The Darkening
by Sunya Mara
Publication Date: July 5th 2022
Publisher: Clarion Books
Find This Book: The Darkening
Rating: 3.5/5
**An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Vesper Vale is the daughter of failed revolutionaries. In a world where a magical storm surrounds the city, cursing and killing everyone it touches, there are few defenses for the outer circles of the city. Knowledge is quite literally power when magic is controlled through an ikon alphabet, enforcing social and class structures. When Vesper's father is identified and kidnapped by the royal family to pay for his previous crimes, Vesper has no choice but to infiltrate this power structure to find him and help him escape. Unfortunately for Vesper, there are larger issues still at stake. How will she learn this complex magic system? What is causing this storm to menace her city? Can she place her hopes and dreams for a better future for her people upon the shoulders of the prince?
This book has a really special magical world-building which I really enjoyed. Seeing the contrast between the inner circles hoarding books and the outer circles paying exorbitant amounts for one symbol that may or may not work... It was powerful to see their socio-economic and academic structures held so rigidly and blatantly. The concept of the reign being passed down by a powerful ikon merged with the reigning leader's body was such a fascinating display of power's corruption as well. All around, I really enjoyed exploring the world set up by Mara.
My one gripe is with the novel's character building and evolution. Prince Dalca, and his compatriots Cas and Izamal, bond with Vesper in strange ways. Dalca and Cas's relationships with Vesper just did not feel organic to me, from either side. I couldn't quite grasp what they see in Vesper to want to trust and befriend her, and I couldn't see how Vesper went from using them to actually caring about these people who ruined her life and are endangering her father. I personally like a bit more character-driven aspects in the books I read, with more developed inter-character relationships which is why this book is knocked down 1.5 stars for me. That being said, I definitely see why folks are loving this book — it has a fast, advnturous plot which is perfect for a magical fantasy read.
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