A review by vermidian
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was really disappointed in this one, considering how much I liked the first book. Some of the things I appreciated in the first book were either pushed further or were just not done as well and wound up getting on my nerves as a result.

If you're a fan of pining and romantic indecisiveness, this book is definitely for you. Alas, I am not a fan of that. It was constant, especially during Laia's chapters, though you definitely get some in Elias's chapters as well. The characters would be so much better if their chapters weren't filled with their hormone overflow.

The actual storyline itself was decent. Summarized, it seemed like it got contrived a lot more to burn time so Keenan and Laia's relationship could grow and so Elias's relationship with the grim reaper gal could grow. I wish that they could have gotten to Kauf a whole lot faster. I felt like a lot of things felt like filler.

Helene was the only character where I truly believed she was worth reading the chapters for. Her story was intelligent and well paced, in spite of the slow movements of the characters she's supposed to be tracking. She had clear motivations that were tempered with hard choices and while you got a little of the hormones here and there, you mostly got her doing her best to tread water in the game of thrones, so to speak. (I'm trying not to spoil here.)

All in all, I'm not sure what this means for me for future books. It definitely wasn't quite what I hoped for.