Woah... I was entirely blown away by An Ember in the Ashes and I'm equally blown away by A Torch Against the Night. It's hard to describe everything I loved about this because I pretty much loved the entire thing from front to back. I'll just go ahead and highlight some of my favorite parts and I'll try not to be spoiler free. Try... 
 All of the characters felt fleshed out and distinct. They had an emotional depth that really connected with me as a reader and I was rooting for all of them. The book is told from three perspectives: Laia, Elias, and Helene. All three characters have their own unique strengths and flaws. They are intricate people. I found myself equally as invested in all of the individual stories which in and of itself is a rather big deal. In An Ember in the Ashes, at first I found myself really wanting more Laia chapters and was getting upset when the perspective kept changing. It was like I would get to a really great part and then have to wait for the author I get back around to it. In A Torch Against the Night, I didn't mind the changing perspective. All three of our narrators had different battles going on all at the same time. Often it was just a different perspective of the same battle which let me more fully understand everything that was at stake. I especially loved Helene. O man... that girl is really getting a raw deal out of life. However, I get the distinct sense that her story is only just beginning. I'm predicting when everything is said and done in the end of the series she will be Empress. Just saying... 
 We get more wonderful world building. We finally leave Serra and are on an adventure into brand new places and get to meet brand new people. It's a whole big world outside of Serra and Blackcliff full of tribal lands and people, smugglers, criminals, danger, other realms, and magic. Speaking of which... Magic played a much larger role here. I feel that the magical storyline will have a much larger impact going forward separate from the political /military storyline. Both worlds are coming together and intertwining in new and unexpected ways. I really can't predict where the story will go from here. On a side note there is a huge twist involving The Nightbringer... I'll just leave it at that! 
 The best way I can describe where we are in the series is that the story is only just beginning and there will be far darker times still to come before the dust has settled. This was a sequel and a continuation of the action built up in Ember and also sets the stage for future installments. The amazing thing was that Torch still felt complete. It ends in a place where the possibilities are endless and I can't wait to see where it will go!