Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "The Darkening" by Sunya Mara.

Going into this, I didn't know what to do expect and I didn't realise this wasn't a standalone. However, I'm not mad at that because I definitely need a sequel after that tense fantasy ending. Vesper was an amazing protagonist and reading this story from her point of view was amazing. Mara's storybuilding was perfect and the characters felt real to me and I just couldn't stop reading.

I am excited to read the sequel when it comes out, I need to know what's gonna happen to Vesper.

2.5 ⭐️⭐️ rounded down

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I was really interested in this book and the premise, unfortunately for me it just fell felt in many regards.

What I did like:

❤️The interesting premise
❤️The author can write well

What I didn’t like:

❌ The lack of worldbuilding.

I’m fine for the reader to be left to figure some things out on their own but this was a very underdeveloped world and magic system, the reader was left to assume a lot and the world was not fully realised.

❌ Lack of character development

Secondary characters had almost no development, and even the MC felt flat, as did the romance which seemed shoehorned on at the expense of the female MC and her development

❌ Some odd text

When the MC squeezed through a “six-inch gap” I was a bit incredulous. I suppose it’s possible, but I don’t think most peoples heads could fit in six inches so yeah…

Overall this was just a very basic, generic YA book that brings nothing new or exciting to the genre, and doesn’t even do the standard YA formula well.

Some people may like this, but it was a disappointment for me.

Excellent engaging read, I could not put it down! Thank you so much for letting me read this, I am so happy to have found this book. Highly recommend to everyone, give it a go and I promise you won’t regret it.

I really loved this story and the world-building. It feels very unique and easy to understand. The characters all have their quirks, you both love them and hate them (especially Casvian). I would have given this a 5 star but I felt like the relationship between Vesper and Dlaca didn't feel authentic enough. Like there was initial attraction but the growth of affection just didn't feel present.

Also, the ending was quite confusing. I still don't really understand what happened. It was still fun though??

I think I was more intrigued by the side characters Iz and Cas, they both had so much more personality than Dalca. I felt like he was quite one-dimensional while the other two had way more depth.

This book had me at cursed storm. If you like a good high stakes Fantasy YA with experimental magic, morally grey characters, and enemies to lovers then this is the book for you. It really gave me Les Miserables / Shadow and Bone vibes with revolutionaries and a cursed storm.

The magic system and world building was just perfect, it gets more and more complex as the story unfolds and I can't wait to see where it takes us in the next book.

Vesper lives in a sanctuary for people cursed by the storm with her father. After she risks her life to save a stranger from an attack by a storm monster, and needing saving herself, her father is forced to use an ikon, a magical rune, he created save her revealing himself as the leader of the failed rebellion. When the Warderna take and imprison him Vesper goes on a quest to find him posing as an apprentice she must get close to Prince Dalca, son of the Regia (ruler of the city) to find and rescue her father.

4.5 stars - thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for review

A kind thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC.

The Darkening is a nice thrilling story with two of most interesting side characters ever.

The fact that Vesper is the daughter of failed revolutionaries is what drew me to the story. It seemed so interesting to me, since heroes/revolutionaries/coups can fail but we don't usually see the aftermath. I really liked seeing the consequences of those actions in this book.

Vesper is our main character whose pov we follow. She was persistent and fearless in her mission to save her father. I liked how she dealt with feeling like a disappointment to her father and how she always felt she wasn't good enough as her parents. And I liked how she fit in the character group later on. However, to me, it felt like the character dynamics changed too fast. Two characters were horrible at the beginning, and yet, after a little contact with them later on, she grew fond of them a little too quickly. Dalca, the main love interest, is not at all paranoid, as the summary suggests, but he's not a likeable character, either. It's not that he wasn't 100% good (some unlikeable characters are my favorites) but I find the mold of "very beautiful, very privileged, not very polite, but we're fond of him because he's burdened by his responsibilities" annoying. It's just my personal preference.

The worldbuilding was good, as was its characterization. I was fascinated by the Storm, and what it turned out to be later on. I really loved that twist and all that it entailed. It had hints of Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko and A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown. I also loved the flying Wardana. The plot wasn't the most original, and sometimes, it felt like the plot drove the characters. The second half of the book was a wild ride, and some character decisions felt off. I didn't really understand why they did what they did, and with a wilder worldbuilding than before, I felt confused.

I loved Iz and Cas! I LOVED them individually and I LOVED their dynamics. They were so fascinating. Their constant push and pull, their banter that had no end; I believe it was the best part of the story. I'd follow them anywhere. Did I say that I love them?

