But somewhere, between hopelessness and frustration, there's a torch against the night, which may be the guide to light. Throughout the first book, the moment I was sucked into the plot, I could put myself in the position of Elias. It is war and everyone is fighting for their own, and there are no rules or limits as to how they do it. Laia, sweetie, if your own neck is on stake and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to help those poor people you don’t even know personally, like hell you can.

As you can probably tell from this review, I adored the ending, even if the beginning was a little frustrating. All along the way, Laia and Elias face the agents of their enemies—Emperor Marcus, the Commandant, and even supernatural creatures who are hunting Laia for reasons she doesn't yet understand.This sequel painted him in true hero colors, highlighting his altruism, his devotion, his intensity and, most of all, his fairness. Moreover, introduction of more intriguing characters like Mamie (you define strength), the Warden (hate him with all my book collection), Tas (boy, my precious, I want to adopt you so bad! Besides, you know I always mention them, and I don't do it only because we discuss the book together: it's because they know what it means to review a book and analyze it with humor and intellectual honesty. For quite a while, Laia and Elias join with others to join a small group of friends, and I loved the sense of companionship that this brought with it. It was one of those instances where you can just clap to the performance, but be glad he's just fictional.

I honestly don't give a shit anymore if these books are objectively good (what even is that, anyway? 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 .I cannot wait to see how this colder, broken, hollowed Helene is going to enact her revenge and show the world her wrath. However, I think to take a somewhat familiar story and inject it with new life so that it becomes virtually unputdownable is a much more commendable achievement. I have never felt an affinity toward Keenan, and therefore I struggled to read passages in which he featured for the first two thirds of the book. She does reveal each of them with all the power a human mind can imagine and she does make each of them BIG.

Laia and Elias are determined to break into the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison to save Laia's brother, even if for Elias it means giving up his last chance at freedom. The Nightbringer establishes himself as a layered, complex character that is not as straightforward as one might think.Darin has special skills as a blacksmith that make him essential to the survival of his people, the Scholars.

In fact, however Tahir’s character development is so weak and defective, I don’t think I would have noticed if the personality of any of the characters had underwent any change that didn’t concern who loves who, Laia’s do-goodism or Elias self-centered desire for redemption. I felt like the first book talked about and promised a lot of horrors, but in this one it all comes to life. Secret alliances and betrayals kept me guessing the entire time, while supernatural influences became more prominent. the wonderful thing about A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT is that--though it never shies away from depicting cold brutality--the nuances of emotion are just as deeply felt.It happened to me before that I became very attached to a certain character, but in the next book she/he changed a bit, and the connection broke off.