Wow… first of all thank you faber for the advanced copy I am so in love with this world and Moria’s writing.

Every single chapter and POV had me enthralled every time we switched to a new voice I found myself longing not to leave them before being equally taken away by the next story in each chapter!

Lark, Nightingale, Rye, Swan & Piper all find themselves staring into the face of morality and when a new voice Petra is added to the mix things are looking more and more precarious. Torchfire handles extremism on both sides that elevates the struggles of Songlight to a whole new level.

The relationships and dilemmas are so real you start the story back where we left off in Songlight with a mourning Elsa (Lark) struggling to come to terms with loosing rye in such a fit of betrayal on her behalf. Tourchfire handles guilt and morality so expertly it felt like a mirror was being held up to the current state of the world where complicity is just as bad as the act of war its self.

This book transported me totally and I am heart broken to wait a year for book 3 the ending had me gripped all over again and I just need to know how it ends!!

I love the duality of the characters there is so much good and bad in swan I really don’t know who to trust this book kept me totally on my toes the whole way through.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited about a YA Dystopian trilogy. Bit second book in The Torch Trilogy, Torchfire has me excited. Buffini has created a unique dystopian world where people are oppressed for having Songlight (which are basically telepathic skills). However, it is her characters which really make the story sing.
Like its predecessor Songlight, Torchfire is told through many different characters points of view. I feel like it’s easy to get muddled sometimes when there are so many characters with voices in a book. But each character Buffini has created in this series were unique enough that it made it very easy to differentiate between them all. Even with a whole new character being added into the series in the second book (dare I say my new favourite character?)
The differing points of view really help with the pacing of this book. I literally flew through the new narrative and managed to finish the book in just two days, which is really fast for me. There really is something always something thrilling going on in this story and Torchfire easily avoids becoming the stale second book in a series. The book is full of plot twists. Things I didn’t see coming at all. There are literally no boring bits.
Despite the fast pace the book still has a lot of heart. I love the way different characters connect through Songlight. The way the author describes them talking to each other, even over long distances is pure magic. My heart ached for so many of the characters throughout this book.
The story is so well thought out and put together. I loved the way the world is further developed in this novel with the additional characters and more of an explanation of how the world got to be how it is. I truly believe that Buffini has set this trilogy up for a truly epic ending and I cannot wait for the conclusion of this series.

There is a lot going on in this dystopian fantasy. A lot of characters and plot lines, which are disparate but connected. Read book one before this one if you can, as otherwise you may miss the continued tangled plot. The world created by the author is not a pleasant place to be for many of the characters. Woman are subjugated to men’s whimsy, and the worse for it. Those with songlight, telepathy, are persecuted, killed or forced into hunting others like themselves. Some of the cast are just trying to survive, some though are waiting for rebellion against all this cruelty. We also learn more about the surrounding countries, who might have a part to play in overthrowing the despot in charge. However some of them are no better at all. Who will have the strength to stand up for truth and right, and for the protection of those in need?
Sometimes the story got a bit bogged down, but would then liven up as peril stocks the characters. Thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

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

I love this book and it does not suffer from second book syndrome. There is a new perspective added in the form of a girl living aboard a spaceship that has come to Earth to see if it is habitable again.
Each perspective is so different that it is easy to tell who is speaking and I enjoyed each one. I also love that you spend some time in the heads of villainsC understanding some of their motives. This has ended on a cliffhanger that has left me desperate for more from this world.

Fantastic read

A pleasure to read and tied the first book in every well.

4* overall

Great author and writing

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the advanced copy of this book.

I read Songlight earlier this year and very much enjoyed it, and so was very pleased to be accepted for an advanced copy so I could find out what happened next to the characters. I did start the book finding myself quite lost, not only within the plot but also with the introduction of more POVs to a book that was already quite POV heavy. This combined with most characters having a pseudonym had me scratching my head about whose mind I was in for the first couple of pages of the chapter.

