A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir - Paperback

Perfect condition

The height doesn’t match the rest of the series 😭

If you liked the first book in this series, you will love this book. It picks up the story where it left in the first book. The bloodshed and brutality is as it was expected given the plot in the story. Elias, i love him even more in this book. Laia has emerged as more bold and strong character, and more determined taking her own decision in this book. Helen has outshined everyone else. She played a small but very important role in the first story and i had expected more from her in the second one. True to that, she is the torch against the night. She took all the right decision for the Empire as the newest Blood Shrike, even though it broke her heart into pieces. As in the first book, at every step the reader will worry about Elias and Laia, about their safety and their future, and their mission. The otherworldly characters, nightbringer and jinns adds the unexpected twists and give direction to the story. [***SPOILER ALERT*** Death is so close to Elias at every step. I just wanted Elias to be always there for Laia. And he stayed and helped Laia in her mission. I had expected that he will have to give up his last chance at freedom. I really love him for his struggle to fight against the poison in his body and keep moving and take the lead and right decision in his limited time to help Laia to free his brother from the most dangerous prison Kauf of the Empire. After getting captured in Kauf and being brutally interrogated by the sadistic Warden, he kept himself strong against all odds and used his presence of mind and skills to make the mission a success. Laia’s character has improved very strongly in this book, from a mere timid Scholar girl in the first book. She had confusions and doubts but she took her decisions very determinedly. But she had her feelings fluctuating between Elias and Kennan. I think that’s because she didn’t wanted to hurt both. But Elias never felt bad to see Laia with Kennan, though he was rough with Kennan, might be because he knew that he is going to die soon. Laia discovers her hidden power. She emerged more smart and more strong in this story. I felt Helen as the most strong character in this story. It was heartbreaking to see her family killed before her own eyes. Her struggle to capture Elias, the fugitive, and to kill him will make one cry. Everyone she loved was killed. The cunning and bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus blackmails her with her family members. And the merciless Commandant plans a plot to keep her away from the Empire. Helen does everything right for the Empire. She is one shining star who outshines everyone one, and the Emperor Marcus and the Commandant does not deserve her. I want her to take revenge from both for what they did to her family. My feeling for Avitas Harper softens by the way his behavior and action changes for Helen by the end. I had never liked Kennan. Though he helped Laia many times, i had a feeling that he has his own selfish reasons behind it. I felt bad when Elias left on horseback to fulfill the mission, when he got the knowledge the he is left with very less time. I could not imagine Laia alone with Kennan. Now I know why. I loved the way how Afya turned up, when least expected, in the end to help out Laia when she was all alone, boosted her confidence and moral level and kept her promise. The mission was a great team work, with Elias and Laia as the mastermind. Everyone who helped them both for this, there contribution was very valuable including the efforts and risks taken by the scholar slave kids Tas and Bee. A great and progressive story. The ending has left so much more to explore in the next book to come. (hide spoiler)] “So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light.” "Failure does not define you. It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of perfectly good air."

Ottimo . Consegna perfetta

Sabaa Tahir só melhora a cada livro, apesar de não ter gostado muito das partes da Helena, a leitura foi muito agradável.

Es exactamente igual a la foto y ha tardado poco en llegar

Author Sabaa Tahir was in Portland last night on tour promoting her latest book, A Torch Against the Night. She’s funny, literate, sharp and completely in love with her characters. She absolutely loves the Commandant (insert horrified gasp here) and Helene (loud applause). When asked about writing “kickass” female characters she answered that she doesn’t feel the need to write a “strong female character” because just being female makes that character strong (wild cheering and stomping). So, how was Torch? Did it measure up to An Ember in the Ashes? I’m glad you asked. Torch picks up right as Elias and Laia (pronounce Lie-ah, I found out) escape Blackcliff Academy. Helene, the new Blood Shrike, gave Elias a Mulligan and let him go free with the warning that they were enemies now. Because he is the self-sacrificing sweetheart that he is, Elias promised Laia he would help her free her brother Darin from prison so he can advance the Scholar v. Empire revolution that is brewing, big time. Elias had been planning his escape since page 1 of Ember so it struck me as quite interesting that he is willing forego his freedom to help Laia, a girl he has known barely a month to save a man he doesn’t even know. Meanwhile, Helene, Blood Shrike Supreme, has to deal with her b**stard of an employer, Emperor Marcus, plebian at large, AKA the Snake. The man is evil incarnate and I was surprised he kept his physical distance from her. Don’t get me wrong, the guy tortures her in so many other ways, but whenever he comes near her, thankfully there is something that stops him from making me throw the book across the room. He orders her to find, publicly torture and execute her best friend, Elias. But first she has to deal with all the disrespectful misogynists in her Black Guard. Goddess forbid, they must follow orders given by a woman, but she does show you don’t need brass b***s to be a leader. You just need secrets and know where to twist the knife. The plot is a simple “Get Darin out of prison” tale. What happens in-between is full of juicy betrayals, freaky twists, a mortal deadline, a chase through the desert, an illicit night in a cellar, dead souls, torture, a love triangle (not the one you think), sacrifices, regrets, death, and even more death. This book goes to darker places than Ember did. Cringe-worthy dark. While this book does not romantically complete the Elias and Laia story (keeps your knickers on, there are 2 more books in the works) it does leave them in a rather unorthodox relationship at the end. Not sure how I feel about it yet, ask me after book 4. We do learn a big something about the identity of Elias’ dad (I guessed it before the end, woo-hoo!). And now that the Commandant appears to not have an academy to dominate and torture, she does have a plan for her future (typical monomaniacal little witch move). Helene learns what it means to be broken and truly become the Blood Shrike. And Marcus, well I can’t wait to find out why he gets all twitchy when he comes near Helene (I think I have a good idea, though). Some readers feel Torch suffers the accursed ‘second book syndrome’ with the characters acting differently and not their usual lovable/hateful/despicable selves. I beg to differ. That is going to happen when circumstances surrounding the characters change. Ember was a book about personal trials and a contest to the death to become leader of an empire. Torch is about personal trials and a contest to the death to become a better person and make a better empire. This will make characters react differently and change into different, more complex, people. If they can roll with it, so can I. Tahir writes a good tale with memorable and strong characters (males included). She also writes beautifully—her imagery is vivid and flows without being flowery or overdone. There are some light-hearted moments that are much needed in such dark chaos. And her magical world building is phenomenal and advances even more in this second book. It’s a great, robust, addictive series and I cannot wait for the third book…and the fourth book.