To keep up with the times, and not fall into a dark chasm of old school fantasy, nineteenth century literature, Buddhist philosophy and postcolonial theory, I make sure I read one popular Y.A book a year. I mean I’ve got to keep my cool trendy hip image going right? I wouldn’t want you guys to think I’m some kind of reclusive romantic poetry obsessed bookworm who sits around reading books all day then writes about them on a book review website. Cool, I’m glad we’ve cleared that up. So I did have...

(Reread September)Guys. I have no idea what the fuck I was talking about in the review four years ago. Like....what???Anyways, still 5 STARS BABY!!!!Forgot how good this was. Reading Vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEldQ...Twitter | Bookstagram | Youtube |__(First read August, 2016)AIYEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!EMBERLINGS UNITE!!!!!AIYEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!EPIC IN EVERY WAY!!!!!!AIYEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!SO MANY TWISTS AND TURNS, MASS DESTRUCTION, and NO-HOPE-FOR-OUR-BABIES-BUT-THEY-STILL-KICKED-HELLA-ASSES!!!...

You jump right into things in Torch and I loved it! Here's my full booktalk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQME...

is it possible to be simultaneously infuriated AND absolutely enamoured with a book? because im stuck in a constant struggle between wanting to throw this book across the room and clinging onto it for dear life. its making me begin to feel very emotionally unstable. just to give you an idea, heres a basic summary of my reactions whilst reading this book:*laia does something* me: ughhhhh. you stupid, stupid girl. c’mon, get it together - im rooting for you! *elias does something* me: noooooo. i c...

DNF Giving this book 2 stars largely feels like I'm being liberal. I'd rate this less than one if not for Helene's chapters. The story was mostly confined to roads, as the leads barrel their way, away from the Empire's clutches. The romance felt forced and extremely annoying.There are many more reasons why I despised this book like Laia turning invisible only to throw sand on her enemies, Elias and Laia almost getting caught but sneaking away (which happened like a million, gazillion times), rom...

Don't hate me, karen. Excited to be reading this--and PS, Penguin is giving away 10 ARCs of this book here! http://bit.ly/1XseFCcYou can catch a sneak peek of the ARC + Laia's arm cuff on my Instagram, too: https://instagram.com/p/BGIFIxiTiHt. I can't seem to insert images here lately, otherwise I'd post a photo.

⚔️ Ten bleeding hells! 🗡️ Helene, my heart is breaking into a million stars 🌌"Most people are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you, Helene Aquilla, are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night - if you dare to let yourself burn."(Yes, so well written, Sabaa Tahir. Exactly what I wanted to tell her from the very beginning! And yes, I did the happy mind swirl when I come across the exact book title in the writing knowing what it means and for which character...

5 Ten Bleeding Hells STAR'S "But you... are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night – if you dare to let yourself burn."“Failure doesn't define you. It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of perfectly good air.” Buddy read with my VK/GR besttie Tania Parvin*Reread*Simply AMAZING!!! Everything about 'A Torch Against the Night' was done so masterfully! It has everything that makes a book great and I couldn't love it more. From the plot...

"What in the skies was that?"I really liked An Ember in the Ashes. Despite the minimal world building, and the present tense narrative, the plot was intriguing enough to make me start with A Torch Against the Night immediately, and I was really hoping this would improve upon the first book. For the first half of the book, it did feel that way. But then things started going downhill."Everything that has happened so far is the result of willpower, or sheer, dumb luck."The 3-star rating does not me...

congratulations! semifinalist in goodreads' best YA fantasy & science fiction category 2016!"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."i didn't love this as much as An Ember in the Ashes, but it's a seriously fun book regardless. the problem is that the first one was so strong, it's a tough act to follow. this one is certainly not lacking in action or worldbuilding or interesting characters -

I’m deeply, truly underwhelmed. An Ember in the Ashes is one of my favorite YA fantasy debuts; Sabaa Tahir’s world was mesmerizing yet brutal, and it was so easy to lose myself in the bloody story of an Empire inspired by Greek and Roman culture. Sadly, in A Torch Against the Night I didn’t manage to fully grasp that flare of magic I was confident I’d find. “So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light.” A Torch Against the Night follows Elias and Laia’s quest to free L...

Picking up where 'An Ember in the Ashes' left off, 'A Torch Against the Night' proved to be every bit as suspenseful and action-packed as the first book. Laia and Elias find themselves fighting to survive, as they try and evade the cruelty of the Commandant and the new emperor. There was never a dull moment.One thing that you should know going into this series is that the author isn't afraid to kill off characters. There were several surprising deaths along the way. Don't be surprised if some of...

I'm really liking where this series is going!

“So long as you fight the darkness, you stand in the light.” A Torch Against the Night is the very glorious sequel I had expected from Sabaa Tahir. But what distinguishes itself from its prequel is the otherworldliness of it. The breath of Death on our characters' necks. The villain(s) that are evil incarnate. The idea of a prescribed destiny. The new abilities and powers. The demons, the stories, the souls -- everything combines with a well-built plot, an expanded universe and realistic, fla

This review can also be found on my blog, Dana and the Books.An Ember in the Ashes was one of my favourite books from the past few years so it's only natural that I counted down the days to the sequel. In fact, I found out my local book shop had it stocked a couple days before the UK release date, so I frantically ran over and recruited the bookseller to help me find it. Poor guy must have thought I was insane - I don't think I even brushed my hair I was so desperate to get my hands on it. Well,...

S A B A A T A H I RR U I N E DM E.Side effects if reading ATATN: dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, clammy skin, cold sweat, P A I N. If you’ve read any of my updates, you’d know how terrified I was going into this- that I was expecting the worst.. and now I’m just sorry that I even doubted Sabaa Tahir. Because absolutely every part of this book was brutal, but also perfection. All the best parts of An Ember in the Ashes were still a part of this story; the complexity of each and every chara

I realize I am not staring into his eyes. I am staring into my future.I see it for a moment. Pain. Suffering. Horror. All that I love, all that matters to me, awash in blood. Oh my god. I loved it.Last year, I read and enjoyed an advance copy of an unknown book from a debut author - An Ember in the Ashes. I sped through it, loved it, rated it five stars, and thought that was the end of that. On to the next one. Like most books I rate and review, I expected it to be forgotten in a sea of YA. B

magnificent.TORCH simply burns, in all the best ways. it's everything you've come to love and expect from the brilliance of Sabaa Tahir, except BETTER. twisty, turny awesomeness abounds on every single page. and you will not want to keep turning them until the tale is over.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. just as passionately rendered. you will yell at your favori...

This review will be more of a rant, don't say I didn't warn you.I'm reviewing An Ember in the Ashes and a Torch Against the Night together in this review, mostly because I didn't have the energy to rant twice.Because I don't like using acronyms, and typing out the titles taking long, we will refer to them as book 1 and 2. In book 1, we dive into a world with so many undeveloped yet interesting ideas. From the hype that surrounded this book, I was super excited to read it, and when it started off...

5/5 stars. I want to cry! How do you understand that the book you just finished reading is a good book? Which is worth 5 whole stars, and maybe even more?I'll tell you my opinion - you should feel it. You have to feel the characters, go through the experience they are going through. You have to feel that you are experiencing what is going on in the book with the characters.It's a very great connection to a book, and it doesn't happen with most books. Usually, you just read the book from your poi...