The book did feel a rather young YA, which made the occasional curse words feel quite jarring on the page. While a range of ages are covered in the POVs, the majority are younger than 18 and their reactions to situations reflect this.

I think the series continues to provide good LGTBQ+ representation as well as addressing the cruelty of oppressing groups because they’re ‘different’ or ‘dangerous’ and gives characters who perhaps were not well liked in the first book the chance to have their personalities expanded upon so we understand them better.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would likely continue the series to finish it off.

"This love is bad for me in every way."

I have been so excited to continue with the next instalment of The Torch Trilogy. This sequel was brilliant and everything I was hoping it would be!

The story basically takes off from where the first book ended which was great. It meant that the storyline flowed straight from the beginning.

This book is packed FULL of action and different events happening, but it was kept so neat and tidy through the different points of view, so you knew exactly what was going on with who and where, which avoided confusion throughout.

It was great to have lots of familiar characters in this book, with a few extras added in. The new characters were introduced so naturally, so you could keep up with who was who. There wasn't this overwhelming feeling of having new names being thrown in constantly.

My only minor thought was that I felt a few romantic elements in this book were very sudden and a bit...unrealistic. Though equally, this is a dystopian novel, so realism isn't a necessary component.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think Torchfire has set itself up really well for the final instalment of the series. I'm already so excited for how it is all going to end!

A massive thank you to the publisher Faber for reaching out and sending me this eARC and NetGalley.

It was an absolute privilege to read this book, Songlight was one of my favourite reads last year and this sequel did not disappoint at all. It only made me love this trilogy more as it continued its amazing development of both the flawed, but human, characters and story. It was fast paced, entertaining, intelligent, powerful, engaging as well as heart wrenching. Buffini continues her beautiful and unforgiving writing style giving us beauty and pain in equal measures.

This story picks up directly where Songlight left off and takes you through the developing story with multiple POVs, as before, but with an addition of a new one and character, Petra. We are introduced to a new society and taken to different places within this fractured world. While the book is fast paced and the idea of several POVs can be daunting you never feel lost as each POV seamlessly connects and continues your journey forward as a reader. This book is an exploration of power, resistance and the price of peace. It left me breathless. It left me thinking of the parallels in our own society. It left me furious as well as hopeful. It left me wanting more.

I simply cannot wait until the third instalment and the epic conclusion this trilogy will no doubt have.

As a proud Hunger Games stan, I feel relatively confident, two books in, in proclaiming Moira Buffini as the author-in-waiting for Suzanne’s dystopia crown. Torchfire is the second in a planned trilogy focusing on Brightland, a far-future version of Earth where people with Songlight - telekensis - are persecuted, sometimes even killed, for their ability. Torchfire, like its predecessor, tells the story of this world through the eyes of six key figures, some of whom have songlight, and some who don’t. In this story, some of these characters are brought together, and some torn apart - and the whole experience was a goddamn thrill ride.

Torchfire picks up immediately where Songlight left off (good - I hate a time skip), continuing the story of those who are rebelling against the fascist leader of Brightland, the newly announced Lord Kite. Before we dive into the world we know and love, though, the reader is introduced to another direct POV character, who I won’t share anything about but who is immediately fascinating. We switch between her perspective and those we know throughout the story; her existence blows the whole world of the novel wide open, and changes everything for everyone - i find it so hard to talk about without spoiling anything but her entry into the story is completely fascinating and made Torchfire even more compelling than its predecessor.

Buffini does a fantastic job with this book. She deepens the lore of the first novel while never losing sight of the overarching plot, action, or character’s relationships. Torchfire, like Songlight, moves at a breakneck pace over 550 pages, never allowing the reader to get bored for even a second. We’ve got dystopia! We’ve got corrupt governments! We’ve got kissing! We’ve got fighter pilots! We’ve got aliens (kind of!). There are so many plates spinning here and it’s a remarkable feat of novel writing to keep them all in the air. It’s a YA book, yes, but it refuses to handhold its readers and incorporates big themes and thorny questions. There are explicit references to genocide in this book; looking at the news, it feels political in the best way. It is a novel, which, no pun intended, could light a fire in a person to try to build a better world - which is exactly what Young Adult fiction should be. I do think that it's Young Adult teetering on New Adult - sex, violence and swearing abound here - but as a 31 year old that's fine with me.