It was a thrilling adventure with a good ensemble cast and fascinating world-building. A solid 3.5 rounded up for this one.

The Darkening by Sunya Mara is the first book in the Darkening duology and it’s a unique ya fantasy debut.

The first thing that I noticed about this story was also one of my favorite parts of the book and that is the world building. In it a city is surrounded by an endless storm and that was so unique and makes for seemingly insuperable circumstances.

The protagonist Vesper is the daughter of a failed revolutionist and there are quite some family secrets. Vesper is such a strong person who is also a rebel and she follows the footsteps of her parents. I really liked her as a person and especially her fierceness.

Vesper is more of an anti-heroine and she wants to understand what happened to her parents and what the Storm is all about. That leads her to dangerous missions and even to get close to the prince.

While all of this sounds super good, sometimes the plot and pacing was a bit off and it made it hard to follow along in the story. I also could only connect to Vesper and all the other characters were a bit pale in comparison.

Overall, The Darkening is an innovative fantasy novel and only the plot was a bit lacking for me. 3,5 stars.

(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

4.5/5
Give me the sequel now! This book was one of the biggest surprises of this year, I absolutely loved it more than I ever imagined I would.
Thank you Netgalley and Hodder&Stoughton for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
So much about it is so unique. The world, the structure of the seven-ringed city with a storm raging around it, the storm itself being the main antagonist, the ikon-based magic system. It's all carefully crafted and done so well.
One note I kept constantly writing down as I read was that the world felt so alive. The places lived and breathed and when the characters danced you could see them, you could feel their spirit, you could feel the city as it wept and as it laughed. The entire story was so alive.
This factor was heavily influenced by Sunya Mara's incredible, emotive writing. The first line of the book hooked me and I was enamored from beginning to end (and now even after the end.) The writing was phenomenal. It was so emotional and powerful, every line was precisely chosen and wielded to cut to your core.
My favourite part of the book (without spoilers) was the 100 page chunk from approximately page 200-300 (if you've read it, you'll know why) because the events that took place were heartbreaking and intriguing, but more than that, the author's writing truly shone here. It's the type of writing that captures you and drags you down until the story consumes you and you feel every emotion that's been perfectly designed for you to feel. It's the style of writing that lives inside of you.
The characters are also incredible, every one of them has hidden depths and complexities. Every one of them has compelling, complicated relationships with those around them. Every one of them is flawed. These features gave them a deeper sense of realness than most stories ever achieve, within their complexities Mara forged something real. They're all irretrievably human. They have hopes and fears and dreams.
For YA, I didn't expect the darker themes (no, literally... darker themes) the themes of darkness and its opposite of sunlight and that combined metaphor for hope was amazing. I loved reading it and that in itself was such a clever way to build emotion into things that could arguably be called inanimate. However, going against myself here, what I loved the most about the darkness of the storm and the warmth of the sunlight, was that they too were alive. They flooded every character's choices and breathed through them and if that wasn't enough, they became vessels of their longings, of their hurt.
The depth that came with the storm was amazing. The storm not only representing anger, but when looked at deeper being the realisation of their pain and grief was brilliant. These themes and the writing that accompanied these emotive themes always blinded me with amazement. It truly was such an incredible read.
The magic system was awesome. I've never seen one quite like it, it being based in ikons and language and drawings was great. It also added character to the world even further.
This story is full of secrets and mysteries to unravel, but what I loved most was the inevitable heartbreaks and betrayals. I'm so interested in how the next book will cover more of this.
This book is full of absolutely beautiful writing and I was unable to put this spell-binding story down. The engaging, emotive writing truly is the standout of this novel.
The ending is incredible and will definitely make you want to scream. I need the next book now! The end section of this story felt quite reminiscent to me of one of my all-time favourite books, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim because of its themes of darkness and its focus on the gods. It honestly just blew me away.
My one qualm with this story was the romance. It simply felt a bit too quick for me and wasn't my favourite regardless, however this is only my personal take. There was nothing structurally wrong with it, quite the opposite, the story couldn't have existed as well outside of it, but it just wasn't to my personal preference. The characters were all incredible though and I am still broken apart at some of their endings. Hopefully the sequel will bring me some peace (who knows?)
This amazing debut is such an incredible read. I highly recommend this book, especially if you love YA fantasy, unique worlds, enemies to lovers, secrets and mysteries, dark gods and brilliant writing.

Firstly I would like to thank hodders for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story was beautifully written with a captivating plot that’s different from what I have read before, with a fantastic world building I mean wow it was brilliant!
I loved the different take on magic although I would of liked more magic in it. Hoping book 2 will have more. The romance was very minimal but the action and adventure was great!

