Do you require all the world’s love as proof of your worth? Must they all honor you before you can honor yourself?” AAHHH you guys, this book was so good! It had everything I usually look for in a book; a perfect magical system, great worldbuilding, enemies to lovers romance, royal love interest, well written side characters and a likeable protagonist! The Darkening Episode 1: The Nameless Project is a Doom II megawad containing twenty-two maps, split equally between single player/ coop and deathmatch. Initially released on January 19, 1998, [1] a v1.1 bug fix followed on January 21 to add a missing flat and texture animation. The ZIP file uploaded to the idgames archive is dated January 7, 1999 however it contains the v1.1 files from January 21, 1998. It was named as one of the Top 100 WADs of All Time under the year 1999. Alcanar, the said Pa, is PATHETIC. I literally couldn't care less about this character. Half this story wouldn't happen if he just communicated with his daughter, but nah. He's gonna just give up and not tell anyone anything because reasons. I think Sunya's magic system is very unique. The battle between dark and light, between facing your worst fears and letting go of all your burdens, was so interesting! The whole time I was reading I realized just how difficult it'd be to choose between them. I think that ARC alone deserves awards. It was handled with SUCH skill! I can't comprehend how she did it.

The Darkening left us with very heartbreaking ending, but in a good way -- I love when authors decide to twist their tale so hard it hurts the reader. With that I was dying to read the sequel ASAP to see how the story will go on, and althou it was quite different from book one, all my favourite aspects were still there. And the fact this book is all about HEALING instead of instant redemption and hero actions? Qué genial! The ending is incredible and will definitely make you want to scream. I need the next book now! The end section of this story felt quite reminiscent to me of one of my all-time favourite books, The City of Dusk by Tara Sim because of its themes of darkness and its focus on the gods. It honestly just blew me away.

Project MUSE Mission

Whilst the first novel in this Duology explores fears, this one explores desires. And when I say explores what I really mean is exploits. This Duology contains the message, we can’t live without fear and desire but we can’t let them rule us either. Merley House itself is an imposing 18th century mansion which has a history of ghost activity, and the first half of the day was spent exploring different parts of the house. We used traditional techniques such as pendulums and Ouija boards to reach out to Ghosts as well as more modern techniques such as the Ghost hunt app (samples of which can be seen in the video below.) The twists and betrayals were well done and even caught me of guard and the final battle was well thought out. The ending felt satisfying and complete, like there was still story to be told, but that was to be left with the characters now, as the readers have had their fill. This was an enticing debut from Sunya Mara! I enjoyed this high-stakes fantasy mixed with political intrigue, alluring magic, and romance. The South Asian influences, although not as prominent as other South Asian fantasies, were also super cool to follow along with. I liked following Vesper on her mission to rescue her father from the clutches of the Wardana by posing as a third-year apprentice. This trope of the MC sneaking into the castle undercover to learn of the courts' secrets is not new in YA Fantasy, but it was still interesting to read about. I also really liked each of Vesper's dynamics with Dalca, Iz, and Cas and how some bonds grew (while others didn't) as the story progressed. The action sequences were also written in a very visceral manner and I found myself holding my breath any time Vesper or her father were in danger. I believe the ending was perfect and very fitting for Vesper and the world. I love how Dalca and her refused to let history repeat itself, how they were both strong enough to overcome the will of LITERAL gods because they had faced the darkest parts of themselves and accepted the light (in a sense). Spreading the power out among everyone was brilliant.

The characters were great. Vesper’s worries and feelings feel very real after having been asleep for three years, and the characters around her also treated her the way you’d expect someone to be treated after saving the city from the Storm. A sense of warmth rises in me at the look in his eyes. An ephemeral, electric joy. Between us, a promise hangs in the air, a possibility, one that we could reach out and grab. A new beginning. He smiles. "Welcome home." Ah, of course. It’s mandatory for the naive, impulsive and self-sacrificing YA heroine to dive head-first into any burning building she encounters. This whole scene was so FUNNY and cute to me. But it bothers me so much because I REALLY want to know what Dalca experience in his version of it!]This had so much potential I really wanted to like this one because the edition I have is beautiful but this one really disappointed me. I think where the story fell short for me is that the lore and magic system in the novel got really convoluted towards the middle to end of the novel. I had a hard time following along with the secrets that were being revealed about the origin of the Wardana and Vesper's mother's relation to it all. The last third of the novel felt really muddled to me and also much more fast paced compared to the first two-thirds of the novel. There were a lot of character choices that surprised me/felt slightly OOC for a character considering how they were acting in the first half of the novel, so I was unsure about that as well. Before we go into the detail of this review, we feel it is important to state a few home truths about the review team - a) we have never believed in Paranormal TV programs such as Most Haunted, b) we have always distanced ourselves from paranormal investigations and ghost hunts and c) we are a sceptical bunch about most things (although put us in an allegedly haunted building in the dark, we will still jump at any little sound!) Prince Dalca was born for one Purpose: to protect his home from the deadly storm that surrounds his city and curses everyone it touches. Vesper Vale is the daughter of failed revolutionaries. Since the Queen sentenced her mother to death by the storm, she and her father have been on the run.

For a good hour, I watch him as he pokes and prods the crystal. . .I cough. He screams. Wide-eyed, and pink-cheeked, he stares at me. "Have you been here this whole time?"But Vesper is such a powerful character! She has such an iron will, can be a bit prideful, is loving but keeps boundaries and I love it. She was so independent but I really appreciate how in the end, she still needed others help because at the end of the day, none of us are infallible. When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!

The only place the story falls is with the handling of Dalca, it’s feels as though he served his purpose in the previous book and he just trails around helplessly after Vesper, it would have been nice to see him take more of an essential role in the plot but I enjoyed the story enough to forget about his misgivings.

Music

Reading that epilogue you can FEEL the weight gone from Vesper and the others' shoulders. The happiness, the relief, was truly palpable. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review! Since today is day 1, we’ll be reading from the beginning to the end of Chapter 7. Get comfy and let’s get started!