Torchfire

About the Book

The second book in the acclaimed Torch Trilogy, set in a future dystopia with star-crossed lovers, impossible friendships, and forbidden power.

Welcome to a world where songlight is either your greatest power—or your greatest curse.

Lark has fled Northaven with her mother and is urgently seeking a safe haven. Nightingale is being held captive and forced to use her songlight against her own people.

Piper has been promoted up the ranks, where nothing but bloodshed is demanded of him. Rye has stumbled across an incredible airship, the likes of which has never been seen before. . . .

All four are united by their desire for peace. But peace between feels more fragile than ever.

In this sequel to the brilliant and acclaimed Songlight, Lark and Nightingale see the glimmers of hope for a world in which they can live freely—but at what cost?

Torchfire is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Adrienne Young.

Product Details

ISBN: 9780063358263
Imprint: Storytide
On Sale: Oct 28, 2025
List price: $19.99
No of pages: 448
Trim Size: 5.850 in (w) x 8.600 in (h) x 1.450 in (d)
BISAC 1: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Dystopian *
BISAC 2: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Science Fiction / Romance
BISAC 3: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Action & Adventure / General *
BISAC 4:
BISAC 5:

Moira Buffini

Biography

Moira Buffini is an Olivier Award–winning UK playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, writing many plays for the National Theatre and the West End. Films include Tamara Drewe, Jane Eyre, Byzantium, and The Dig. She cocreated and was showrunner of Hulu’s Harlots. Songlight is her debut novel. She lives in London.

Antonia Beamish

Saffron Coomber

Sam Crerar

Joe Gaminara

Katey Sobey

Ami Okumura Jones

Reviews

“Deftly explores a range of human differences against the backdrop of a lush, immersive world populated by characters who are diverse in appearance and culture. The whiplash of experiencing heartache and hope in rapid succession leads to thought-provoking questions. Heartbreaking, heartening, wondrous.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “The multiple immersive perspectives and the anticipation this narrative will create in readers make this first installment in a planned trilogy unputdownable. Buffini captures the human spirit and all its messy and beautifully complex emotions. A brilliant character study that examines the effects of war, genocide, and misogyny.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “In this stunning YA debut, Buffini expertly juggles a complex plot. By playing off conflicting internal motivations to explore weighty topics of reproductive freedom, internalized homophobia, and state oppression, Buffini crafts a nuanced adventure, all the while dropping tantalizing hints of further conflict and hidden history broiling under the surface.”  — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT:  “A dynamic dystopic fantasy for fans of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes and Morgan Rhodes’s Falling Kingdoms.”  — School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Vivid and powerful” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Buffini weaves a setting plush with detail and world building. Songlight will appeal to readers who enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.”Booklist

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Action-packed and simmering with fury, Songlight leads a chorus of fierce young narrators coming into their power. Like the hook in your favorite song, her melody will stay in your head long after you turn the last page.” — Michael Grant, NYT bestselling author of the Gone series

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “With thoughtful nods to Atwood and Le Guin, Moira Buffini crafts a post-apocalyptic future that confronts harsh and timely realities, yet still shimmers with an empowering undercurrent of optimism and agency. Readers will eagerly await the next installment in this high-stakes trilogy featuring an unforgettable cast of characters. Sweeping, cinematic, and luminous.” — Rebecca Caprara, award-winning author of Spin

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “A dark yet piercingly hopeful tale, Songlight imagines a dystopian world on the brink of revolution, courtesy of its teen protagonists who dare to love. Buffini’s ethereal prose and harrowing plot twists kept me reading long into the night.”  — Lyssa Mia Smith, author of Revelle

About the Book

The second book in the acclaimed Torch Trilogy, set in a future dystopia with star-crossed lovers, impossible friendships, and forbidden power.

Welcome to a world where songlight is either your greatest power—or your greatest curse.

Lark has fled Northaven with her mother and is urgently seeking a safe haven. Nightingale is being held captive and forced to use her songlight against her own people.

Piper has been promoted up the ranks, where nothing but bloodshed is demanded of him. Rye has stumbled across an incredible airship, the likes of which has never been seen before. . . .

All four are united by their desire for peace. But peace between feels more fragile than ever.

In this sequel to the brilliant and acclaimed Songlight, Lark and Nightingale see the glimmers of hope for a world in which they can live freely—but at what cost?

Torchfire is perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Adrienne Young.

Product Details

ISBN: 9780063358263
Imprint: Storytide
On Sale: Oct 28, 2025
List price: $19.99
No of pages: 448
Trim Size: 5.850 in (w) x 8.600 in (h) x 1.450 in (d)
BISAC 1: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Dystopian *
BISAC 2: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Science Fiction / Romance
BISAC 3: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Action & Adventure / General *
BISAC 4:
BISAC 5:

Moira Buffini

Biography

Moira Buffini is an Olivier Award–winning UK playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter, writing many plays for the National Theatre and the West End. Films include Tamara Drewe, Jane Eyre, Byzantium, and The Dig. She cocreated and was showrunner of Hulu’s Harlots. Songlight is her debut novel. She lives in London.

Antonia Beamish

Saffron Coomber

Sam Crerar

Joe Gaminara

Katey Sobey

Ami Okumura Jones

Reviews

“Deftly explores a range of human differences against the backdrop of a lush, immersive world populated by characters who are diverse in appearance and culture. The whiplash of experiencing heartache and hope in rapid succession leads to thought-provoking questions. Heartbreaking, heartening, wondrous.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “The multiple immersive perspectives and the anticipation this narrative will create in readers make this first installment in a planned trilogy unputdownable. Buffini captures the human spirit and all its messy and beautifully complex emotions. A brilliant character study that examines the effects of war, genocide, and misogyny.”  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “In this stunning YA debut, Buffini expertly juggles a complex plot. By playing off conflicting internal motivations to explore weighty topics of reproductive freedom, internalized homophobia, and state oppression, Buffini crafts a nuanced adventure, all the while dropping tantalizing hints of further conflict and hidden history broiling under the surface.”  — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT:  “A dynamic dystopic fantasy for fans of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes and Morgan Rhodes’s Falling Kingdoms.”  — School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Vivid and powerful” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Buffini weaves a setting plush with detail and world building. Songlight will appeal to readers who enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.”Booklist

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “Action-packed and simmering with fury, Songlight leads a chorus of fierce young narrators coming into their power. Like the hook in your favorite song, her melody will stay in your head long after you turn the last page.” — Michael Grant, NYT bestselling author of the Gone series

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “With thoughtful nods to Atwood and Le Guin, Moira Buffini crafts a post-apocalyptic future that confronts harsh and timely realities, yet still shimmers with an empowering undercurrent of optimism and agency. Readers will eagerly await the next installment in this high-stakes trilogy featuring an unforgettable cast of characters. Sweeping, cinematic, and luminous.” — Rebecca Caprara, award-winning author of Spin

PRAISE FOR SONGLIGHT: “A dark yet piercingly hopeful tale, Songlight imagines a dystopian world on the brink of revolution, courtesy of its teen protagonists who dare to love. Buffini’s ethereal prose and harrowing plot twists kept me reading long into the night.”  — Lyssa Mia Smith, author of Revelle

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