Reviews

A Torch Against the Night is a good fantasy sequel. It definitely has its moments of slowness, but thankfully, there's a bit of mystery/waiting for the other foot to drop that makes you want to keep reading. You also get a bit more into the fantasy elements.

The reveal in this one!!!! I screamed!!! I definitely wasn't expecting it. The addition of Helene's POV really added to the story. She's such an interesting character to follow. I enjoyed getting to see Laia's fighting/training develop a bit more. She's not the same girl from that first chapter; Elias isn't the same boy from that chapter either. He's challenged just as much as Laia in this one.

I've got more questions than answers at this point and I'm really looking forward to getting those answers. I'm a little late to the game, but don't let that stop you from picking up this series. It's so good!

Content Warnings

lauramcsherry's review

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A Torch Against the Night

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m glad I started this series after the first couple books are out so I didn’t have to wait long in between them! Such solid audiobooks if you are looking for something to listen to.

The book takes place right after the last ended where Laia and Elias are running from the Empire. As they try to get to her brother and help him escape prison, they meet up with a whole host of Tribes, including Elias’s adoptive family. Laia mysteriously gets invisibility powers when they find themselves in sticky situation with the masks.

I liked that there were new twists that continued but didn’t repeat the plot from the first book. These books are so action filled with a hint of romance, good combination!

adicanread's review against another edition

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3.75

i fear this book fell into the second book trap where they spend the whole book just going to places... i did really like the ending, so that's pulling this book up for me, however, considering how miserable the middle portion felt, i can't justify rating this as highly as i rated the first book. tahir is really good at creating POV characters who the reader connects with deeply, but other than Cook and the Commandant, most of the side characters fell flat. izzi's death wasn't all that impactful because, as laia said, she (and in turn, the audience) knew literally nothing about her. similarly, laia being in love with keenan felt really out of the blue since she knew literally nothing about him either. relationships between the three POV characters feel so fleshed out because we get to see them talk to each other and explore their dynamics, but the same cannot be said for the supporting cast.

i felt that the execution of a lot of things set up in the previous book were anticlimactic. i think this comes down to how linear this novel felt, with very few shakeups. motivations remained the same throughout the novel, relationships stagnated, and the first 75% of the novel was a repetition of the same beats.

my favorite parts of this novel were the portions with helene, as these were the portions where tension was actually present. helene, while being a character i do not like, is very compelling, and she's the one who interacts most with cook and the commandant, two of the best written side characters.

i will still be continuing on with the series, though, because there are some really interesting ideas that are brought up in the last quarter. i'm excited to see laia act on her newfound agency, elias navigate being the soul catcher, and helene and livia navigate the empire's politics. this book used 450 pages for setup, i hope the payoff is worth it