Boy, did I feel a lot of emotions. Sometimes multiple emotions all on one page. The main emotion being STRESS. Which shouldn’t be surprising considering how the first book ended. Elias and Laia and the Empire as a whole have problems and then even more problems and it’s a whirlwind. Brace yourself.
- More Supernatural Elements: The first book brushes on powers and the supernatural, but Torch explores that more extensively so there’s an extra touch of fantasy to the series (! “series” because there are now going to be 2 more books. HELL YEAH.) There are some answers to a few things that showed up Ember.
- Pure Evil: Sometimes the exploration of the grey area between good and evil is important. (There’s some of that in this book.) But there’s also a pure evil element that added some horror to the events unfolding. Some things are just completely devoid of goodness, which helps up the stakes for characters. The moral complexity when it comes to Laia and Elias is much more distinct when it’s up against the terribleness that surrounds them.
- More Helene: I wasn’t sure I wanted more Helene before reading this, but turns out her perspective adds a lot to the story. Through her the reader learns more about how the Empire functions and how brainwashed the Martial soldiers are. While I didn’t feel much for Helene in the first book, I understand her so much better now. As well as the decisions many in the Empire are faced with.
- Laia: Laia was a refreshing character to me from the start. In the first book she is terrified and somewhat cowardly. She isn’t instantly good at everything. She’s realistic. This gives her so much room to grow. In Torch, she still isn’t perfect and still isn’t magically great at fighting and everything else. Which is good because her character development feels natural. In Ember, I liked that her strengths were much different than Elias’s. That contrast come through even more in this book and is part of the fabric of the story.
The ending to this is satisfying as there wasn’t a promise that anything else would come next. But now we get two more books! Which is great, but now I’m in agony again because I have to wait.