Not entirely sure how this is possible but Torchfire is even more beautiful and haunting than Songlight. The writing destroyed me, gave me hope and made me wish we could all be as accepting as Rye Tern. Thank you so much to Faber for sending me a copy.

There's always a moment before starting a sequel, book or film, where you wonder if it'll have purpose beyond filling the space between the introduction of a world and its narrative conclusion. Often there's new characters or plots added in to fill that space which only serve to mark the passage of time and to fall to the wayside once the large action resumes. This is not that kind of sequel. Introducing a new society and characters in this book seemed like a risk and would take away pages from the characters I wanted to hear from. But I forgot what it's like to watch a detailed and purposefully written world to expand. I remember reading the Tortal series, Hunger Games, Inheritance Cycle, and Neal Schuesterman's worlds and becoming engrossed in the unsuspecting depth of their saga. Now, The Torch Trilogy. There are some fantastic turns and trapdoors in this book, as with the first, and I cannot describe them without giving too much away. It's safe to say the book unties and creates more knots in the tangled web Songlight ended in. But it feels natural without being overly predictable, so its not until I've turned the last page and thought back through both book that I've fully realized just how complicated this world has become. I may have been spared the wait between Songlight and Torchfire (having read them back to back), but I most definitely have opinions about now waiting for book 3. Thank you Faber for sharing an ARC of Torchfire through Netgalley and Bookfest

Loved this book so much I sent a slightly unhinged email to Faber at 1AM as soon as I finished because I just needed them to know how good it is As is quite typical in second fantasy/sci-fi books, the characters very much start in one place and finish where they need to be for book three, but I find so often with those you can tell the author chose where they needed to be and just winged how they’d get there, filler books, you know the ones, this is not that. 550 pages felt hefty for a YA dystopia, but she really uses every page. There is so much development, both character and plot, and it’s desperately immersive. I find a lot of YA really insults its readers by being too simplistic and over-explaining everything in either speech or exposition (“OHHH so if XXXX does XXXX, XXX will happen?!"), and it’s so refreshing to read a book where the author allows its reader to simply be absorbed and come along for the journey. The only character who does this a little is Swan, and there’s a very good reason for that. There are so many moving parts and several main POVs in this book, keeping them all evenly paced and engaging throughout is quite a feat. I don’t usually enjoy to compare (even generally) to other books/authors during reviews but this is truly one of those reads that makes you realise writing is a craft, a skill, and Moira does it immaculately.I can tell she’s come from writing screenplays, not in one of those ‘you can tell this was written to try and get a tv show’ ways, but in a ‘I need to see this on my screen immediately because it’s so vivid and utterly immersive’ ways. I could really picture everything that was happening, even though thinking back the book is actually probably lighter on setting imagery than you’d expect. I sobbed at a trans coming out/acceptance moment (there are many queer awakenings in this series), I was invested for all the characters; you know you’re into it when you sit up when one of them’s in danger. I felt the slow build of everything moving together but it just made me desperate to know more, when so often these second books feel so dragged out and unfleshed. I cried a little on finishing knowing she’s not even started the third book yet.Book one is already out, and book two comes in August, so it’s a perfect time to pick up the series. A side note that I was a little worried before starting book one with the “one spark can start a blaze” tagline on book two that this would be a Hunger Games rip off, and I’m very pleased to report that besides being dystopia and therefore obviously common traits with the genre (like tyrannical governments) their stories are nothing alike. A second side note that while they are very different books and Moira is not Black so please don’t think I’m comparing them thematically, but the last YA book to make me feel this way was Legendborn.4.5⭐️ - I have a couple of very minor qualms but overall, wow

This is the 2 nd book in the series and wow amazing bits a ya dystopian read and it’s all go from page one. I’m in love with all the characters. Karl, kingfisher, nightingale and Petra. You learn so much about each one that you get so personally connected to them and their lives. The plot is amazing and again non stop you just fully immerse in their world. The author Moria buffini does amazing at drawing you in. Cannot wait for the final book.