Katy Rose Pool

'A masterful fantasy debut' Sebastien de Castell THE AGE OF DARKNESS APPROACHES. FIVE LIVES STAND IN ITS WAY. For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity - until they disappeared, one hundred years ago. They left behind a secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world's salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As a dark new power rises, five souls are set on a collision course that will determine the fate of their world: A prince exiled from his kingdom A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone And a dying girl on the verge of giving up One of them - or all of them - could break the world. Will they be saviour or destroyer? 'Unforgettable . . . feels both utterly original and like the best of classic fantasy' Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand 'A well-crafted, surprising and gripping start to a new trilogy' Kirkus 'Katy Rose Pool combines lovable characters, a gorgeously tangible world and an intricate puzzle-box plot to create a story that will pull you inexorably toward the explosive end' Sarah Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

There Will Come a Darkness

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Kristin Cashore's Graceling, with a dash of Winter is Coming, in this showstopping debut YA fantasy--and recipient of FOUR starred reviews! A Morris Award Finalist for best debut young adult novel! A Kirkus Best Book of the Year! A Tor.com Best YA SFF/Horror Book of the Year! "One of the most stunning debuts of the year." —Seventeen The Age of Darkness approaches. Five lives stand in its way. Who will stop it . . . or unleash it? For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations—until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared. All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. With chaos on the horizon, five souls are set on a collision course: A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up. One of them—or all of them—could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and An Ember in the Ashes. Praise for There Will Come a Darkness “A can’t miss debut from an exciting new talent.” –Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Slayer “Even in a world filled with graces and prophets, the real magic of There Will Come a Darkness is in how Pool has crafted her heroes—messy, flawed, and so beguilingly human. I dare you not to fall madly in love with all of them.” —Laura Sebastian, New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess * "A well-crafted, surprising, and gripping start to a new trilogy." —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

k`library.

tori 👻

A nice character-driven story that also delivers a pretty good and solid plot. For some reason, I went into this book thinking it was something else entirely and was pleasantly surprised by what I encountered.
I decided on 3 stars for how juvenile I found the writing to be, which is in no way a bad thing. I am aware this is a YA novel. The rating is solely based on my enjoyment and on how invested I was throughout the book.

Mikala Mawer

The characters, plot twists and world building were great! The first couple hundred pages were good and kept me intrigued. It mostly followed different characters around. It was the last 150 pages that captured me though!!

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Kristin Cashore's Graceling, with a dash of Winter is Coming, in this showstopping debut YA fantasy--and recipient of FOUR starred reviews--Katy Rose Pool's There Will Come a Darkness! A Morris Award Finalist for best debut young adult novel! A Kirkus Best Book of the Year! A Tor.com Best YA SFF/Horror Book of the Year! “A can’t miss debut from an exciting new talent.” –Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Slayer The Age of Darkness approaches. Five lives stand in its way. Who will stop it . . . or unleash it? For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations—until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared. All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. With chaos on the horizon, five souls are set on a collision course: A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up. One of them—or all of them—could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Praise for There Will Come a Darkness “Even in a world filled with graces and prophets, the real magic of There Will Come a Darkness is in how Pool has crafted her heroes—messy, flawed, and so beguilingly human. I dare you not to fall madly in love with all of them.” —Laura Sebastian, New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess

Emily B

REREAD 10/24: This was even better the second time around! I really enjoyed this, and I'm raising my rating by a half-star. New rating is 4.5. This is a great series, and I'm looking forward to finally completing it!


4 STARS:

Had this one on my shelf for months now (I sometimes really hate being a mood reader), and I finally got around to it. I think I've learned that I prefer character-driven books more than plot-driven, though a mixture like this is always appreciated. This book's highlight was undoubtedly the characters. Even for the ones I sometimes didn't like (*cough* Hector and Hassan *cough*) I actually was mad at myself for not liking them because, while some decisions they made I found annoying, I could still really understand them. That's a real accomplishment, to make me want to like a character I don't like. 

The stars of the book, like you'll see in so many other reviews, are definitely Anton and Jude. While I do think the other characters are well written, I think these two stand out simply because they get most of the page time. Though I am very interested to see where Ephyra and Beru's story goes from here, due to that final cliffhanger.

The plot is very twisty, and some of them I didn't see ahead of time, but I took a star off simply because I could see a lot of the major twists coming. I think Ms. Pool definitely has the potential to write banger plot twists, and I have a good feeling that she'll improve them in the sequels.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I would recommend it for people who appreciate well written characters. The plot is important, but it is really how the characters react to the plot that makes this book special. Check it out if you're interested!

Elisa Bieg

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and I’m glad I finally got to read it!

The plot is pretty well developed and I feel like the premise as shown in the synopsis was accurate, which is a plus because sometimes I feel a little duped — that wasn’t the case here. 

The world building is original and interesting, and the characters are all intriguing.

Where the book failed me a bit was that the writing didn’t feel atmospheric, so it failed to fully bring to life in vivid tones that really cool world building, which is a pity. It also did a disservice to the characters, which came out flatter than they should have been, their exchanges and adventures seeming somewhat static, despite the creativity that went into crafting each one of them and how they fit within the world and with each other.

Because of that, I’m giving this 3 1/2 STARS, rather than a full 4; but I’m very interested in finding out where the story goes in the next book, and I recommend this to those looking specifically for original world building that hasn’t been done to death.

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Kristin Cashore's Graceling, with a dash of Winter is Coming, in this showstopping debut YA fantasy! “A can’t miss debut from an exciting new talent.” –Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Slayer The Age of Darkness approaches. Five lives stand in its way. Who will stop it . . . or unleash it? For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations—until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared. All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. With chaos on the horizon, five souls are set on a collision course: A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up. One of them—or all of them—could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and An Ember in the Ashes. Praise for There Will Come a Darkness "Katy Rose Pool combines lovable characters, a gorgeously tangible world, and an intricate puzzle-box plot to create a story that will pull you inexorably toward the explosive end." —Sarah Holland, New York Times bestselling author of Everless

Nicole Dykeman

The characters are great, and it’s a really interesting world and magic system, but the romances felt forced/rushed to me and the plot twists were not surprising at all.

Alayna Jones 

l.h.

real rating: 4.5 stars

one of the most underrated books i've ever come across. it has every good trope, done well: poc & lgbtq+ rep; chosen one but with a twist; one-room scene with one-bed-trope vibes; blood sisters; delectably high stakes.

the only reason why i knocked 0.5 stars is because there were a couple povs i really didn't enjoy reading (*aggressive coughing* hassan) but in the end, the others highkey made up for it :)

110% would recommend — it's one of my favourite series to date; i have no idea why this trilogy isn't more popular!

Livia

I'm going to make this review short and sweet. Three stars aren't bad. three-point five stars are quite good. And this book is exactly that. It's so entertaining and just the right mix of plot and character work. Although it's quite obvious that the first book is very much setting up the heavy plot for the next book and also setting up the characters and their role in the story, I still very much enjoy how they all met and what their goal is in the next books. We primarily follow 5 povs, and unsurprisingly, I didn't love all of them. My favorite has to be Anton and Ephyra because they're the most interesting and complex characters, also the ones that didn't really have any moral high ground bullshit but still have their own fears and goals. My least favorite is Hassan, and when I said this I didn't just mean I like him but not as much as the others, nope. I actually sort of despise him as a character, because he's the type of mc that I hate seeing. Incredibly young and too naive to understand the world, that god-awful insta-love, his inability to use his healthy and young brain to stop and think about his actions just for one second, rage all the time, and also somehow inspired others to follow his stupidity. I hope he gets better as the series goes on but for now, he gets on my goddamn nerves and since he played quite a big role in the story, it hinders me from fully enjoying this book. But the rest of the book sort of saved it, and I'm excited to read the rest of the series and see our characters grew and learn.


  3.5/5 stars

Liz Griffin

Can’t believe I slept on this series! Six of Crows but with an ancient Greece vibe! Some of the chapters are pretty short, and with a lot of POVs that can sometimes be confusing, but I still really liked it!

Jayla Poindexter 

This book was so good! It kinda had a slow start, but not in a bad way. I loved all the characters so much!!!!! This book had me on the edge of my seat for the last 3/4s😭 GO READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW

Alexa Auerbach 

Closer to 3.5! Really enjoyed the characters and the story. Interested to see where the next book leads. There was a lot of double-crossing which was overwhelming.

'A masterful fantasy debut' Sebastien de Castell 'A can't miss debut from an exciting new talent' Kiersten White THE AGE OF DARKNESS APPROACHES. FIVE LIVES STAND IN ITS WAY. For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity - until they disappeared, one hundred years ago. They left behind a secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world's salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As a dark new power rises, five souls are set on a collision course that will determine the fate of their world: A prince exiled from his kingdom A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone And a dying girl on the verge of giving up One of them - or all of them - could break the world. Will they be saviour or destroyer? Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows meets Kristin Cashore's Graceling in this showstopping debut YA fantasy from Katy Rose Pool. 'Unforgettable . . . feels both utterly original and like the best of classic fantasy' Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand 'Katy Rose Pool combines lovable characters, a gorgeously tangible world and an intricate puzzle-box plot to create a story that will pull you inexorably toward the explosive end' Sarah Holland 'A well-crafted, surprising and gripping start to a new trilogy' Kirkus

