✨4.25 stars ✨

“I have a story for you. But I must warn you, most love stories do not end happily. Love is, by nature, finite.”

First off, thank you to The Vibrant Machine Press for approving me for an arc on netgalley! here is my honest review as always

What to expect in this
* Titans/gods
* Quest to save the world
* Hate to love
* Gangs head chemist
* Addiction
* Past guilt
* Hidden Identity
* Redemption

This was so action-packed and entertaining. I really loved the magic system and the storyline in this. It had you gripping your seat not know what was going to happen next.

I went into this blind, again I judged a book by its cover sue me, in this case it was a good judgement because this book was really good.

We have our main character, Yom, a chemist bound gang member with so much more up her sleeve than powders. The tragic beginning to her story that leads her into this life, the use of vices to cope, and her goal to find her childhood friend and first love. I loved her, watching her character unravel in this story was truly well done.
And then of course, we have Quia, a royal archivist with a lot of secrets. Can we talk about tension between these two, oh my lord.

I was genuinely intrigued through the story. I felt it truly had a unique storyline going on and it was quite enjoyable. I will say, it did take me a moment to truly catch on to the story and be fully drawn in but once I was in…I wasn’t coming out.

I really enjoyed the use of storytelling in this, especially the early use of bedtime stories of gods and titans being used to open up the idea in the storyline.
I also felt that the author had a really good writing style that fits well with the book. The characters were all truly interesting and I did not want to put the book down and I am desperate for the next book!

Check TWs and CWs
Happy reading 🩶

Darker Than the Starless Night is a beautiful fantasy book that explores Yom's (a gutsy chemist) journey to find her lost love and Quia's (a pompous archival apprentice) search for the mysterious numenborn as they find themselves entangled in a looming war concerning gods and titans. Full of twists and turns mixed with powder and lust, Rebecca Brodkey will leave you hungering for the next page in her (shockingly) debut novel. This book is rife with magical and incredibly detailed imagery that surrounds you like vines of moonflower. I was so excited to read this book before I even opened it, so much so that I was dreaming about it, and I can say that this captivating novel far exceeded my expectations. Needless to say, DTTSN is among my favorite books. Also, the representation in the book is lovely; it is so rare to see a book with bi representation in such a non-surface level way. If you liked The Starless Sea, Peaky Blinders, Six of Crows, A Tempest of Tea, and anything with incredible world-building and earth-shattering dramatic reveals, you will love Darker Than The Starless Sea. The pain of finishing the book and not being immediately able to read the sequel will have to be satiated for now, while I wait for my stunning hard copy, pre-ordered.