A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

I liked this book. It was fast-paced, quick, and got your heart racing within a few minutes of cracking open the cover. However, this book was definitely disappointing. This sequel definitely didn't match with the first book, An Ember in the Ashes. 
Elias is an ex-Mask, running away from Blackcliff, from the Commandant, from all of the government that he so desperately hated. Paired up with Laia, he was running for his life. Elias is a careful and skilled fighter, while Laia is only a Scholar, one of the lower-class people. Laia is part of the rebellion, while Elias... is rebelling. In my own opinion, I don't like Laia. She seems too annoying to me. During the book, she was overestimated and for some reason, people liked her. I didn't really understand why people apparently gravitated to her, she wasn't charming or funny. She didn't really have any likable personality traits, except for the "determination" Elias loves her for.
In this book, they're traveling across the country to run away from the Emperor, and also to free Laia's brother. Many different people help them along the way, with mysterious and endearing personalities.
There's a love triangle in this book. And I was honestly so disappointed by this. Laia liked both of them? No, she did not. It was obvious that she was gravitating towards Love Interest A, but she still "fell in love" with Love Interest B. Although, this love triangle seemed to end near the end, so at least we (hopefully) don't have to deal with a love triangle in the third book.
This book had a lot of action, at least, and I absolutely loved Helene. She was, by far, my favorite character. She had gusto, she had nerves, and she was skilled. Also, she had MAGIC. She has to deal with a lot of suffering, since she is now Blood Shrike to her enemy.
This book encounters a lot of death, but I think that it's handled very tastefully. The world building was magical, and you could really feel the characters' emotions. Despite my loathing mixed feelings for Laia, I still appreciated the other characters and felt like the plot was very thorough. There was a LOT of foreshadowing.
This book is in first person and switches POVs about every chapter, between Laia, Elias, and Helene. Did I like this book? Yes, I definitely liked this book. I would probably give this book three stars. A good read, if you don't hate Laia. I definitely recommend this for whoever read the first book, and loves escape books and fantastic mythological worlds.