A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by: Sabaa Tahir

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Published: August 30, 2016 by: Razorbill
Pages: 452
Rating: 4/5 stars

*if you have not read AEITA don't read further as it will be spoiled.*

On the run after The Fourth Trial, Elias and Laia are fighting for their lives as they make their journey to Kauf prison to break free Laia's brother. However the murderous Emperor Marcus has sent out troops upon troops to capture the two, so Elias and Laia must keep their wits about them as they make their way. In the meanwhile, Elias' former friend Helene faces the task of hunting for the pair and killing them, before Emperor Marcus, kills her.

I had been waiting anxiously for this sequel and I have to say that it did live up to it's potential! I couldn't wait to see what happened to Laia and Elias once they were on the run and especially, what Marcus would be doing with the Empire. While AEITA was a lot faster-paced and interesting to me, this book did give me the sequel that I wanted.

I loved Elias' and Laia's chemistry in this book! This book was fiery and passionate, and there's no denying that those two are the cutest when they're together. I felt like Laia made the book for me, she was so much stronger and more confident in this book and had her time to shine. While Elias can do no wrong, this book definitely had more of the girl power.

I also really loved that Helene's POV was put into this book. She's such a fascinating character to me, I'm not sure if I love to hate her or if I just love her, but getting to go into her thoughts definitely made me connect to her more. She is a really well-written character.
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While Sabaa Tahir is amazing at making a brutally thrilling book, I think that this book was just a bit more laidback than AEITA. For this reason, I have to say that I found some parts quite boring, especially Elias' parts, which kind of disappointed me. I don't think that Elias' storyline was that interesting to me and I loved him a lot more in AEITA.

But other than that, this was not a let down of a sequel at all and I can't wait to see what Tahir comes up with next! If you're looking for a thrilling fantasy series with some POC's at the centre, this series is for you!

Have you read A Torch Against the Night? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess