I went into the first book of the Torch Trilogy anticipating a strong dystopian-fantasy story to captivate me because what I gleaned from the synopsis was enthralling. However all that glitters is not always gold, and I found a very slow repetitive story that seemed to sound like too much like a fantasy based Handmaid’s Tale crossed with The Hunger Games.
This is a strange story where war seemed to an ever ready threat, men are trained for warfare and to fight, and women are left to be wives or baby machines, supressed by men in power and their husbands. It is a story that also revolves around both men and women who are known as Torches, with telepathic connections called a “songlight”. This was more than just speaking through minds; they could share images, emotions features and recall memories to each other, which was they highlight of this story. A deeper exploration of this Torch power would have amped up this story tenfold. Not all have this power, and it is shunned, punished or executed if revealed - they were considered as “Unhumans”.

This is also story about rights, choices and the fight for freedom. Women are forced to be subdued by men, and cannot work. Men can take multiple wives. Women must mind their place and not speak. Women not chosen as wives are made barren and sent to work in hard labour.
The book switched narration a lot, and I found this hard to keep across as the Torches were known my their song light name as well as their own. The dystopian setting felt vaguely familiar to other story lines catalogued inside my mind and did not feel as original as I would have liked it, hence my anticipation for more work in exploring the Torches. By the end I realised that I needed some kind of songlight to direct me through this story; its illumination was just not strong enough for me.

I think this book has a lot of potential but it was just a bit to young for me. The characters were great but I just couldn't stick with them.