Overall it was a nice easy read with so many twists and turns that keeps you interested and intrigued to find out what happens next. I’m only giving it 3 stars as I prefer fantasy books with more romance which I found this lacking in and I couldn’t really connect with the characters. This is just my honest opinion but I did love the writing style and will probably read the next instalment as it does end on a cliffhanger so i need to know what happens next! 😂

I thought the concept of the world and monsters made because of storm was really cool. And I was looking forward to the main character meeting the prince, because based on the blurb it seems like they might have interesting interactions. But the beginning was so slow and boring. It just didn't grab me.

Another reason that I couldn't continue with the book was that the characterization of the MC was so cliche. She was the usual 'fierce heroine' trying to play the hero, getting others into trouble, and spending the whole book sulking and feeling sorry for herself. Oh, we're also supposed to have sympathy for her because she feels instant guilt for everything that is wrong in the world.

This style of characterization is just so incredibly tiresome and annoying to me. I had assumed after the success of books like The Cruel Prince and The Shadows Between Us we might be passed this type of characters, apparently I was wrong.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the arc of The Darkening by Sunya Mara in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of failed revolutionaries, having lost her mother she lives in the farthest edge of a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm with her father. Vesper feels like a failure, not living up to the ghost of her mother’s memory and her father’s skill as a magical ikonocaster, but after her father is captured she steels herself to save her captured father from the prince and his soldiers.

I absolutely loved the world-building in this book, I could vividly see the rings of the city, the underground tunnels, the fearsome and all dominating darkness of the storm, all of which added to the multi dimensional feel of the story and pulled me into reading it, not wanting to be pulled away. The magic system was also well explained and the images of magical symbols was both interesting and understandable within the context of the book.

Vesper as a main protagonist is totally likeable, independent, determined, flawed and unwilling to follow blindly. Plus all her encounters with Dalca are so well captured…all the awkwardness and internal conflict are just perfect.

The romance between Vesper and Dalca was delivered at just the right level, supporting and aiding in developing the main plot, and all the morally grey facets were clear to see. Add in great supporting characters like Iz and Cas, who are so damned human, fallible and it was easy to empathise with them. I suspect like many readers of the book, one of my favourite quotes is:

"To do the one good thing that I must do, I find myself caught in a thousand small evils."

If you’re looking for a book that delivers a great read, a well thought out magic system, clear and well designed world-building and great characters, definitely pick up this book. I did, and I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens!

“He doesn’t give my life meaning. But I won’t lose him”

Screaming, crying, throwing up – this quote is probably the most perfect summary of this book. Following Vesper’s journey in trying to save her father and her people in the fifth from the ever-growing storm that wisps people away and leaves them cursed, she finds herself working alongside her enemy to defeat the storm. With a magic system based on ikons and beasts meandering around, the plot of the novel does not lack. With great world-building and plot development, the book is well-paced, however, does seem to be confusing at first introduction with the magic and how the world is split into sections. The book is more plot-based, with the romance of it taking a sub-plot as it does not overshadow the main goals of Vesper. It takes on enemies to lovers, a morally grey vibe, in addition to good relationship development between our MC and side characters. However, the romance does not lack and provides a slow burn typical YA style love interest

“I’m with you. I walked into the Storm with you. For you”

The pacing of the last 25% of the book seemed to speed up a bit which didn’t feel right as a lot was going on and sometimes made it confusing. Overall, The Darkening was a fun, fantasy read, definitely aimed towards a YA audience and I hope the romance is something that can be developed in the sequel.

4/5 stars
Thank you to NetGallery for allowing me to read this ARC!

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I hadn’t seen this book before, so I was really intrigued when going into it, and I really enjoyed it. It was an enjoyable read, I loved the characters and how the plot developed leading up to the ending. I can’t wait to see what this author produces next. Taking this into consideration, I’m going to give this book 4/5 stars.

This book is absolutely BRILLIANT. It’s gripping from start to finish with it’s beautifully captivating plot and even more wonderful characters (looking at you Vesper and Dalca). This book filled a hole in my heart that I didn’t even know I had… the writing is amazing, the pacing was PERFECT. Solid 5 star read with plenty of twists to keep you guessing what was going to happen. I can’t wait for book 2 (and any other books from this author).

Magic? Plentiful and different.
Romance? Cute YA levels.
Plot? Loved it.
Character development? There in abundance.
Stunning eyed male? Here for it.
Action packed? You betcha!
Should you pre-order it? YES, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE PREORDER THIS.

