After a long, long time of on-and-off reading slumps, I read a YA Fantasy book that gripped me. That made me turn page after page in anticipation. The pacing was propulsive and packed with action and tension.

As I start to tell you my thoughts about the book, I want to start talking about the characters first, since that element of the book left the most lasting impression on me.

We follow the story through the POVs of our two main characters, Rui and Yiran.

**Rui**

I was apprehensive at first because “MC who loves to avenge their parents/take revenge from someone” has become so common of a trope and I thought I’d be bored by it. But unexpectedly there were more dimensions to her character than purely revenge. That had to take a back seat due to certain events that happened in the book.

I ended up rooting for her quite quickly in the book, along with another character who is her love interest, But I won’t name him as it would be a spoiler.

**Yiran** initially seems like a spoiled and aimless rich boy. But as we get to know him throughout the story, his character gains more depth who we empathize with. He hungers for approval from his grandfather, the only living authority figure in his life apart from his half-brother.

**SPOILERS-**

As mentioned in the synopsis itself, through some strange circumstances Yiran comes into possession of Rui’s powers, and the way he dealt with the situation took me aback a bit.

Normally I would expect some character who would feel bad about it, would feel uncomfortable with that power, and would be earnest in wanting to give it back, but Yuvraj is just a teenage boy who has been passed over all his life, be it affection or power. He only has superficial things to keep him company.

So when he gets a taste of Rui’s immensely strong magic, he is ready to do anything to hold on to it, even if it means lying through his teeth and trying to get close to Rui.

Even as he is seeming to build a true friendship with Rui and come to find a true friend in her, he can’t help but want to keep that power for himself. That, despite seeming selfish, seemed so right for his character. Because of course, a person who has gone through what he has would act this way. Why would he want to give up something that has finally put him in the spotlight, and gotten him the life and the friends he wanted?

> Rui sank her head into her hands. “All this time I was so sure that Hybrids existed. But now that I know it’s true, why do I feel worse?” Seurin had crouched beside her. Her warm brown eyes were frank and kind. “Because this is how it feels when your elders turn their backs, when institutions fall from grace, when the world moves on even as you’re standing still, when something you believe in turns out to be a lie. Because you’re no longer a child, and you’re realizing the world you live in operates in shades of gray. Sometimes, there isn’t a right or a wrong—there’s only doing the best you can in spite of the odds stacked up against you and forgiving yourself when you fall short.
>

**Ash** was another side character that I didn’t expect to become pivotal to the plot of the story. If you haven’t read the book, Ash Song is the elder brother of Yiran and the grandson of the owner of a very powerful individual. Despite not getting any chapters from his perspective, he’s an incredibly well-fleshed-out character. He’s not just the perfect “golden boy” character that Yiran’s POV makes it seem. The author makes his every appearance of matter.

> “It’s been a difficult day,” Ash finally said.
Both of his hands were gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white. He sighed, the sigh of someone who had seen too much but who was forced to keep his eyes open. How many people had died in front of him? How many people had he failed to save? Yiran didn’t know the ghosts that haunted his half brother.
>

OVERALL TONE AND ATMOSPHERE

Most importantly, the high stakes and life-and-death moments of the plot match the writing style. It’s an immaculate balance. The writing is taut, compulsively readable, and tense.

One of the things that stood out to me the most is, as I mentioned previously, the elements of slightly older kinds of YA books.

It is pretty dark and gruesome, with a lingering sense of dread and urgency with the writing conveyed through the tone of the writing and violent fight scenes. The descriptions of the Underworld, the role of the reapers, and the magic and fantasy events inspired by Chinese mythology were fascinating and quite well done.

I think fans of Fourth Wing who are okay with no explicit smut or central romance in their books will like this story a lot because of the similarities it has with it. There’s a magic school in both of them (but the one in Darker by Four is a lot more believable and sensible in my opinion, while still keeping the high stakes).

I probably am not sounding as excited as I wanted to, because I loved this book. However, I couldn’t review it immediately afterward like I prefer to, so just know that I highly recommend trying this out, as well as other books by June CL. Tan.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This is kind of everything I expect from an YA fantasy. Sure, there were some predictable things but it was fun! Fun writing, fun plot and I LOVED the cast of characters! The only thing that was a bit meh for me was the romance, but im not mad, i just didnt feel anything (as always, lately)
Cant wait for the next one!

