Mundie Moms

Saturday, March 18, 2017

A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT by Sabaa Tahir / Book Review #ATorchAgainstTheNight


Hello and welcome to today's addition of, "I know I wrote a review for this book, but I can't find it, so I'm going to write one now, but after I re-read the book, and fall in love with it all over again". Do you ever have those books you devour as soon as you get them, and then somehow never write a review like you could have sworn you did? Apparently I did that with this book. The plus side to that, was re-reading it again. I can't wait for the next book in this series. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

By: Sabaa Tahir
Published by: Razorbill
Released on: August 30th, 2016
SeriesAn Ember In The Ashes #2
Purchase fromAmazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Source: signed arc from BEA / purchased book

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.

Picking up right after An Ember in the Ashes leaves off, Tahir wastes now time thrusting readers right back into the thick of the action, danger, and deception that make up Laia, Elias and Helene's world. Told from alternating points of views between Laia, Elias, and Helene, this story is rich in politics, the theme of choice, and the consequences that come from those choices, and how those consequences effect each of the characters. 

Tahir's writing is phenomenal. The world building is richly detailed, and it's incredibly easy to visualize, as it's greatly expanded upon in this book. I absolutely love the way Tahir captures her reader's attention. From her in-depth character developments, introductions to new characters to the story, unsuspecting twists, and betrayals, make for a book that was hard to put down. She has mastered the art of multiple point of view story telling, which is no easy feat. Each point of view was easily identified, and each chapter leaves you hooked, needing to know more. 

I love it when an author makes you feel like you understand each of their characters, both good and bad. You understand their choices, and feel like you get them. Tahir does that in this book. Because of it, I was that much more emotionally invested in the the story, and the characters. Whether it was because I loved the characters, or despised them, I felt something toward each other characters, and understood their motivations. I will say, it was so much easier to despise the not so lovable characters. They are horrid characters. 

Character wise, I absolutely love Helene. She is a force to be reckoned with, and a character who really surprised me in terms of how much I really enjoyed getting to know her more.  I loved feeling like I understood her. She is a character who I couldn't help but root for. Helene is the one that I felt who grew the most. There's so many layers to her character. I greatly admire the strength she has. Her strength is what allows her to act her part in the world she forced into. It allows her to grow into a character who's capable of so much more than she thought she could be, and do. She battles a lot with who she once was, who is she now, and who she's forced to be. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Helene will do next, as the series continues. 

The character I had a hard time with was Laia. She's drastically different than she was in the first. I get it. There's a lot that's happened, and I understand how that would chance someone. However, some of her actions didn't seem like the Laia that I had once admired. She wasn't as immovable as she once was either. I couldn't help but feel bad for Elias. He was forced into a making a decision he didn't realize had the dire consequence it did. For the sake of spoilers, I'll just leave it at that. I am anxious to see what happens with him next.

Overall, this is another thrilling, action packed, installment in a series I love. There's the right element of something for everyone. From rich characters, and world building, to romance, deceit, plot twits, and plenty of danger to action packed scenes. This book definitely didn't fall into the second book syndrome. I can not wait read the next book in this series. I need more answers! I'd definitely recommend picking this one up!

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