A Torch Against the Night (Ember Quartet, Book 2)

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Donoghue, Steve (August 30, 2016). " 'A Torch Against the Night' runs deeper than 'An Ember in the Ashes' ". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved July 11, 2021. Medina, Anna (September 29, 2016). "Sabaa Tahir spins a multifaceted tale". Palo Alto Weekly . Retrieved July 11, 2021. I was never a huge shipper of Laia and Elais, BUT I love Helene and Harper. I had hoped that we would get some of their relationship, and we do, but it still wasn’t enough.

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir - Goodreads Editions of A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir - Goodreads

I have 253 characters left for this review, but I am not ready to shut up about this book. I still have so much to say. If there is one thing I know I will always remember about this book, it is that I will take Laia's courage, I will take Helene's intelligence and endurance, I will take Elias' strength and forgiveness. I will take Avitas' soft, good, kind soul, I will take Livvy's beautiful heart, I will take Tas' innocence, I will take Darin's stubbornness, I will take Afya's loyalty, I will take Mamie Rila's loyalty, I will take Mirra's toughness, I will take Quin's determination, I will take the Nightbringer's love. I only read this book for Helene and she is hands down one of the most interesting morally grey characters I’ve read! Elias is Helene's first love and "the worst thing that ever happened to her." They are mutual best friends.There are so many unanswered questions about the jinn. How did they even come to existence? How many jinn are there? What are all their abilities? How is it that Rehmat was able to live inside Laia? However, the plot is more than satisfactory. These feel like the right endings for every character arc. I can see some people will probably find the resolution anticlimactic, but I personally think it was perfect and fits the characters the best. I was especially happy with Helene's ending. I hate Elias's character arc with everything I have. In case you haven't read the series, he makes a deal with the jinn to become the Soul Catcher and transport souls to the next world by talking them through their troubles. He's basically a god-tier therapist. And he just lost everything that made me ship him and Laia. He's so angsty all of a sudden, and not in a good way. "Do I love Laia? No, I'm the Soul Catcher and must stay emotionless. But I love Laia! But... no?" It got old really fast. A Torch Against the Night is a fantasy novel written by Pakistani-American author Sabaa Tahir. It was published on August 30, 2016 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It is the second book in the An Ember in the Ashes series, preceded by An Ember in the Ashes and followed by A Reaper at the Gates. The story follows former slave Laia and former soldier Elias on a mission to save Laia's brother; and Helene, the unfortunate blood shrike. The novel is narrated in the first-person, alternating between the points of view of Laia, Elias and Helene. [2] Plot [ edit ]

A Torch Against the Night - Goodreads

Tahir has stated the global refugee crisis, [3] [4] her childhood, news about child soldiers and the novel On Killing inspired A Torch Against the Night. [2] Reception [ edit ]An epic fantasy debutabout an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.”— Hypable.com I fell physically ill waiting for this, like it’s to the point I can’t read other things because I feel all consumed about this book and it’s not even here yet. A Torch Against The Night was high on my must-read list, and it did not disappoint. Here we get to delve deeper into Elias and Laia's character development, as well as Helene's (a great addition to the point of view narrators). I loved how artfully the author explored Elias' struggle with his inner demons, Laia's self-confidence, and Helene's loyalties. Most of the characters were fully fleshed out and they really drove the story. Violence: There is a lot of violence. The Empire is a totalitarian society that brutally murders opponents. The Commandant kills numerous Scholars, including children. A character is poisoned. Another is forced to watch the execution of her family, and a supporting character dies. Elias and Laia have to kill soldiers. Characters are brutally tortured. Blood is mentioned. Sex: Budding romance between Elias and Laia, as well as Laia and Keenan, lead to some kisses. Two characters have sex, but the scene fades out and doesn't describe it in detail. Language: "Hell" is used multiple times, as well as "bastard". Laia, I think when we look at Laia from Ember to now, it’s absolutely INSANE how much she has gone through, her journey and how her character has built up so much strength over time. When we first meet Laia she’s quite naive and she underestimates herself. I mean even now she still wavers a little bit, but she continues to defy the odds, she fights for what she wants and doesn’t give up even if it feels painfully hopeless. I loved the relationships she built up throughout the series and how people started to look up to her. Elias breaks into Kauf but, unfortunately, learns that Darin is dead. He is found by the warden and interrogated for information about Laia. He befriends a scholar child named, Tas, who works at the prison.

Torch Against The Night: 9780008160371 - AbeBooks Torch Against The Night: 9780008160371 - AbeBooks

I would have seriously preferred anyone to do it over Mira. So many people could have done it, Helene, Harper, Elais, or even Keris's father. I would have also been fine with Laia doing it. Because we see these characters actually have something against Keris. We see their pain and we feel it. Why on earth did she die? And yes, I felt so sad that she died. This leaves Helene completely alone to rule an empire she never wanted to rule, and raise a nephew (when she didn’t want to do that either). Why is her life so miserable? She deserved better. 😭 The soldier approaches, his footsteps heavy. I can smell him—sweat and iron and dirt. Elias’s grip on his knives tightens. His body is coiled like a wildcat waiting to strike. I clamp a hand onto my armlet—a gift from my mother. Beneath my fingers, the armlet’s familiar pattern is a balm. Sadly, this one is disappointing as hell! All that momentum that was built up in the first three books disappeared and never revived again. Okay, time to go and break something because this one is bringing out the monster in me as I so wanted to destroy this one and wanted another version of this book 🤦 Sorry, dear pillows, bear my silent mind screaming 😌We reach a fork in the tunnel and veer right. Elias nods to a deep, shoulder-high hole in the wall, hollow but for a stone coffin turned on its side.

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir | Waterstones

I didn’t ever care about Laia and Elias. Laia becomes such a Mary Sue character. When needed her powers work and when not convenient they don't. She also makes so many stupid decisions. how did she defeat the Nighbringer so easily? and even if she did, she literally went into a sea or something. How did she come out of that without a scratch? So many strong female characters, like it really does get me all in the feels with this because they are all SOOOO good! Arius Harper’s spirit tells Elias that when the Sea of Suffering broke through the barrier, it took him, but before it could consume him, Mauth snatched him away. Elias is now in between the world of the living and the dead. Elias could choose to fall into the Sea of Suffering and lose himself in his pain. Or he could return to the world, for he is the Soul Catcher and has a duty, the balance must be restored. It felt like a land tremor.” Elias takes a step away from the wall and eyes the ceiling. “Except Serra doesn’t have land tremors.” I wanted more of the main characters. I wanted more of the Nightbringer. More of Helene and Harper. More of the jinns. More of the Commandent. More of everything.We have to remember the people that fought and died in these wars, the people who fought for a dream they would never get to see. I think that is what Sabaa Tahir's message is. That we must fight for those moments of happiness because we never know how long they will last. We never know when our time will be up. Elias,” he says after a moment, the slightest bit of warmth entering those cold gray eyes. “From you I prefer Elias.” however, ‘a reaper at the gates’ was an instant mood changer for me regarding this series. my mind still fails to grasp that the characters from books 3-4 are the same characters i fell in love with in books 1-2. and i think its mainly because the story took a direction i did not fully support/enjoy, and so my relationship with the characters changed.