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book in ebook format in return for an honest review.

I was drawn in by the cover art and stayed for the story. It was amazing. Exorcists, hungry ghosts known as Revants along side Reapers and Gods count me in!

It took awhile to ger going but once i started it was incrediblely hard to put down.

Rui, Yerian and Zizi are wonderful characters and each have flaws and strengths that bring them to life and give the reader something to identify with.
An amazing read i cant wait to see what happens next!

I absolutely LOVED this book! I was so captivated and I could not put it down. I love pretty much any hodderscape book, so I may be a little biased but OH MY GOD, they sure do know how to pick the best books!

I loved this book and all its cool concepts of Exorcist hunters steeped with magic and based on Chinese culture. What makes it even more special is that it’s based on the Ten Courts of Hell and Has Par Villa in Singapore. I really enjoyed the magical aspects of it, together with the characters, Rui, Yiran and Zizi (my fave).

The world building is interesting and a mix of Shadowhunters with Chinese Mythology. Plot-wise, it was engaging and I enjoyed every bit of it. The reveals were fantastic and I had to put the book down to re-read everything from the prologue.

I liked that the author also cheekily placed Outram (pronounced Ooh-trum)– an exclusive name-drop for locals in Singapore – I actually laughed when I read it. The fight scenes were exciting and had non-stop action. The world-building was strong and takes place in an Urban Fantasy world. I liked how the magical parts of the book worked with a spiritual weapon and the addition of technology and diverse characters.

There were also parts of the novel that were filled with moments that dealt with acceptance, grief and bonding between characters that I could relate to. Told through alternating POVs including Rui and Yiran, with an additional POV of Nikai from the spirit realm, it was fascinating to see how things played out.

Rui is a strong female protagonist and I liked her friendship with Zizi and slowly getting to know Yiran after he gains Rui's powers by accident. The concept of monsters and Rui's Academy being part of the monster-hunters and protectors reminded me a lot of Shadowhunters but with an Asian twist. I enjoyed the inclusions of Chinese Mythology and the magical parts of it which were steeped in more superstitious traditional Chinese beliefs. Some, which I had no clue about and learned from DBF.

The overall plot and reveals of the book was spell-binding, shocking and I honestly can't wait for the next book in the series after that jaw-dropping ending.

I was hooked from the beginning and quickly became invested in all the different threads of the narrative

"I'm going to see the stars, my friend."

Darker By Four was my most anticipated release of the year and whilst I liked it, really liked some parts of it, it wasn't the 5* I really wanted it to be. However, it definitely wasn't a bad book and I really enjoyed a lot of it.

One thing I loved about DBF, is I have always found exorcists and exorcism such an interesting subject so I absolutely loved that this book featured them so heavily. I also am very fascinated of the concept of reapers which again, featured pretty heavily here I loved both of those aspects so so much!!

I also for the most part, really liked the characters!! I thought, from his very first introduction, that Zizi would be my favourite character. He is absolutely such a little shit, i loved him so much I also agree that wearing pyjamas all day everyday is the bestest way to live. However, my favourite character absolutely turned out to be Yiran. I loved Yiran so much, he absolutely broke me and broke my heart so, so many times. The way that he feels so scared and so inferior to everyone around him, the way his Grandad and to a certain extent, Ash has made him feel his whole life is absolutely heartbreaking. You can see how much of a shield he has around himself at all times and God it made me want to sob my heart out. Yes he absolutely was selfish at times but you could always tell, really, he absolutely from the get go wanted to protect Rui and Zizi and I just love him so so much.

I did like Rui she was really cool and powerful and I loved that. However, like Yiran he could be selfish, REALLY selfish at times and that made me so sad. Obviously, she wants to protect Yiran but so much of that comes out of guilt. But, I did like her she just genuinely annoyed me at times I wanted to absolutely shake her especially when it came to the deal I wanted to scream at her for it. But, I can see the development she had across the book and I'm sure will continue to have over book 2.

