I took an unintending long pause on this one as I flipped from audio where I lost interest over to reading normally.

This is an interesting fantasy world but it didn't wholly excite me which may have something to do with that long pause I had. I did initally connect with the MC but over time I felt like I lost the connection.

Narration wise, there was nothing wrong with the narration but it was the world I was losing focus on. I did do better with the ebook.

Rounded up to 3 stars

The Darkening by Sunya Mara is an atmospheric novel that drops you right in to a world of darkness.

Mara has created an intriguing world, you really get a sense of atmosphere and a feeling of unease permeates through the whole book:

Viper is the main character and I enjoyed following her arc from timid and unsure to strong and resilient. Her background was well fleshed out and she had strong motivations. I did feel the supporting case could have been better established, there was an air of mystery around all of them which was interesting but didn’t result in feeling any strong attachment to them.

The pacing did feel slightly uneven, certain sections were very slow while others rush by too quickly. There are several twists but if you’re familiar with YA fantasy, many of them felt a little predictable.

Overall, an enjoyable ya fantasy and strong debut I’m certainly interested enough to pick up the second book.

The audiobook was easy to listen to and I enjoyed the narrator.

Revenge stories are really not my cup of tea, but since the description sounded good and there where a lot of good reviews, i thought i might give it a try. But sadly it wasn´t for me. The plot wasn´t interesting, i didn´t get the romance and i couldn´t picture the fantasy at some points. I thought a lot about DNFing because i just couldn´t make myself care about the story or the characters. The story also has quite an open ending and i just read the synopsis of the second one but it just dosn´t sound that interesting because it just goes further into the fantasy aspect I didn´t understand. 2,5 stars

It’s been a really long time since I read a YA fantasy book but the concept and blurb for The Darkening were super intriguing! For me the best part of the book was the overall “atmosphere”, The concept of a constant storm that’s raging, with monsters lurking inside was so unique. I really just wanted even more lore and explanations of this part of the world. I definitely can’t wait to see what happens next!

The Darkening by Sunya Mara was 100% a cover read for me; I mean just look at it! I 'm not embarrassed to say it. I think cover designers and illustrators should be praised for the part they play at selling books. The book itself was an interesting concept and I did enjoy it. It is action packed, full of political intrigue and interesting characters. That I think will have a lot of people gripped from the very first page. It did, however, take me a little while to get into it, BUT once I was, I was hooked, and I especially enjoyed the protagonist and her fearlessness.

Definitely give it a whirl if you like the sound of the synopsis.

I LOVED the concept of this book! What a synopsis to play with! I loved how Mara built the relationship with the reader and the protagonist. Unfortunately for me it lost its way a little in the middle. I found myself a little disconnected and my interest was only peaked again during the last few chapters of the book. I enjoyed it, but I felt that perhaps for me there was more potential there.

The audio was well narrated, it was well paced and pleasant to listen to.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, with some really interesting concepts and moments that I thought got a bit weighed down at times. I enjoyed the notion of the storm-touched and I also thought that the icon rules for the magic system was really interesting. Unfortunately, I found the characters and their interactions a bit lackluster and not very well fleshed out, although I did find the relationship between Vesper and her father fascinating. Overall, this was a solid and enjoyable read, but I don't think I'll continue in the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a really interesting and enjoyable fantasy book! The world building and magic systems were really interesting and unique.

There were definitely characters I enjoyed more than others and I have to admit at times I found Vesper to be really flawed and selfish.

I’m really interested to see what will happen in the sequel!

The audiobook narration was great!

Strong debut book for an author with a engaging story and smoothly flowing plot.

The story from that start I found to hook me in with a unique world and magic system but later on I was a little burnt out when things changed a little bit and a romantic section began to come into fruition which I was less interested in but I’m sure others will find it fulfilling.

Throughout the book the story was engaging enough to enjoy it but it was a little heavy on the typical and common YA cliche tropes but through the unique magic and world surrounded by a storm the tropes felt new and fulfilling enough to stand out on their own.
The writing was smoothly written which made for an enjoyable story and experience.

The narrator for this version I listened to was not the best in my opinion, I found parts to sound very dull and flat which made my attention to the story wonder and I felt like I was zoning out which overall dampened my experience.

I’m eager to read the sequel and believe I will have more enjoyment from reading the book physically which u will do before the sequel.

Cover is beautiful and I love my fairyloot special edition!

Overall I would give the book 4/5 stars but the narrator on this version would lower my experience overall.

I really enjoyed the world this book created. Although it did fall into some typical YA tropes and rhythms, and sometimes realised to heavy on exposition, the magic system Mara built was unique and captivating. The quest element was also really interesting, and the book reflected well on how a character's past can define who they are. I wish there were more tender moments of friendship between the main characters and that the novel was a little more slowly paced, but it was overall an enjoyable read.

Someone is a fan of Robert Frost - the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.

The Darkening throws us right into the action. The storm is surging, and Vesper - who has lived her whole life in the shadow of the storm - runs out into it to save a woman and her storm-cursed child.
However her rash actions require her father to use iconomancy to save her, and in doing so he draws attention to himself - attention he has spent Vesper’s whole life trying to avoid.
Thrown into the mystery of why the city’s Regias get weaker with every generation, Vesper will risk everything by facing her greatest fear, in the hope she can save the lives of everyone she cares for.