Thank you so much to Kate at Hodder for sending me a proof in exchange for my review. Can I re-read this already?

The Darkening was an okay reading and quite entertaining. However, I expected something more. It was well written, with a good worldbuilding and magic system (even if it was a bit confusing at the beginning), but I couldn't connect with the characters. I didn't feel emotionally invested and consequently I didn't enjoy the romance between the main characters. Maybe a younger audience could enjoy this book more than me.

A big thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this eArc!

AMAZING!! I can’t even express how much I loved this

Vesper lives in the shadow of the Storm that threatens everything she loves, until her loved ones are ripped from her anyway by the cruel Elite. She embarks on a mission to rescue her Father - the only member of her family left - which means infiltrating the inner circle of the Prince.

The world building in The Darkening is very good, with an unusual magic system that I would have loved to have learnt more about! The plot is action packed, and my only gripe is that it got slightly confusing towards the end. Otherwise a brilliant read!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Darkening has been on my radar for quite some time now and I was very very happy to be approved for an early arc. As with most of my reviews I'm not going into details about the story, because one can easily look up the synopsis anyways.

First of all this book was nothing what I expected. I think the last third of the book came in very strong and pushed this story into a whole other level from a very generic YA fantasy.

Our main character Vesper is a lot softer than how I envisioned her after reading the blurb. That is not a bad thing because it left room for a lot of character development. The main love interest Dalca, I have to be honest I dislike a lot BUT there is a lot of potential there as well. He is not the typical good guy, swooning for you guy but He is in no way going to be my favourite. I also kind of felt that Vesper made a lot of excuses on his part, sort of like a very toxic relationship. Seeing all the good in a person and kind of being forgiving to all the bad he has done. He felt very selfish and self-centered to me. But he did make me feel things, he wasn't a neutral or boring character which is a plus in my book.
Where this book shines is the side characters. Both Casvian and Izamal were my personal favourites and I felt they had more depth and layers to them than the main characters themselves. I really liked their personality and I did feel that both evolved, one way or another, tremendously. I honestly would continue reading this duology just because of them because their storyline intrigues me a lot. Also we did have a bit of a cliffhanger there too.

The world building is OK, nothing outstanding but perfectly fit for a YA fantasy. I loved the concept and the way the world was envisioned but it also left a LOT of questions in my mind unanswered which bothered me. To be plain a lot of things about how this world and their rulers support themselves, operate etc. were never really explained. Like I want to know that in such a tiny spot left, how life is still sustainable.

The writing style was great and was very easy to follow. I was able to get immersed in the story rightaway. However there is a very very VERY prominent tone change around 60% of the book. It almost feels like a different writer and a different book from that point on. If you liked the first half of the book you might find it hard to get into the second half as a result. The poetic and surreal writing left a lot to the imagination and later on in the last 20% of the book resulted in some very sudden shifts in the book. This means that the dynamics of the story are very much all over the place. So if you like smooth transitions, this might not be your cup of tea. I actually had to stop reading it for a couple of days and restart it as if after a reboot. I actually enjoyed this 1/3 of the book the most because of it's uniqueness and originality.

All in all I think it was a strong debut novel by Sunya Mara, but I do believe that Dalca's personality and the extreme shifts and tone change of the story will be divisive for readers.