One small nitpick, which is not enough for me to knock off a star: this complex tapestry of character, geography and plot would do well to give the reader an introductory page or two; a kind of primer to get us up to speed. We don’t all have time to read the first book again! I caught up eventually but it would have been useful to have something like this webpage: https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/meet-the-characters-moira-buffinis-torch-trilogy/ in the beginning of the book.

Overall, though, I think these books are some of the best YA produced in years, and I am already foaming at the mouth for the third entry into the trilogy. Spellbinding, heart-rending and energizing all at once.

I really enjoyed this sequel to Songlight! If you enjoyed Songlight you won’t be disappointed with the sequel, Torchfire, and if you haven’t read either you need to!

Torchfire follows on directly from the events at the end of Songlight which I was pleased about as a lot had happened and I was eager to know where our characters would go next. I like when the next book continues straight on from the last when there’s been a big action scene rather than making me wait.

Many things I enjoyed about Songlight I also enjoyed about Torchfire. I really enjoy the multiple povs from each of the characters, I felt there is so much going on with each of them I don’t get bored when we switch povs and I like seeing how they all eventually link up with each other later in the book.

There is a lot of action and I like how fast paced it is, it kept me on the edge of my seat as I was taking everything in. There’s a lot of development with the characters relationships that I found really interesting, as well as with some of the characters themselves.

I’m also waiting for two main characters to meet up again and was on edge the whole book - but i know now I’ll have to wait for the next book and I can’t wait!

Well… this woman can write no wrong!
This book completely grabbed me by the ankles and took me on a journey! Remains one of the most well written YA dystopians yet, and I hope this gets all the hype it deserves. I was completely enthralled into this world and suitably binge read this in 48 hours.
I particularly appreciated the casuality of the LGBTQ rep in this book, it was there, and yet was done in as if this was all completely normal which is what I think we need more of.
(Wren, you have my heart)
The world building as ever was immersive and broken, with beautifully fleshed out characters that keep you rooting for them. Cannot wait for book three.

Unfortunately this series isn't my cup of tea, but the idea is solid and I feel like teens today would really love it – just a bit too young for me.

I really loved this second book in the Torch Trilogy! I thought this followed the first so well. The writing was clear and interesting (I feel like you could tell Moira Buffini is a screen-writer as it was to the point and easy to follow).

The plot took a turn I never expected. I like the sci-fi element introduced in this book and the new character, Petra. The love story in this was tragic but beautiful and well developed. I loved finding out more about Kingfisher and seeing Rye’s journey take a turn. Lark and Nightingale’s friendship is still the true love story in this series and I’m here for it!

I really recommend both this and Songlight. I look forward to the next book!

Thank you to Faber for providing me with this ARC of the sequel of one of my favourite reads this year.

All opinions are my own

I loveeeeeeeeeeee this series. It is so unique, has such incredible characters and an incredibly engaging storyline. It is set in a dystopian world in which those with “Songlight” the ability to communicate telepathically, are persecuted for their differences, taken and stripped of their ability to think, forced to become mindless slaves. . The main character Elsa, is a teenage girl with Songlight trying to fight against the persecution of those like her and the deeply patriarchal system called “The Brethren” who force young girls to be married off to much older men.

The characters are flawed, they are human and they just feel so real. Elsa and Kaira are such strong female leads and Swan and Piper are such interesting, complex characters. They have all had such tremendous growth throughout only two books and I absolutely loved the addition of a trans character and multiple queer characters, amazing to see.

The writing is just beautiful. The story was fast paced with political commentary and real world parallels. The imagery is rich and evocative, it feels so real, so immersive.