Book One of The Age of Darkness

Oliwia Prokorym 

Multiple pov story that involves prophets. A morally grey female character. A mlm relationship starting to bud. 
I liked it but Hassan pov was so boring like I didn’t want to read about him but the other ones I loved them but his is just so boring imo. 
Anton is my fave love him<3

Maria

В этом выдуманном книжном мире – с чертами нашего мира, впрочем – у людей бывает Дар. Кто-то лечит, кто-то калечит, кто-то видит будущее. В истории 5 ПОВ-персонажей, все с разными Дарами, и у каждого своя сюжетная линия. Одна спасает сестру, второй ищет Избранного, третий скрывается, четвертый – беглый принц из охваченного войной королевства, пятая – та самая спасаемая сестра. 

Мое главное впечатление от этой книги – у автора нет истории. Где-то ближе к второй половине книги начинает вырисовываться какая-то общая канва – мол, Грядет Тьма, и каждый из наших героев имеет какое-то к ней отношение. Но детали этого апокалипсиса такие бледные, что я, если честно, так и не поняла, что это за Тьма такая, реальная она или метафорическая, как её планируют останавливать, и тому подобное.

Кэти Роуз Пул вместо истории решила, кажется, сделать ставку на персонажей – вот вам, читатели, диверсити, вот вам судьбы – но без общего фреймворка это всё выглядит, к сожалению, разрозненно и раздражающе. Встречаться друг с другом они начинают ближе к концу первой трети книги, их роли в общем замесе проступают во второй трети, а без связующего контекста постоянное прыгание между ПОВ кажется все более и более бессмысленным. 

Из-за прыжков туда-сюда не получилось и выстроить мир. Так и непонятно, что в нем за страны, как они друг с другом соотносятся, можно ли провести параллели с нашим миром. Нет ни культурного слоя, ни исторического, ни лингвистического. Просто какие-то люди на какой-то планете.

Ах да, была еще многообещающая линия секты в начале, но за время повествования с ней так ничего интересного и не произошло. А ведь казалось бы – секта, богатейшее пространство для безумств!

При этом я вообще-то люблю, когда героев много и у каждого из них есть линия, но тут авторка просто не вывезла, по-моему. То ли надо было их добавлять очень постепенно – чтобы сначала читатель привык к одному герою, и только потом познакомился со следующим, то ли 5 человек на небольшую книжку это в принципе слишком много, то ли сами герои, будем откровенны, просто не слишком глубоки и оригинальны, то ли набор тропов чересчур банален. То ли – что скорее всего – всё это вместе. И итог разочаровывает.

Sahi K

Since the first time I saw the gorgeous cover of this book and read the blurb, I knew I had to read it and I also had this deep conviction that I would really enjoy it a lot. And I’m feeling pretty gratified right now that my assessment was spot on and this ended up being a wonderful read. 

I found the world building in this book to be very well written, giving us enough information at the right times so we know what’s happening, but also maintaining an air of mystery throughout which is definitely what’s gonna make me read the next one. I loved the idea of some part of the population being Graced (have magical abilities) while the remaining being graceless, because this renders into a very natural and believable conflict. Add to this the idea of a prophecy and a final prophet (mind you, it’s been a long long while since I’ve read a fantasy with prophecies in it), a secret Order destined to protect them and an upcoming doomsday scenario, this became a very compelling read. We only get to know a bit of the history of the bygone Prophets, but I have a feeling we will get to know much more in the later books. This book is also very diverse and I was very happy to see that there didn’t seem to be any sexism or homophobia. 

I was actually surprised to see that we get five POVs here, which is not an easy thing to do but the author does a brilliant job of giving each of them distinct voices and purposes. Usually there’s always the one we don’t like when there are so many characters to follow, but there is absolutely no miss here - I loved following every single one of them and badly wanted to know what was happening to each of them when we were in another person’s head. The writing is also very fast paced, there is not a single dull moment and there’s always something happening that kept me at the edge of my seat. Even when I went out to a bookstore over the weekend (while I was still just 20% into the book), I ended up finding a nice reading nook and continuing with it instead of browsing for more books; it was that irresistible to me. I also loved how many twists and turns there were; and while I was thinking too high of myself for guessing one important twist, there were so many other shocking reveals and betrayals that I couldn’t see coming and was completely blown away. I really want to commend the author for writing such a tight plot despite having multiple threads, and the way each of them intermingled with the others was just wow. 

