2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir, the second book in An Ember in the Ashes series.

Pages: 452 pages

Length: 1 Month (September)

Participants: SarahKat, Allie, Sara.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Can I join this buddy read?

Anyone can join any of the buddy reads. Welcome aboard:)

Welcome Ilse!

I'll start this after I finish my last few August books.

I'll try to join this buddy read, I liked the first book but when I read it few years ago but I never got far enough into the second so hopefully this will motivate me to pick it up. :-)

Welcome Hanca!

I listened to the first book earlier this year and I'm reading this one with my eyes so it has a bit of a different feel. I've read through chapter XXIX: Laia. A couple of chapters after Part 2 starts.
(view spoiler)[The book seemed to start out a bit slow for me. A lot of Laia and Elias staring at each other. Helene's chapters were more interesting. I don't like her much but her character is so conflicted and her perspective within the empire is unique to the book so I really enjoy her chapters.

Now that they are separated, I'm finding Laia and Elias's chapters better as well. Elias's fate is concerning. I wonder if the Soul Catcher will work some kind of magic to allow him to survive.

The chapter I just finished with Laia was very sad. I hate seeing children in any kind of distress and the scholar kids they saved on the road with their parents are now orphans. And Izzi!

This book is very brutal. Hard to read sometimes. But it's getting good. (hide spoiler)]

Hi, I just read through to the point you did in your last post. I also found the beginning a bit slow. I am listening to this on audio while doing a huge house cleaning and reorganization so maybe I'm not listening carefully enough but I am getting a bit confused about the timeline and time jumps. I agree with you on Helene completely! So far I am not attached to any of the characters, but the plot is interesting enough to keep me going.

Hanča wrote: "Hi, I just read through to the point you did in your last post. I also found the beginning a bit slow. I am listening to this on audio while doing a huge house cleaning and reorganization so maybe ..."

I listened to the first one on audio and it was a bit difficult to follow. As long as the rest of the series is available in ebook or physical from my library I'm going that route.

I finished a week ago and forgot to post my review! It's short but spoilery. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I still have about 1/4th to go so I will check your review once I'm finished, SarahKat.
So far it is a 3* for me but I am intrigued by the magical elements and I might be swayed depending on where it goes.

I still need to get to this….I’m so behind….where did September go?!?

I just finished the book. The last part was interesting, especially the revelation of (view spoiler)[the Nightbringer - I didn't expect Keenan at all. (hide spoiler)]
Indeed this book was very brutal at some parts which I usually don't mind when it serves a purpose but I don't feel it does here, lot of people are just cruel for no apparent reason.

I'm rating it 3* and I decided to not continue with the series. I might end up reading the spoiler summary for the next books but I don't feel like dedicating the time to a series that is just OK for me. Some questions I had (view spoiler)[I wonder if Marcus has the Nightbringer whispering in his ears too or what was that talking to himself bit about. The fact Elias and Harper are half brothers is an interesting touch and I wonder if their father is still alive. Where do the magic powers of some people come from (Helene's, Laia's)? What's up with that cook? (hide spoiler)]

Allie, most of my September as been spend Covid-quarantining so at least I have a bit of reading time! This thread will be up for another month. Are you still going to try to read the next one? And Sara?

Hanča, I agree! (view spoiler)[I knew something was up with Keenan but I did not foresee him being the Nightbringer. Yeah sometimes the brutality just felt like the author was manipulating my emotions so the book would stick with me more.

All very intriguing questions! If my other buddies are going to continue the series with me, you can come read our spoilers the next few months to find the answers! (hide spoiler)]

Understandable not wanting to continue. I liked this book much better than the first so I'm hoping it just gets better from here! And I really have to hate a series to drop it after the second book. I'm a bit OCD about finishing things like that.

That's a good idea, I will check up the thread or your reviews if you get to it. I'm sure you will enjoy it, I've seen a lot of positive reviews for this whole series!
Honestly the dropping of unfinished series is a struggle for me too. :-)

Yes, once I can finally find time to read this one, I’d like to carry on with book 3. I also hate just dropping a series….unless I abhorred the first book. But I loved the first book.

Hope you’re doing well, Sarahkat!

I definitely want to read book 3. Do you want to read it together, Sarahkat?

Sure Ilse, it's already set up for a buddy read next month. I'll add your name! It will be me, Allie, and yourself. haven't heard from Sara yet

Okay, sounds good!

I’m gonna try to get to this one by the weekend 🤞🏻

Did you get a chance to start Allie? I'll start the 3rd one last out of all my other books for October so I'm not too far ahead.

I got so behind on this. Lmao. I'm going to power through this and catch up for next month's third book.

Sara wrote: "I got so behind on this. Lmao. I'm going to power through this and catch up for next month's third book."

Yay! It started slow but got really good.

So I read both 1 & 2 back to back so I'm going to comment generally on both of them. There is things I really liked about these books. And it does have a fairly compelling story line. That said, my eye twitched a little time every time someone was called a Martial or a Scholar or a Tribesman. The world building felt lazy with these boring "people' names. Like not every Scholar was scholarly, and not every Martial can possibly be a warrior. Elias even mentions Martial traders. It's just weird. It doesn't feel like a true people name. Plus, I noticed some inconsistencies in the plot in the first book. This smoothed out a little in book 2, in the sense I felt like all the characters were doing important plot related things.

Anyways, overall decent. I want to be more impressed than I was. I enjoyed these books, but didn't love them. They were just... solid. Some reviewers I usually agree with strongly raved about these books but I just didn't feel it. It was good. Nice and dark, and really gritty, but weirdly it's also kind of forgettable. I struggle to remember Laia's name, or any of the various side characters outside of Cook. Elias seems like a stronger developed character, but only slightly. I don't think these books will stay with me in any case, beyond a basic, 'ah this author is pretty good at writing'.

I agree with you, SarahKat that it started really slow, actually both books did. And I do think they both got better by the end. The action certainly picks up and the brutality, which I thought was really good. It created a really solid atmosphere for the books and clearly that brutality is going to probably continue and only ramp up in the next two books. I'm looking forward to the next book in any case.

I felt the same, Sara. I couldn't remember half of what happened in the first book when I started the second. It's easy to forget, but enjoyable while reading. Hopefully the third book will start out a bit more interesting right away.

Glad you liked them enough to continue with the series with us!