I did give this 4 stars because I felt Songlight was slightly better and I did find this book a little confusing. There was a lot of new information and a lot of sudden switches between many characters. The introduction of new characters made it confusing as there was just so many, but I did love them all.

If you want a new high stakes dystopian series, you should absolutely read this.

An excellent continuation of the series. This is definitely a stressful read!
The themes of Book 1 were very A Handmaid’s Tale and then some - this one seems even more bleak in comparison.
It’s a testament to the writing and the excellently drawn characters that I kept reading, in fact I couldn’t stop. Only another year until the next one?

I'm so glad I could jump straight into this book after Songlight without having to sit with the cliffhanger ending for months, although be warned that this one ends in a place that will have you on the edge of your seat and wishing you had the next book in your hand.

As with the first book, Torchfire is full of rich characters, exciting action and impactful social commentary. It continues to expand the interesting and often frightening world that Songlight introduced us to, bringing in more characters and letting us see other cultures rather than just that of Brightland.

It is also still multi-POV but with another person added. This is where it lost a star for me as I struggled to get into it as quickly with the introduction of Petra and her team. I found it quite jarring and at first felt like the narrative was slowed by explaining her and everything she was doing/where she was from. The difference between her and everything we saw in book one was quite drastic; however, things started moving again once her world-building didn't need as much explanation.

I really enjoyed the way relationships and characters grew in this book. We get to see more of people I'm really interested in, with them coming into their own and realising their mistakes. This has left us off in a really interesting place and I honestly can't wait for the final book.

This is absolutely one of the best YA series I've read in a long time and more people need to be talking about it.

This is the second book in the series. The first book was not particularly light, but this book gets very dark, with murder, and genocide themes. A new character, Petra appears and our original characters, well, it’s not good!

This is an excellent continuation of the story, with difficult subjects excellently handled., I just hope things turn around for the next book!

My thanks to Netgalley and Faber for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A blaze that burns through bone, blood, and belief.

I finished Torchfire with tears dried into my hoodie and a full-body ache that only comes from loving characters too much and watching them be broken open, again and again. There’s no other way to say it: this book gutted me. And I loved every second of it.

Second books in trilogies often feel like bridgework - necessary scaffolding to get us to the Big Finale. Not here. Torchfire is the house on fire, the wind blowing the embers, the ground trembling beneath your feet. Moira Buffini doesn't "build" a middle novel. She detonates it.

From the first page, I was gone. Gone with Lark and her raw determination. Gone with Rye and his impossible hope. Gone with Nightingale, trapped in a golden cage with a monstrous, silk-gloved captor. Every perspective feels lived-in, deeply real, like your own breath syncs with theirs. There’s trauma here, yes. And betrayal. And grief that blooms like bruises. But also resilience, so human and searing you want to stand up and cheer.

This book doesn’t slow down to hold your hand, and thank God for that. Buffini trusts her readers. She gives you pain and poetry in equal measure. She gives you girls who fall in love and boys who flinch from their fathers’ legacy. She gives you queer awakenings and the weight of bodies deemed disposable. She gives you villains who smile like saints, and heroes who barely recognize themselves in the mirror. It’s heavy, yes. But it’s not bleak. Torchfire is about fighting anyway.

And then there’s Swan. Volatile. Gorgeous. Deranged. The kind of villain who makes your stomach knot with fascination and dread. Buffini writes her with such precision that you don’t know whether to pity her or pray someone stops her. Maybe both.

Is this a YA book? Technically. But it’s more honest than most adult fiction I’ve read this year. Buffini doesn’t just ask who we are. She asks who we become when the world tells us what we’re worth - and we decide not to listen.

By the end, I was breathless. Furious that I couldn’t turn the page into book three. Certain that I’ll be rereading this entire series the moment it’s complete. If Songlight lit the match, Torchfire is the inferno.

This book doesn’t let you walk away untouched. Nor should it.

I thoroughly enjoyed stepping back into this world. Eagerly awaiting book 3! 5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley, publishers and the author.