As you all know that I’m a sucker for well written characters, this book was a joy to read for me. Each of the characters is well rounded, we get to know where they are coming from, where they might be heading towards and what’s the justification behind their actions. We really get to know all of them very intimately and I loved that. And it was the way every one of them was different that I found compelling - some are driven for the sake of family, some just want to survive and others are bound by duty - but they all converge in unexpected ways and I thoroughly enjoyed the various dynamics that formed in the process. 

Even the side characters are given prominent arcs which I found surprising but kudos to the author for managing to make me care about so many of them. And the villain characters are also not cliche - they have their own motivations and it was actually interesting to get to know them because for a moment, I found their arguments right too. And any author who can make me agree with both the protagonists and the villains is a force to reckon with and I can’t wait to see where these characters’ journeys take them next. 

One of the themes that I seem to find very interesting these days in many fantasy novels is the idea of questioning history - how much of what we have been taught and what we have believed is the actual truth, and what part of it is just glorified propaganda by the victors. I resonate with this a lot because I think this is a compelling argument in the real world too and everyday, we realize that the adage “History is written by the victors” is very much true and it is our duty to find the actual truth. 

The other most important theme in this book is the tug of war between destiny and free will. It’s impossible not to explore the concept of destiny in a story based on prophecies and I think the author did a great job showing us that sometimes, it’s more important to do the right thing, whether it is destined or not. And the choices we make define the person we become, and however noble our intentions at the beginning of our journey, it’s the ultimate path we choose that makes us who we are going to be and how we will be remembered. 

There is also a bit of light thrown on the plight of refugees who have been forced to leave their home - their worry about the ones left behind, the distressing and inhumane conditions in which they are forced to live in a strange land, the violent prejudice shown by some people in the new place where they are seeking refuge and the downright apathy of the authorities - its all depicted in a very raw and realistic manner and really has stark parallels to the real world. 

In the end, I want to conclude by saying that if you are a YA fantasy fan and love ensemble casts, you must read this book. It is action packed, full of twists and turns and brilliantly written characters whom you can’t help but fall in love with. Forbes called this book and The Merciful Crow some of the best YA fantasies of 2019 and I promise you, that’s absolutely true. I enjoyed the hell out of this one and I already wanna know what the author is going to come up with next - and one thing I can be sure of is that I will be rereading this before the sequel releases.

Lily D

Shannon Thomas

I was kindly sent an electronic review of this book via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

This book just lacked so much for me. 
It had a lot of potential, the actual plot was good, it had a good twist, I enjoyed (some) of the characters and (some) of the characters had ok development. There was a little bit of romance in there which I enjoyed. 

My first issue is that there’s almost too much going on. Especially in the start when all five narratives are separate, it was way too much to take in. There was so much info dumping and almost descriptions of what was to come but very little description of what was happening there and then during the book. The setting and character descriptions got slightly better as the story went on but I still can’t picture any of the characters in my head because they weren’t well described and any descriptions they did have were very vague and I felt like it wasn’t always clear who the author was actually describing (for example, we got brief descriptions of Jude’s guard but apart from two of the members I don’t know who the author described when they were spoken about). Same goes for the settings really. There was description to a certain extent but nowhere near enough. The world building and character building was just all a bit too vague. 

It had a good twist, I didn’t see the twist coming, but in my opinion the twist happened way too late in the book and I would’ve liked it to happen a little bit earlier so that the characters had more time to react? Like the twist was HUGE but because it was so near the end of the book everyone was just kind of like “oh ok well, this is happening. oh well let’s carry on with our plan”. I feel like they’d have felt a LITTLE more betrayed. 

The ending didn’t feel well rounded off either. When the ending came it just felt very abrupt. I’m assuming that’s so people read the next book? Because essentially apart from the twist, you get NOWHERE in this book. Like barely anything is resolved, everything is left open. 

I liked the fantasy element too. That there are those who are Graced and those who aren’t. Again I would’ve liked that explained a little more. 

Like I said this book had a lot of potential but in the end I felt like it was just dragging me around in circles and for a 400+ page book, nothing really happens!

Viry

“It means there are two paths in front of you. One that leads to your past. The other to your future. It’s up to you to choose.”

Imzy

Wow. Just wow.

For the past few months I've just been sticking to series by authors who I know are good and it's been so long since I started a series by an author I had never heard of that turned out to be  this good. This book has exactly everything I want in a story; family, friendship, love, action and enchanting character development. I was mind-blown multiple times while reading this and the pacing/suspense was perfect. I'm so excited to see what happens next!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this copy from NetGalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: The Age of Darkness Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 17+ (violence, povs out the yingyang, and dark themes)

Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it... or unleash it?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. 
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?