The main two things I did enjoy as much in this book is, the parts at the academy I was bored like I just didn't care about the other characters because I felt like they weren't fleshed out at all and I didn't care about the training or anything and it felt like such a slog in all honesty. The other thing is, and I know this is technically a YA novel but the characters are meant to be eighteen plus but the relationship drama between Rui and Zizi was so God damn annoying. And I do kind of get the bigger picture with it but it was so fucking annoying the way in Rui's POV constantly all it seemed to be was her questioning all of Zizi's actions towards her and constantly questioning their relationship and it honestly just irritated me so much. Like the way they could have just properly communicated??? It just annoyed me so much, it reminded me of Queen Of Volts by Amanda Foody where it felt like so much of that book was just relationship drama between the two main characters and it felt the same here so bogged down with it from Rui and Zizi and that's honestly the main thing that dragged this down for me.

The world building I really liked. I found the magic system so interesting especially with the use of the spells and the fact they had to be like written down and stuff like that wad so interesting and I found the whole concept of the revenants so
interesting along with the Nothing which is the thing that creeps me out and interests me the most!!

I found the plot interesting however, at some points, it feels like there were too many plot threads and my brain struggled to keep up with all of them and I know Obviously all of them did connect but my brain did struggle to keep interest in all the different plot lines throughout.

Overall, this is a hard one for me because I did really like a lot of it and wasn't so fond on some other things. But I was so convinced this was going to be an absolute favourite book of mine and it unfortunately wasn't. I will read the sequel for sure but I'm not like crying out for it which also makes me sad but I will happily read anything the author writes.

80% Bleach and 20% Noragami modern day xianxia. 👌🏻

I was excited to start this book because the anime that were inspirations are some of my favourites!
While it didn't meet my (unreasonably high) expectations, it was still a great read!

At times it felt a little TOO similar to Bleach but that's not necessarily a bad thing, haha.
All the characters were fairly likeable but Yiran was the most developed and I'm so interested in the direction his story will take!
I wanted more fight scenes in a book with a premise like this but alas!
Can I say I knew who Four would be based on a name? I love a good play on words!

I look forward to seeing where this story will go in book 2 as with the ending there is lots of potential for a really original plot!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Hodder and Stoughton for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: death, implied child abuse, panic attacks, alcoholism, violence


“Darker By Four” is such a fun book, almost a mixture of anime, religion and urban fantasy in a fast-paced, high-stakes world. I was a huge fan of the author’s first book, “Jade Fire Gold” so I was delighted to get to read this one early. Set in the Chinese underworld and adapting aspects of diaspora mythology, Rui wants nothing more than to take revenge on the demonic Revenant that killed her mother- and to do that, she needs to hone her magic as a trainee Exorcist. She works endlessly, taking advice and spells from a mysterious underground magic dealer named Zizi, to achieve this goal in the hope that she’ll one day find her mother’s murderer. Nikai, a Reaper, was at the scene of a traffic accident when Rui was born. He serves the Fourth King of Hell, but after his master disappears and the underworld begins to fall apart without him, Nikai is driven back to the human world- seeking that same girl from years ago. At the same time, Yiran is the black sheep of a glamorous, powerful family operating at the top of society and a constant source of shame for his grandfather because of his lack of magic. After an accident leads to Rui’s abilities transferring to Yiran, he has everything he wants and Rui is left without what guarantees her vengeance. Rui soon discovers that she might be the secret to finding the missing Fourth King, and that to get her magic back, she makes a deadly deal with another god of death. As the collapse of the underworld begins to affect the human world, Nikai, Rui, Zizi and Yiran end up on a collision course in their attempts to protect their destinies before Hell can rise, taking everyone- and everything- they love with it.

I enjoyed this book so much, it was fast-paced and always exciting from the first page. I loved Nikai, Rui and Zizi so much, and while I took a bit longer to warm up to Yiran, I liked all of the characters. Every scene with Zizi lit up the page, I would read an entire book about him if I could. The combination of the underworld (featuring multiple Kings of Hell and reapers) with a modern-day, urban environment worked so well and the stakes felt incredibly high the further into the book I got. One aspect I liked a lot is the magical system and the ongoing battle by the Exorcists against the Revenants because the fight scenes were so quick and intense. The combination of soulmates, magic, gods and demons was brilliant and an excellent start to what I hope will be a longer series.

