A thrilling conclusion filed with stunning prose and gripping character arcs! A satisfying end to the duology.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic sequel to the Darkening.

Picking up a few years after the events of book 1 the conclusion to this duology does not disappoint.

The characters are further fleshed out, the world building continues to be amazing and the ending is so utterly satisfying.

It was one of those books that made you feel sad when you finished and that’s exactly what I want from an ending. Really great job!

“The Lightstruck” by Sunya Mara is a riveting sequel to “The Darkening.” The story picks up with seventeen-year-old Vesper Vale awakening to a world that has drastically changed during the three years she was unconscious. She has become a hero, a vessel for the Great Queen, and the one who ended the Storm that once tormented her city. Now, she must navigate a society that reveres her as a deity, while also contending with the new threat of the Great King, whose ominous light controls the citizens and threatens to unravel everything Vesper has fought for.

The worldbuilding in “The Lightstruck” is vivid and immersive. The author crafts a city that’s both familiar and fantastical, with a central conflict that’s a clever metaphor for the struggles between light and darkness, control and freedom. The central rings of the city, now overtaken by the blinding light of the Great King, create a sense of urgency and danger that propels the story forward.

Vesper is a compelling character. Her journey from a revered figurehead to an active participant in her city’s fate is fraught with self-doubt and the weight of expectations. Her relationship with Dalca, the prince she vowed never to love, adds a layer of complexity to her character development. Their shared history and the tension between them drive much of the emotional core of the story.

The pacing of the book is excellent, with tense action sequences and a climactic showdown that kept me on the edge of my seat. The lightstruck—citizens controlled by the Great King’s light—serve as a chilling reminder of what can happen when power is left unchecked. “The Lightstruck” is an innovative and satisfying conclusion to The Darkening duology.

I made the mistake requesting this before reading The Darkening... I didn't love the 1st book, it was ok but didn't WOW me. With this in mind, I thing this is an ok sequel. Nothing bad about it, just didn't captivate me as much as I thought it would.

It was so fast paced, well written and left no crumbs!
The Characters were likable and also their development was amazing! Also the ending was perfect! It did leave you with a satisfying feeling because there were no questions left

With exciting new twists and plot points while maintaining its signature mysterious fantasy feeling. The lightstruck makes it one unputdownable read.

I honestly struggled with this one! I just couldn’t get invested in the plot at all, and almost feel like the first book would have worked better as a standalone. I pushed through because I didn’t get invested in book 1 til about 60% but this one just never clicked for me

DNF at 17%. This book just didn’t grab me the same as the first one. I was really looking forward to it but I just struggled to stay hooked, Just not as compelling as the first book, such a shame

The book left me feeling a bit disappointed. Despite my curiosity after finishing the first book, I found the story to be quite lengthy and slow-paced for the majority of it. There were moments when the pace picked up, only to slow down again shortly after. Towards the end, I started to lose interest. Even after Vesper and Co. were seemingly defeated by the king, I found myself patiently waiting for the resolution without feeling truly invested in the outcome. However, I did appreciate the ultimate resolution and how it shed light on the complexities of being human. One aspect that contributed to my dissatisfaction was the slow revelation of information, which mirrored Vesper's own journey. It felt like she only took action after countless pages, and it became frustrating.

The Lights Lightstruck was the perfect sequel to The Darkening. I love the characters, the storyline was fantastic and gripping. Would definitely recommend.

Unfortunately after only reading 2 chapters I had an error message come up every time to tried to open this book to continue reading. I uninstalled the app hoping that would fix the issue but it actually made it worse by removing the book completely ☹️. When I looked the archive date had passed. I have waiting several months before posting this review hoping my local library would purchase a copy as they have the first in the series the darkening but so far they have not acquired a copy. From what I did read it seemed to be a promising start and I really did enjoy the first book so fingers crossed the library gets a copy soon

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

Overall this was pretty good. I did find the start and sometimes the middle a bit boring, but the ending really made up for that!

Worth the wait! The Lightstruck continues the story from The Darkening and I really enjoyed the prose and interesting time jump. The plot was different from her previous book and made more exciting from the eyes of Vesper who’d been through so much after her ultimate sacrifice. The romance was filled with a very ‘will this happen or not’? Kinda storyline. Overall, I’m pleased with the outcome of this duology.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The world of The Darkening was pretty immersive, and after the conclusion to the previous book I wasn't sure how Mara was going to even have a sequel! And actually, I think The Lightstruck doesn't quite live up to the promise of its predecessor. Playing with the concept of removing choice was a clever move as it could definitely be seen as positive rather than negative. I wasn't completely on board the Vesper-Dalca train (Cas all the way!). I'm also wondering if the mention of other cities is a tease for another future series...? But all in all it was a satisfying conclusion to the duology.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

Man, I loved this book. This was an exciting sequel from a dearly beloved book and author. I loved the characters, the world-building. Everything. I HIGHLY suggest you read this book.

Didn't find this as good as book one unfortunately but thought the beginning was really well done!!!!
Bought the Fl version to match my book 1. Thanks to netgalley for the arc

3.5/4 star

I loved The DArkening and The Lightstruck is even better. A strong, well written and gripping story featuring great characters
Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

It really hasn't been long since I read The Darkening - maybe two months? But I found this to be very confusing from the offset - I didn't understand anything about what was going on with the Great King and the Lightstruck, and I get that Vesper didn't either, but I think someone should have explained something a lot earlier on, because it made me feel a bit disinterested after a while.

The characters also felt completely different in this book - in the first book, they had distinct personalities and I liked each of them. In this installment however, they felt very interchangeable and boring. It felt like Dalca and Vesper barely knew each other - all of the buildup that happened in the first book felt like it completely disappeared.

I didn't love the first book, but it intrigued me enough to really want to read the sequel and find out what happened in this world and to these characters... and now I wish I'd just never found it. It was just boring, sadly.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the first one and this one did not disappoint. It kept me gripped throughout the story.
I liked seeing the characters development in this book but did feel that some of the side characters did get a little lost at several points.
The world building was once again fantastic and I absolutely love the magic system. It’s complex and beautifully written, I really enjoy this authors writing style a lot.
The plot starts off a little slower than I would have liked but it did pick up pretty quickly.
I enjoyed the ending and felt that it wrapped up everything nicely for me with this duology.

I look forward to seeing what this author comes up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This series has some really brilliant world building, and I love the magic system! I wasn't quite as gripped by this book as I was by the first in the series, but it was still a solid fantasy and an excellent read.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.