Darker by Four Darker by Four #1

June CL Tan — 2024

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god. Rui has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death. Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic. Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble… and the human world will be next if the King is not found. When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King. As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally.

Reviews

millena@versionsofmi

Aug 3, 2024

2.75 ⭐️ I’d so much hope for this book and it ended up being such a disappointment :( In theory it has all the things we love but just didn’t hit, the beginning was ok, the middle was boring and the end was rushed, everything seemed out of place The romance between Rui & Zizi was the only thing I really loved but it ended up being very much in the background throughout the entire book so even that didn’t save it for me (there were several famous quotes like the “who did this to you” but 90% seemed forced) I didn’t like Yiran, didn’t care about Nikai & Four and if Ten can be a king of hell then I can be tinker bell bc that man is so unserious 🤡 The final plot was also super confusing (probably bc it was rushed) and I ended up with more questions than answers (and zero desire to read the next one tbh) I think the book had a lot of potential, the characters were at least ok and the setting was good but it really lacked better development

nina @ninaisreading

Jun 14, 2024

3.25

Ellie M.@arthieshelved

May 5, 2024

June C.L. Tan is back with a new story perfect for fans of Shadowhunters! Jujutsu Kaisen meets Tokyo Ghoul in this book about queer teens, reapers, powerful dark magic, and a missing god. What I really loved is how the author was able to thoroughly capture a magical atmosphere with haunted souls wreaking havoc on the city interspersed with diaspora lore. This had the perfect amount of tension, romance, and action. I can’t wait for the sequel because the storytelling and characters give it huge potential to be a new YA Asian fantasy favorite.

Narah Quinn@narahquinn

May 2, 2024

Ok – I just need to say that I went into my reading of Darker By Four thinking (hoping?) that it was a standalone – I am very much not mad that there will be more – but I’m going to need it now – please and thank you!

This was one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases, with the shadow hunter vibes and the richly imagined world, I have been savouring it all, the longing, the characters, the intrigue and the twists and turns. But now I am finished I am a little hollow, wondering if the next thing I pick up will fill the Rui/Zizi/Yiran sized hole I have in my reading life. As sad as this may seem, it is no bad thing – these characters and their story will stay with me for a very long time – I just need others to read it so I can talk about them!

I am not one for lengthy, spoiler filled reviews, so I am just going to say that the pacing was pretty much perfect, the information was leached out to us in a flowing, need to know, basis and the characters have depth, layers, and a beautiful interconnectedness even if they are in smaller roles.

Darker By Four is truly wonderful and you need to be picking it up and reading it because I have feelings and thoughts that need discussion!

A solid 5 stars

Thank you to the Author/Publisher/NetGalley for the e-Arc