I totally saw Zizi = Four coming, but Rui = Fours power ????? the ending ???? ******* YIRAN???? i liked him kinda but seriously??

Darker by Four is a magical academy story like no other. I didn't really know what to expect going into it, and I really enjoyed it.
The characters were full, likeable (one VERY likeable! *wink*), and the story was interesting, pacey and the ending was incredible.
I attended an event with the author and she said that she wanted the fight scenes to be like Manga but in written form, and I can't think of a better way to describe them. There were also gods of hell, monsters and incredible banter between some of the characters. The multiple narrators worked excellently and, while I found the beginning confusing, I'm glad I persevered because it all started to make sense.
I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the sequel.

This was such a fun book! An urban fantasy with demons and a magic academy, June CL Tan has crafted a dark and adventurous read that keeps you hooked. There are secrets and twists that build to an explosive ending, and I have to say, I was genuinely shocked at one of the reveals. I would say, the only downside for me was that at times I felt there were too many elements going on which meant we didn't linger on moments I thought could've used a bit more developing. Overall though, it's a solid read and one to add to your TBR.

3.5 stars

This was good-like seriously good!!! I was quite liking the first half of the book, but by the second half, my heart was hammering and I could not put this book down! It's a mash up of mortal instruments and Chinese mythology. There are strange demons from Hell threatening mankind, evil and surreal Gods and a school for demon hunters. What more do you need??? The world building in this book was just superb. It was like reading an anime!
I just adored the wide rage of characters who appeared in this novel. Obviously it centres around Rui and her fight to be the best. I thought Yiran was a brilliant character and I can't wait to see how his journey is going to continue into book 2, but Zizi just stole my little heart. I loved everything about him as a character and a love interest.
The book was seriously fast paced and I loved the short chapters, each ending in a way that had me turning the page and devouring the next chapter.
I honestly wish I'd picked this up sooner. This is a seriously brilliant YA novel, cleverly written, brilliant characters, unique world building and exciting twists (even when you have an idea what's happening!)
This is a must for all YA fantasy fans. I cannot wait for book 2!!
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an arc in return for an honest review.

Diving into Darker by Four with no prior knowledge, I placed my full trust in June C.L. Tan’s masterful storytelling and world-building skills. After being captivated by her debut, Jade Fire Gold, and learning that she’s a fellow Singaporean, I knew I had to wholeheartedly support her. There’s something truly fascinating about reading books inspired by tales and history that have been part of my upbringing since childhood. Darker by Four draws inspiration from Haw Par Villa, a place that holds a special, albeit daunting, significance in Singapore. This cultural park, with its depictions of Asian beliefs and Hell in Chinese lore, is a place I visited once and never dared to return.

The concept of Hell has been a popular theme in fantasy novels in recent years, and Darker by Four explores it through the lens of Chinese philosophical and spiritual beliefs. In this world, the Kings of Hell are numbered, and the disappearance of Four 18 years ago has plunged the courts of Hell into chaos, allowing the blight of Nothing to spread and Revenants to surge into the mortal realm. Nikai, Four’s loyal servant and a Reaper of Hell, is determined to uncover the truth behind Four’s disappearance before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, Rui is driven by a single-minded desire for vengeance. Since the day of her birth, her life has been overshadowed by tragedy, with her mother’s death at the hands of a Revenant. Fueled by this tragedy, Rui has honed her skills and magic to track down the Revenant responsible. However, a twist of fate leads to her powers being transferred to Yiran, a seemingly ordinary human. Yiran, overshadowed by his brother’s powers, seizes the opportunity to prove himself, but his selfish motivations and treatment of Rui’s magic left me with mixed feelings about his character.

As a Chinese reader, I deeply appreciated June C.L. Tan’s skillful use of the tonal nature of the language, cleverly playing with the combination of words to evoke multiple meanings. With a slight change, si can be pronounced as Four (四) or Death (死) which is incredibly fitting for Darker by Four. The incorporation of xianxia/wuxia elements added another layer of intrigue to the story, especially during the exhilarating battles between Exorcists and mages fueled by qi cultivation.


Overall, it was an absolutely wild ride with Yiran, Rui, Zizi, and Nikai. I’m hoping for more Nikai so maybe we’ll be going into the Underworld in the next book? There seemed to be so much more to be explored and discovered that a duology isn’t enough.