Review: Okay this is a behemoth of a book for multiple reasons. The book is loaded with information and that makes the story very interesting. The characters are all well developed and the worldbuilding is gorgeous.

However, that info dump was a lot on me and the five different povs was just a tad overwhelming for me. The book is great but I just got overwhelmed.

Verdict: A decent book and I think the series will be amazing.

Deborah Kerr

Yes, yes, yes. YASSSSSSSS. GIVE ME THE REST OF THE SERIES NOW.

Is this book littered with every YA trope under the sun? Yes.
Is the plot something we've all seen done a thousand times already? Yes.
Is it still one of the best YA fantasies I've read in a long while? YES.

The characters are from varying backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and none of it felt disingenuous or overwrought. Their personalities were layered and different, their motivations clearly established, and their decision making was sensible--sometimes reckless but in keeping with their character. 

I would already die for Jude and Anton.

The Pale Hand is exactly how you do teenage girl assassin MC.

Hassan is my king.

Poole does an excellent job of making the old feel new and fresh and making you care, while giving you enough to know what's coming but still being able to pulverize you emotionally.

It's fun, it's fast, and it's just a joy to read.

Fingers crossed for continued greatness for the rest of the series.

Samantha Bass

I. I just - SO GOOD! I can’t put words together for this but it’s like a mix of Grisha and Furyborn. But so different. And SO GOOD! I honestly can’t explain how well written this was, I’m amazed. And Pool’s story telling, omg! Put this on your TBR, you’ll thank me later.

Aubrey Erskine

For the full review visit my blog:
 https://shelflifechronicles.com/2019/...

Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Fierce Reads for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

When I first read the synopsis of this book what caught my attention wasn't the mystical prophecy or this ever impending doom that reminded me of the doomsdays in movies, but that there were going to be FIVE main characters. Novels with multiple points of views can often be disorienting, have unfinished characters, or seem skewed towards one character in particular. This was not the case with There Will Come A Darkness. Rose Pool did not disappoint. Each character was so unique and their own person that I never mixed them up and I instantly connected with them. 
Our main characters are from different social classes, are different ethnicities, are Graced or not, and have differing sexual orientation. Each had their own unique voice and are started on a path, either by fate or their own choices, that will ultimately lead them to collide with each other and either stop or bring about the coming Darkness.

Heather Killeen

Rating: 4/5 false prophets

Format: Hardcover

What it's like: It’s a bit like Ember in the Ashes and Six of Crows

What I loved: It took me a minute to get the cast of characters cemented in my mind (much like I had to for Six of Crows); they each have their own backstory and flaws and the more I learned the more I felt for each of them! Pool is really great at tying together each of their plots in interesting and unexpected ways, and even the ways I expected them to collide still felt earned and exciting! She has obviously thought about this world a lot, and the evidence is on every page. Carefully crafted details, mythology, prophecies, religions, politics, they all weave together into a well-crafted and fascinating world that I wanted to linger in. She is also REALLY good at a cliffhanger. SO many times at the end of a chapter I wanted to scream at the page WHHATTT? So many times we feel devastated for these characters (much like I have for the Ember in the Ashes series!) and then she carefully and methodically picks us back up again. It was such an intense, wonderful and well-earned finale too, I couldn't put this book down. 

What was meh: I have very few on this list! The only real issue I had was as I said above it took me a minute to get into it and get the characters fixed in my mind. There are a lot of details upfront and the pace is pretty slow in the beginning, but also I think I was expecting what we usually get from YA fantasy where the world is glossed over and characters are sanitized archetypes, but that is NOT what I got from this book. This is much more like an adult fantasy that just happens to feature YA main characters and I couldn't be happier about that. So definitely push through the beginning because BELIEVE ME the middle and end of this book are so worth it! 

Who I'd recommend it to: Fans of Ember in the Ashes, desert + blood magic vibes, tragic backstories, hidden powers, and slow-burn romance (I am saying this more in hope because I'm pretty sure we are getting one in this book but it's still on the slowest of slow burns at this point lol BUT I AM READY FOR IT PLEASE DON'T LET ME DOWN KATY LOLLL)

Favorite line:
He was a man grown now, and he knew the truth. His destiny was finally here, and it did not care whether or not he was ready for it.

"Feels like I've been running away from this thing my whole life." Running from something in his own head. Running from something he would never escape.

“Those who cannot own their choices will always be mastered by fate."

An Age of Darkness is coming. And we're the ones who will cause it.

Nothing was promised, except the girl beside him and the people who believed in them both.

There Will Come a Darkness

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