A Torch Against the Night: 2 (Ember in the Ashes)

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As you can probably tell from this review, I adored the ending, even if the beginning was a little frustrating. I rooted for them, part of me still does, but Laia’s stupidity somehow tainted what I thought was pure. Well, the ghosts, the jinns, the soul reaper, the magical beings, the bad emperor, the Commandent (I want to burn her soul arghhhhhh! They are really interesting and compelling characters, it’s very easy to love them and care for them. May be the villains do have good reasons, which might be revealed in next book(s), but as of now, it doesn't make much sense.

Thankfully that was the case for me again with this novel and I, once more, ended up adoring this even more than the first book in the series. Fellow readers, please, for your own good, go read Kat's, Sarah's, and Nastassya's reviews- I just did it, and I know I will be laughing for hours.here, in her new role as blood shrike - the sword that does the ruthless emperor's will, she really shines. Laia and Elias find themselves fighting to survive, as they try and evade the cruelty of the Commandant and the new emperor. Not even his fate at the end of this book could surprise or thrill me, probably because it felt like a random choice. This leads me on to her and Keenan's relationship (and his character as a whole) which I can barely tolerate. It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of perfectly good air.

There are many more reasons why I despised this book like Laia turning invisible only to throw sand on her enemies, Elias and Laia almost getting caught but sneaking away (which happened like a million, gazillion times), romance, 250+ pages of irrational, ludicrous, gormless drama (what happens after about 250 pages, I don't know) and Keenan himself.it has the perfect balance of action and adventure (most of which stressed me out), with also enough teasing/hinting at things yet to come (so much so that ive turned into a crazy conspiracy theorist). For instance, when Elias makes the decision to help Laia succeed in her mission of saving her brother, he is at a difficult crossroads: how does he protect Laia without killing more people? 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. I highly recommend starting this series, I really can't compare it to much else because of how perfect it is. Honestly, I do not know what to further expect from him because his involvement in this book is jaw-dropping.

If you don't understand what the hell I'm talking about -because I'm a completely complicated person who can't explain herself- I'll explain now. Because I don't like using acronyms, and typing out the titles taking long, we will refer to them as book 1 and 2. From the plot to the writing, to the world-building and to the characters, everything was so incredibly thought out and Sabaa Tahir takes us on one hell of a journey :D I loved having POV's from Laia, Elias, and Helene. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.My only disappointment is that the second book focused so much on the character development of Helene, Elias, and Laia, that we could not learn enough about the villain’s backstories. 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.