3.5/5 stars

<i>I received this ARC thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b>"Maybe I am selfish -- too in love with the idea that I can do something, be someone."</b>
I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much of this book, the description sounds quite weird and a bit mess, but wait for it. I've genuinely LOVED IT! Definitely one of my top reads this year (praying to all FL deities to have it as July pick, pretty please!), and here's why~ (Book is written in first person POV, present tense)
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/1690c3ec3c5a1dce53c7fbe44ccf2e9e/c0299518eb30559f-eb/s540x810/afb667588ed521ca2947db02f0a7eadf819cc351.gifv" width="300" height="auto" alt="description"/>
<b>"You only want to save your <i>pa</i> ." He makes the word sound childish."I don't have that luxury. I have to save us all."</b>
In a city divided into 7 rings, acting as the last keep against the darkness, a girl called Vesper lives with her father in a sanctuary for people touched by the storm. What makes her special, is that both her <i>Pa</i> and late <i>Ma</i> lead a rebellion against previous Regia, ruler of the city, and well, killed them. Mother paid the price by going into the cursed storm of darkness, father on the other hand made it by being on the run for twelve years. Sadly nothing lasts forever, and he's discovered. Vesper is left with her <i>Ma's</i> locket and <i>Pa's</i> journal of <i>ikon's</i>, which are magical runes to work with magic. Protected from the very beginning, her identity was kept a secret. She could begin a new life as someone else. But she choose, to save the last member of her family from the current Regia. And apparently, her handsome son (seriously, the amount of times Ves simps over his eyes is uncountable, but still cute!).
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/49cead1d1806d4bbd7ae12bce1b4bd4b/tumblr_oo0iouPMrU1w6ul27o1_500.gifv" width="300" height="auto" alt="description"/>
<b>"I--I'm sorry. For giving you this world. For bringing you into this mess. I never wanted that for you. I wanted you to be free."
"I'm part of this world, Pa. You can't change that now.</b>
As Vesper already met the prince Dalca once, when he came to her doorstep to investigate her father's whereabouts, she felt confident to find a way to higher ring (as she was living in fifth one, currently the lowest one still standing not covered in darkness) to infiltrate royal guard of flying fighters, as she believed her father had to be kept there somewhere. She finds few colleagues along the way, and surprisingly, Dalca is one of them. Working as apprentice with current what I'd call high mage of the group, she spends more and more time with the prince, and well, they fall for each other, Thou it ain't all sweet and careless.
<img src="https://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/39200000/Katniss-and-Gale-Catching-Fire-katniss-and-gale-39269827-500-200.gif" width="300" height="auto" alt="description"/>
<b>"Do your thing," he whispers.
"My thing?"
"Comfort him."</b>
I do remember there was a mention of upcoming romance in the synopsis, but oh boi I totally forgot... Which, during chapter 13, made me reconsider all my life choices, just to get into that rollercoaster of emotions and never leave. Don't worry, there's no heavy scenes, it was a perfect YA kind of relationship! I've mentioned a journal before, right? So it covers all of her fathers secrets, that he and her mom sacrificed everything to keep from royal family, but as the storm grows stronger, father's trial coming closer, Ves has to make a choice. If she'd rather save the city, or her father.

Reading The Darkening made me feel nostalgic, as my first association with the city divided into rings concept was The Jewel by Amy Ewing, and after that I could notice a lot of things that reminded me good old dystopian YA times. Which I've really enjoyed! It's hard for me to believe this is a debut, especially with given ending -- I couldn't stop my tears from taking over and believe me, I'm not that easy to break. I don't want to spoil too much from the actual plot, so you could get all these feelings on your own. All I can say, please don't be fooled by the synopsis, and simply let The Darkening's fog swallow you in! Solid 5 stars, and it goes to my favourite reads of this year right away~~~

PS. Author page states it's a duology, and I really hope that's what we'll actually get ^^.

After being dazzled by the premise—which was the main reason I requested this book—I was expecting so much more. Maybe therein lie the problem. I was promised intrigue, some morally questionable decisions made by the main character in order to do what must be done to save herself and her father. Instead, compared to the synopsis, the actual book was uneventful and not nearly as exciting. There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed and while there were even more bad, the good parts made it worth it. To start off I like the writing style. I don't usually enjoy first person POVs because they tend to be quite repetitive but The Darkening turned out to be an exception. Vesper’s inner monologue is the perfect balance of thoughts, emotions, and actions. The prose was straightforward but still emotive. There was a good balance between the characters thoughts and the descriptions of the world. The world itself was explained just enough not to overwhelm me with formation but didn't bore me either either. The worldbuilding was pretty standard and the structure was very similar to that of The Hunger Games. It was also more vague than I would’ve liked but could always be expanded upon in the next book. Vesper was especially likable when she would disparage the oppressive systems upheld in her current society. My biggest dislike was the romance between Vesper and Dalca. The tremendous potential for Vesper’s growth is continuously undermined by the favouring of their romance almost until the very end. I honestly think Vesper had much more chemistry with both Izamal and Casvian than she did with Dalca. I believe they would’ve been better off as allies-to-enemies, and a much more interesting plot would’ve unfolded. Another pet peeve of mine is the severe lack of female characters and that Vesper is surrounded by bullheaded men that don’t listen to her and do nothing but degrade and admonish her. Contrary to other opinions I've seen, the last few chapters were my favourite part. They were fast-paced and fuelled by action and the emotional tension between Vesper and the rest of the cast. The relationship between Vesper and her father was relatable. A child desperate for affection and approval and a father too damaged to give it. They were quite bittersweet by the end of the book. Vesper especially shined in the last chapter, and the writing was its best at that point as well. The conclusion made sense in terms of the story, and I hope the sequel will build upon everything in this book in a better way.