P.S. Almost like everyone else, I’m with Zizi. He has my heart through and through. That ending killed me.

Let me start by saying I did like this book. But it either wasn’t for me or I’m entering a reading slump bc I did not enjoy it as much as I probably would have. I didn’t connect to any of the characters, they felt flat to me and the plot was very predictable. I didn’t even like the main characters that much and the romance in the book kinda felt forced (all instances of romance not only the main one ) I don’t think I enjoyed the authors writing that much and the book kept fluctuating between 2 and 4 stars for me.

What I did like about it was Zizi and his relationship with Rui(for half the book), I liked the cat and I did find the world interesting but not intriguing enough. I adored Ruis best friend even tho her moments were few. I liked that the world was queernormative even tho it did feel kind of forced instead of the nice natural flow queernormativity normally has for me, but honestly I’m not that against the writer because honestly good job, it might just have been the feeling because it’s a ya book.

Overal a 3 star.

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
(links to follow)

4,5⭐️

[Scroll down for the English review]

🇪🇸Menuda montaña rusa de libro, lleno de emociones y escenas excelentes de acción. El misterio no se queda atrás, a pesar de ser un libro bastante centrado en los personajes, la trama está llena de incógnitas y plot-twist sorprendentes.

La construcción del mundo está muy bien hecha. Aunque es un libro de fantasía urbana el mundo y la magia son bastante complejos.

Me han encantado los personajes, todos son bastante moralmente grises y toman muchas decisiones cuestionables. Un desastre completamente, pero su caos parecía el menor de los problemas si tenías en cuenta TODO lo que estaba pasando a su alrededor.

Mi favorito es Zizi, aunque sea el único de los protagonistas que no tiene capítulos desde su perspectiva, su personalidad arrolladora y bromista me ganó por completo. Eso sin hablar de su romance. De las mejores partes del libro, siempre presente pero pocas veces el foco de la escena. Aun así, me robó el corazón.

Hay otra trama de romance que se introduce casi al final del libro. Me pareció bastante repentina, pero sé que dará mucho juego en el segundo libro así que tampoco me quejo.

Este libro es adictivo, interesante y emocionalmente devastador. Todo junto hace que sea un libro que no puedes dejar de leer y del que necesitas la segunda parte en cuanto lo terminas.

¡Gracias a Netgalley y la editorial por el ARC!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

🇺🇲What a rollercoaster of a book, filled with emotions and amazing action scenes. The mystery is not far behind, even though it’s a character-driven book, the argument was full of enigmas and shocking plot-twists.

The world building was well done. Although it’s an urban fantasy the world and magic are very complex.

I loved the characters; they are all morally grey and make questionable decisions. They were a disaster, but their chaos seemed like a minor problem if you had EVERYTHING that was happening in mind.

My favorite was Zizi, even if he is the only main character without a POV, his funny and cocky personality won me over. And that’s without talking about his romance. One of the best parts of the book, it is always present but rarely the center of the scene. Despite that, it stole my heart.

There is another paring that is introduced later in the book, it was too fast for my liking but I’m curious of how their relationship will develop in the next book.

This book is addictive, interesting and emotionally devastating. When you put all that together it makes the book impossible to put down!

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC!

The actual plot is quite straightforward, however, there are a lot of plot threads that are introduced at the same time. Most of these are left to be addressed in the sequel which made the story feel unsatisfying and rushed. Overall I think it was just a very fun book and I'm interested to read the sequel to tie up those lose threads.

Oh how my heart hurts finishing this book.

This was so, so good and I cannot wait to read the second book and I really hope we are going to get certain things - otherwise I’ll die.

I found this to be quite boring. It was mainly down to the characters being bland and I didn't like their interactions or the way different situations were handled. The MC seemed to have such dumb decisions and the main leads were both just annoying. I could see the c-drama comparison, but it just felt surface level. The stakes weren't high enough and the idea of the different kings and too many subplots felt like the author was trying to push a lot of themes into the book, which didn't make sense. It was definitely overdone in the first 50% , and the plot twist was very obvious.

I would recommend to new YA fantasy readers, but this just wasn't for me! Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!