[Review] A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Rating: 4.5 stars 

Published: August 30th 2016

Format: HC

Goodreads Synopsis:

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.
Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.
But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.
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…and kill them both.

I read An Ember in the Ashes a little more than 2 years ago, so I was worried that I would have some problems remembering who was who, but luckily I had my old review on Goodreads!

We enter Torch in the midst of the action - Elias and Laia are running for their lives, trying to evade capture as they travel north to Kauf prison to rescue Laia's brother Darin. Helene is the newly titled Blood Shrike, with Marcus as Emperor. She's tasked with capturing her former best friend, but the Commandant is trying to put a hole in her plans, and assigns her her spy and torturer, Lieutenant Avitas Harper. 

It's just as bloody and brutal as Ember, but this time, I feel like the stakes were higher and everything was much more intense. No one is safe in this book, let me tell you. Sabaa Tahir knows how to draw you into this world and keep you there.

Our Favorite Books of 2015... So Far

2015 is already officially halfway over, and we have rounded up a list of our top three favorite books that we've read in the first half of 2015. 

Yiling's Picks
  

1. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

2. Lois Lane: Fallout by Gwenda Bond

3. Fairest by Marissa Meyer


Alice's Picks
So 2015 has been an amazing year in YA lit for me, and I've read so many amazing books! In fact, most of the books I've read this year have been rated over four stars! :) It was definitely hard narrowing down my list.



1. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (review to come!)

3. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir


What are your top 3 books of 2015 so far? Let us know in the comments!

Reactions While Reading An Ember in the Ashes

The team at Penguin has launched a campaign surrounding An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (which, by the way, you really should read if you haven't already). They're also giving you the chance to name the fandom! To do so, visit Two Chicks On Books.

As part of this campaign, we were given the opportunity to participate and we've decided to post our reactions while reading An Ember in the Ashes, all in gif form. To read my full review (more like me rambling about the feels), click here.

So without further ado, my reactions while reading this whirlwind of a book...

In the beginning:

Poor Barrius. Run, Elias, run.

Basically every scene with the Commandant:


She's a true villain.



Especially true when she hurts Laia.

The Third Trial:




Sorry? What? I don't think I'm reading this right. It's not real.

The Fourth Trial:


This isn't fair.

Aftermath of the Fourth Trial:


Nope. That's all.

What were your reactions when reading these scenes? What do you think was the most emotional scene? Do you have a good name for the fandom? Let us know in the comments!

[Review] An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Rating: 5 Stars

Series: An Ember in the Ashes #1
Version: Hardcover

Release Date: April 28, 2015

Goodreads synopsis:

Laia is a slave. 

Elias is a soldier. 

Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. 


THIS BOOK. I can't guarantee that this review will make any sense because I finished it yesterday and I still have no words. It's probably going to be me rambling on about all the feels. I wanted to stop reading it so that I could savor it for a longer period of time, but I couldn't. Ember is one of these books that stay in your mind for a very long time long after you've finished it.

Few books reel you in right from the start, and Ember is one of them. Right from the first chapter, I was engrossed and kept flipping through the pages. Both Laia and Elias's story were captivating and the alternation of narratives made it all the more intense since some chapters end on a cliffhanger and we have to wait until their next narration before we find out what happens. However, I did find Elias to be a more interesting character, and his story was more intense for the most part. My poor little (okay, not so little) Elias Veturius. Sabaa's writing is phenomenal and there was never a dull moment in this book. I kept trying to wait for a point where the action dulled a little so I could take a break from reading, but nope.

The characters are all so wonderfully written, from the main characters to the supporting characters like the other slaves and members of Elias and Helene's platoons. *sob* The side/supporting characters didn't feel like they were side characters because even they give you the feels. Man, Tristas & Aeila forever. I can't even imagine any of Elias's friends as Masks since they seem to be so different from how Masks are described to be. So in summary, the characters are quite amazing and are my favorite part of this all around great novel.

Another thing I loved is that Sabaa Tahir does not hold back! The world she has created is brutal and she doesn't hesitate to describe it in detail. This reminded me of Game of Thrones, only a lot better. She uses vivid imagery to describe The Empire, Blackcliff, and other aspects of this world. Some people may feel a bit queasy with some of the things in here, but I just thought it made it all the more real.

I'm so glad I read this after we found out there is going to be a sequel because there are so many unanswered questions and I can't wait to follow the rest of Elias and Laia's journey and all the craziness I know they will encounter.

Overall, I'd give this book a six star if that was a thing, because wow.

Waiting on Wednesday (19) - An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: April 28th 2015

Goodreads summary:

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself. 

Why Ashes?
I've already seen so many great reviews for this book and the book hasn't even come out yet! Not only that but the book is already been optioned by Paramount for a SEVEN FIGURE DEAL. SEVEN. I feel that it's going to be a huge franchise and I can't wait to read it myself.  I haven't read much high fantasy lately, but An Ember in the Ashes will probably bring me back to the genre.

UPDATE: I managed to get a copy of the book! I can't wait to read it and let you guys know what I think!