Rating: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

“Force won’t work,” Harper murmurs. “You need to outwit them. You need secrets.”

“Secrets are a snake’s way of doing business.”

“And snakes survive.”

The sequel to the critically acclaimed An Ember in the Ashes series, A Torch Against the Night, was released earlier this fall, and I finally had the chance to pick it up and read before I became swamped with college applications and school life. And I am so glad for it.

Sometimes, with a sequel to an acclaimed and popular series, they fall into what many call a “mid-book slump” in which the sequel to the previous novel falls short to the ingenuity and brilliance of its predecessor. However, this was definitely not this case.

In A Torch Against the Night, the events take place right after that of its predecessor, so I won’t spoil anything but, I will say, this sequel was everything I wanted and more. It was brutal and powerful and intense. Tahir doesn’t hold back with the stark reality and brutality of the world she has built. It takes place in a bleak and wicked Roman Empire-based world full of danger, suspicion, and political turmoil and unrest.

The best aspect of this book was the characters. All my favorite people have returned from the original novel and are back and better than ever. As with a new novel, we got new insight into their characterizations and we saw them evolve and change and grow stronger. They have all the aspects we could ever want from a group of characters such as powerful, complicated, thoughtful, pragmatic. As a result, Tahir’s characters really shine through the intense plot and action.

Speaking of plot and action, the book contained so many elements of danger and tension that the action scenes were greatly highlighted. Tahir came up with a fair way to level the playing field in order to increase the peril of our characters both in dramatically interesting and textually appropriate ways. As a result, her use of language and writing really proved satisfying and effective in its messages.

Also, all the magic and supernatural aspects from An Ember in the Ashes that were never really answered are resolved with this novel. They are defined and developed so strongly that it added to the uniqueness and power of this novel as well as adding extra layers of intrigue to this world.

Overall, this was the perfect sequel for me, and, while it might not be for every kind of reader, you should definitely give it a chance! It’s wonderful, terrifying, beautiful, revolutionizing. This series epitomizes all my favorite things in literature—political intrigue, complex characterization, and a frightening yet fascinating world—and it definitely won’t disappoint any fantasy book lovers! I’m definitely awaiting the third novel because some revenge is need to take place.