Review: A Torch Against the Night

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes spent a lot of time on my to-read shelf, yet it wasn’t until I found the first two books in the series on offer that I decided to dive in and see whether the series would live up to the expectations that had been put in my mind. Although I enjoyed An Ember in the Ashes, it wasn’t quite all I had hoped it would be. Nevertheless, I was more than willing to dive into the second book, A Torch Against the Night.

Although A Torch Against the Night was an enjoyable second book in the series, I had been hoping for more. If I’m being completely honest, this was more of a three-point-five-star rating, yet my disappointment resulted in my unwillingness to round my rating up – hence the three-star rating.

Continuing where An Ember in the Ashes finished, A Torch Against the Night throws us straight back into the story. I cannot fault the start of this book, where things were moving at a rapid pace. My interest started to fade the deeper into the book we worked. I found myself waiting for something more to happen, waiting for something big to occur.

I fear this book suffers from second book syndrome. With second book syndrome you’re given an interesting story with quite a few events, yet we’re given more foreshadowing than actual events to enjoy. Sure, we were introduced to lots of new things – but I feel as though they were never taken as far as they could have been. Sure, there were events that will have a roll-on effect throughout the series – yet they failed to hit the emotional mark I had been hoping for.

For me, this book was okay – it continued the story, but it did not blow my mind.

Don’t get me wrong, there were things I appreciated. We get to see another perspective in this one, which I enjoyed. We get to see more of the supernatural world, which I enjoyed. We have some twists thrown in, which I enjoyed. It simply wasn’t to the same level as the first book – I found myself wanting more action and less romance, more big events and less drama.

I’ll probably give book three a read, but I will not be diving straight into the book.

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