I really enjoyed Vesper as a character - she was determined and stubborn (sometimes to her detriment) - although I was less keen on the romance, for reasons which I hope are fairly clear towards the end of the book.
I’m all for a good redemption story, but I felt that Dalca’s anger was somewhat over-the-top after all Vesper had done to prove herself.

The setting and idea of the storm were intriguing, and I loved the magic system.
Overall, it was a good YA read, and I’ll definitely pick up the sequel.

"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."

The Darkening is an interesting fantasy novel set in a thrilling world. I really loved discovering the layers to this world and its magic system. That was the best part for me. I just loved the setting and everything around it.
However, while I was reading this, I sometimes felt like I had read this book before, it felt very familiar in its plot and romance. It might just be a me problem though. I really just didn't get into the romance here, I just didn't like the main love interest and I had trouble understanding the main character's choices.
Since I had the audio version, this was a pretty short read and I really did enjoy the narrator.
Overall, this was still a pretty strong fantasy debut and I might read its sequel. I'll definitely keep an eye on whatever Sunya Mara writes next.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

This was great! In the eye of a storm, there are few people who can protect the masses. Those who have been “storm touched” often have powers and are different to those who aren’t. Our main character is on the run- but simultaneously trying to find her father by weaselling her way into the upper classes.

This is a very good book with an interesting world and a mystery plot at its core that hooks you from the beginning.

It was a very easy story to listen too and I liked the narrator a lot and the first person POV made it easy to connect to the main character.

The story is paced very nicely, if perhaps a bit on the slow side at times, but for an audio book that still works for me.

I had a great time listening to this book, and I can highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free audio of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for this year and it was FANTASTIC. It was such a fun, exciting read and the narrator was amazing.

Someone needs to talk to me about this magic system, because I absolutely love it. It's so well thought out and beautifully crafted and I want to hear hours more audio about it. It's just fantastic.

I love the characters. All of them (but especially Cas & Iz). They all brought something different to the table. They all had a familiarity to them whilst still managing to feel unique, which is always a win in my book.

I think my favourite part of this book was The Storm itself though. I loved learning about how the Storm affected different people it touched, about the monsters within it and how it was continuing to grow. It's such an interesting and epic idea.

I absolutely adored this book and I cannot wait for the next instalment.

The darkening by Sunya Mara

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, hodder & stoughton and Sunya Mara for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a tough one to review because the end left me wondering what on earth the last 30% was and I must read the sequel. In a way that's good because I need to read on but I would like to feel like I actually understood what happened. I do think that maybe if I read it again it would make more sense as the mythology and magic system is quite complex.

That being said the magic system was one of the best parts of the book. At first it was giving me shadowhunters vibes but it goes way beyond that. The way its described as each mark must be correct or it will go wrong really added to the high stakes of the book. Some of the curses people got from the storm were devasting too.

You have to give it to the author they were not afraid to tear your heart out and stomp on it repeatedly. This book definitely makes you feel things.

The audio reading was quite slow but I often find that they are because I read so quickly. Especially when I'm enjoying a book like with this one. The narrator (Rachel Petladwala) had a great tone and an engaging voice though and it was perfect speed for me at 2x sped up.

I've given both the ebook and audio 3.5 to 4 stars as I liked the premise and the book really sucked me in at the start but I felt a bit lost towards the end. That being said I do think that if there is a sequel (finger crossed) the author will have the perfect chance to go further into what happened towards the end and I'd be excited to read it.

Loved it! Sunya Mara is one author to keep an eye on!! This is a brilliant story! Ember in the ashes meets the Rithmatist!

I can't wait for the sequel!!!

The narrator was okay, I'd prefer it if she was more emotional at some parts. Overall, the story wins on this one.

I'd like to thank the publisher Hodder & Stoughton Audio and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am very sorry to say that this book did not capture my attention that much. I honestly think I could have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook. The second part of the book is full of action scenes that didn’t really gripped me and the narrator mixed up voices from time to time using male ones for females and viceversa and it was quite difficult to follow.

The characters are quite interesting, none of them is perfect even if Vesper is very brave in wanting to save her father and the whole city. She is also eager to learn the magic her father is a master of, magic that can change reality if you are eager to look beyond the obvious. That kind of magic was actually very fascinating and I found myself being more interested in Vesper’s parents’ backstory instead of her own. I actually hope there’ll be a prequel!

A fun, character-led adventure about redemption, revenge, and saving a world restricted by a magical storm that curses people it envelops. I would have LOVED this book as a 13-year-old. Parallels with Daughter of the Moon Goddess, chaser for the Broken Earth trilogy (for young readers). Lots of likeable characters, combat, quests, magic, and code-breaking. The audiobook is also very well done.

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration, it really brought the book to life.

This is a solid debut and I really enjoyed that this was YA fantasy that I hadn't seen before- the book does start off slow but I felt that was to do with the need to give lots of info but after that I found the book was fast paced and the story kept my attention throughout.

I gave this 4.5 stars because of the slow star but absolutely loved this book!