Blog Tour: There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

A spoiler-free review of There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool.

Rating: 3.75 Stars
Publication Date: Sept 3rd 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Henry Holt Books For Young Readers
Source: ARC from Raincoast Books

Goodreads
Link To The Author
Amazon

THOUGHTS:

 I was pretty excited for There Will Come A Darkness because I love a prophecy and a multiple point of view cast. There are five points of view and I found each one was intriguing in the first 75 pages:

• Jude (a warrior who has prepared his whole life to fight the darkness – but does he really believe it can be done?)
• Hassan (a prince in hiding – will he reclaim his kingdom and free his people from the Hierophant?)
• Ephyra ( “the pale hand” aka. an assassin who steals the energy of sinful criminals to keep her sister alive – who will she be once her sister is cured? what will she become if she isn’t?)
• Anton (he can find anyone with his grace but will do anything to keep from being found himself – what or who is he running from?)
• Beru (Ephyra’s ailing sister – what happened to her and will she survive?)

  My biggest struggle with MPOV is that I often favor one or two and struggle through the other characters chapters. I didn’t feel that way this time which meant the 500 pages flew by and the story had great flow. I did find that some times their voices weren’t distinct enough but I think that’s also why I was able to enjoy each perspective, so its hard to say if that was a flaw or a strength. I do hope we get a bit more depth in the sequel because each characters story did start off with very little background. 

  For me what really stood out is that this was not a squad goals cast like Six of Crows. Rather, it was five very different people who lives and individual struggles awkwardly and realistically intertwined. As a reader I’m genuinely uncertain that they can do what needs to be done and that’s a interesting feeling.

  Our antagonist is the Hierophant, the voice of a cult that hates the Graced (people with magic), and his followers the Witnesses. I felt like I didn’t get enough of the Hierophant and his back story and maybe that’s why the stakes often didn’t feel high enough – the threats were very much in the background. That said, I did like that this YA book felt darker than many I’ve read in the past and I have a feeling that those background threats will be a lot more oppressive in the sequel. On the flip side I was very invested in the stakes of each character and their personal struggles, each was just trying to survive in their own way, and that made up for the lack luster antagonist.

  I want to quickly touch on the magic system, or the Graces, and say that I loved it. It didn’t feel overly original and there were certainly some fantasy tropes used but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment and for that I have to credit the quality of Pool’s writing.

  In the end the story wrapped up in a way that left me wanting the sequel but not cursing the months till it’s arrival. There were a few reveals I wasn’t expecting along the way but I need to read more of this series before I can decide if it’s a new favorite. 

  Thank you for reading my review of There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool. I  hope you enjoyed my insights and look forward to more reviews from me in the future.

Upcoming Blog Tour for: There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

Come back on September 7th for my full, non-spoiler review!

Slayer by Kiersten White – (Spoiler Free) Review

Slayer by Kiersten White

Rating: 3 stars 
Publication Date: January 8th 2019
Genre: Paranormal
Page Count: 404
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: eARC from Netgalley

Goodreads
Link To The Author
Amazon

THOUGHTS:

Confession, I vaguely remember Buffy from my younger days and I mostly read this because I like Kiersten White’s writing. So, I was a little confused at the beginning because the backstory made little sense to me but I ended up enjoying it anyway. So, even if you haven’t watched Buffy, you can still enjoy this book.

As I said, the beginning was a bit awkward, it felt more like a sequel, because I think I was suppose to know all the terms and names being thrown around. That also might be why I never felt fully invested in the characters. I did however, enjoy that the story focused on the squad involved (Nina and her twin sister Artemis, their friend Rhys and his boyfriend Cillian) and the tiny whisper of a romance was barely a thing. I also loved that Nina was born into this world of slayers and demons but she just wants to heal people and is simply the sweetest bean. She has zero desire to be the “chosen one” and no one else is happy about it either. It’s because everyone keeps dismissing her that she finally stands up and says “wait a minute, I’ve got this, thank you very much”. I really enjoyed witnessing that transition because I felt like I could relate to being underestimated.

I enjoyed the demons and the demon butt-kicking that ensued even if it was occasionally a bit cheesy. And despite it being a bit predictable I found that I was engaged and always interested in returning to the story because it was a lot of fun.

I would recommend Slayer to anyone who loves Buffy, Shadowhunters, or Supernatural.

Thank you for reading my review of Slayer by Kiersten White. I  hope you enjoyed my insights and look forward to more reviews from me in the future.

Magical Readathon: N.E.W.T.S. TBR

The time has arrived for the N.E.W.T.S. Magical Readathon! If you have no idea what I’m talking about I will link you to the video from Bookroast that explains it all. Back in April I completed six of the O.W.L.S. with the hopes of pursuing the Magizoologist career. However, I made a mistake and didn’t take one of the required exams which was Charms, read an adult work. So, in July I re-sat my Charms exams by reading Lets Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Now I’m ready to take my N.E.W.T.S. exam for Magizoologist with the following TBR:

Care of Magical Creatures:

For Acceptable, read a book beginning with “A” for Aragog.

For this I chose Amy & Rogers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I think this is a perfect read for summer and I really enjoyed Since You’ve Been Gone by the same author.

For Exceeds Expectations, read a book under 300 pages.

For this I chose Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern. This looks like an easy, adorable read and I’ve heard really good things about the autism rep.

For Outstanding, read a book with a bird on the cover.

For this I chose Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto. I’m pretty sure a Pheonix counts as a bird and I needed some high fantasy on this TBR.

Charms:

For Acceptable, read a book with a gorgeous cover.

For this I chose The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young which is one of my most anticipated reads of the year as well as one of my favorite covers. Thank you Raincoast Books for this ARC copy.

For Exceeds Expectations, read a graphic novel.

For this I chose Bera the One Headed Troll by Eric Orchard. I can’t remember whose channel I saw this on but they really enjoyed it so I requested this from my library. I hope I enjoy it because graphic novels are really hit or miss for me.

Herbology:

For Acceptable, listen to an audiobook or read a book with a green cover.

For this I chose to listen to White Cat by Holly Black. I thought The Cruel Prince was okay so I wanted to try other works by this author and I’ve heard good things about this series.

For Exceeds Expectations, read a book between 350 – 390 pages.

For this I chose The Liars of Mariposa Island by Jennifer Mathieu. This looks like another great read for summer and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of it from Raincoast Books.

I would love to discuss what books you will be reading for each prompt if you’re participating. Leave me a comment down below and lets chat!

The Book Junkie Trials Results

Guys, I am so proud of myself. Not only did I complete all five challenges for the Mage path of the Book Junkie Trials but I also read six additional books! One of the challenges of the Trials is you must stick to the TBR you announced at the beginning of the month, something I’ve never done before. It was a lot of fun and Nevernight was a particularly good read. I really appreciate all the thought and effort that Rachel put into this readathon. She is so inspiring and creative I can’t wait to see what she does next.

I read Nevernight for the prompt: Orc Grove, read something gritty or gruesome. (This was also for the Magi challenge, a book outside your comfort zone, for the footnotes in this book)

I read Crown of Coral and Pearl for the prompt: Ol’ Pirate Cove, read a book that takes part mostly on or by the sea

I read To Best The Boys for the prompt: Glimmer, read a beautiful or colorful book

I read The Tea Dragon Festival for the prompt: Draconic Isles, read a book features dragons. (you can read my full review here)

I read Descender Vol 3 for the prompt: Bookie Grail, read a book where the characters are searching for something lost

I would love to discuss what books you read for each prompt if you participated. Leave me a comment down below and lets chat!