The Darkening

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By Sunya Mara

Publisher Description

In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut, the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

Even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

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123 Reviews

3.5

Nix

Created 2 months ago

“This could have been one book. It had such a potential but it left me with a feeling of Shadow and bone from Wish.com. I bought this book, because authors marketing was full of books I liked, but I donated the book as soon as I finished it. It was okay I guess.”

Likable charactersEasy to readPredictableUnsatisfying plot

Melanie Morton

Created 11 months ago

“At first I thought this was an “okay” book, but the more I read, the more enveloped I became by the story. The book leads you through the characters darkest fears and greatest strengths and leaves you wanting more — in a good way. A beautiful first novel from Sunya Mara, I sincerely am looking forward to the sequel which comes out this year.”

Reviewed in:The Bernadette Readers

Characters change and growOriginal writingThrillingHauntingComing of age

Urlocalwitch

Created about 1 month ago

“Good fantasy read. Vesper is who I wish I was rather than who I am though, so I didn’t resonate wholly with her. Also I really hope Dalca has to grovel plenty but I feel like he won’t.”

fromthefoxhole

Created 6 months ago

Characters change and growLikable charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenLyricalMind-bendingCreative settingMagical settingMade me cry

michi

Created over 1 year ago

“Thank you to Sunya Mara and Clarion Books for the eARC of this book! "To do the one good thing that I must do, I find myself caught in a thousand small evils." I squeeze his hand until he looks at me. "I hope that one thing is worth it." "It is the only thing that matters." —Sunya Mara, The Darkening I really enjoyed my read of The Darkening and I'm happy to have received an advance copy of the book. I was immediately drawn in from the first chapter due to how interesting I found the plot. There were a lot of tropes included in the story that I am a big fan of: enemies to lovers, bad boy with tragic back story, dream sequences, found family, a big mystery, an important quest and life-or-death circumstances... On top of that, there was great worldbuilding, an intriguing magic system, and complex characters. I really connected with all of the characters and felt they were all well-rounded. They each had their own inner conflict and motivations, and I love how they interacted with one another and the world around them. Following not only Vesper’s personal journey but the journey of all the other characters as well was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Something unique about this book is that there were a few things about the writing and main character that usually turn me off, such as ostentatious descriptions and a back-and-forth sort of attitude, yet I never felt like my enjoyment wavered. I found myself binge reading because I was so invested in the story and the characters. However, I did have to lower my rating to four stars because of a few things, such as the fact that I feel like the main romance wasn't as well-developed as it could have been. Even though I ended up loving , it seemed like Vesper had more chemistry with some of the other characters instead and that we were kind of just expected to believe these two had feelings for one another because that is the direction the author wanted the story to take. There were some plot points set up and never expanded on; hopefully, the second book in the series will address some of the seemingly forgotten characters, like the group of rebels that helped Vesper along the way. Despite my few grievances, I did really love The Darkening and will be eagerly waiting for the second installment.”

About Sunya Mara

Sunya Mara grew up in six different cities across five different states and now calls Los Angeles home. She studied film and business at the University of Southern California and went on to write and illustrate at Kobe Bryant’s Granity Studios. When not telling stories, she spends her time haunting old movie theaters and staring at museum walls. Visit her online at sunyamara.com.