The much anticipated sequel to the Darkening (for me anyway) I really enjoyed book one so was really excited to be approved for book two.

The Lightstruck is set a few years after the Darkening and we go straight into where Vespa went after that dramatic ending in the first book (yes it was hella dramatic). We have Vespa becoming accustomed to what happened and trying to catch up on what she has missed and there is a lot to catch up on - she defeated on tyrant but another has taken the Queens place and the “Lightstruck” are causing the world as Vespa knows it to fracture and not be what she thought it would be.

There are more enemies for her to face along with Dalca, and it’s more I felt a personal journey for everyone to defeat the villain and win back the world as they know it.

The writing style was good but I felt a little let down with this book, but that being said it was a great conclusion to this duology. Do I feel it could have been a stand-alone - with maybe book one being slightly longer - yes. I also wanted the relationship between Dalca and Vespa to be explored just slightly more but I also understand the reasoning why this wasn’t done.

Overall it’s a really good book, the magic system is honestly so well written and you didn’t feel lost in it. I did like the writing style as well and it does keep you hooked from start to finish as you want to know what is happening. The characters were a little bit of a let down for me, and I love characters to be the forefront of book so I can become engaged in the story.

Overall a really good YA duology that I would recommend to others to read if they like a magical system. A fierce heroine and some good at times banter between the characters.

Thank you to the publisher (Hodderscape) for the NetGalley eArc to red and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Lightstruck is a beautifully crafted ending to an incredibly entertaining duology. If you enjoyed the first one, this ending will not disappoint.

As with the first one, my absolute favourite thing about this book is the world! The magic system and the world building is just so lush. I could genuinely read a book just about ikons and their history and very, very much enjoy it. It feels like such a unique magic system than the ones I am used to reading about and I absolutely love the way it is developed and explored in this book.

Another standout in this book was the development of the Great King and Great Queen, their relationship and how they each affect the city. I loved seeing each of their personalities fleshed out and how Vesper contends with the new threat of the king in particular! Some of the interactions between them were my favourite parts of the book for sure!

As much as I hated to say goodbye to this world, I loved the ending. It felt true to the characters, to the magic and the world. Everything that had happened up to this point had made sense and the way it was rounded off was exactly what I wanted it to be.

A thoroughly enjoyable read!

Didn't enjoy this as much as The Darkening - but it was okay. The writing was good, I just didn't feel connected to Vesper or Dalca. I didn't particularly feel invested with the romance either, which was a bit of a let down to me as I love a good romance, especially if it furhters the plot.

That being said, I did like seeing the character development, even if I wasn't as attached to them.

After being blown away by The Darkening, I will admit I was a little let down by The Lightstruck. I found the plot a little difficult to follow at times. The character development on from the first book however was great - Vesper is a great MC and I thoroughly enjoyed how she settled into her new position of responsibility

2.5 (rounded down) ⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Hodder&Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

Ugh.

This isn’t badly written, it’s just that it’s so very anti-climatic and feels pointless.

It’s a lot of time of the same old, with the big bad never really being a fully realised character, so it is just so very anti-climactic.

The romance serves very little to the plot so seems rather unnecessary, it should have been more developed to allow the reader to feel invested.

Actually that’s the word. Invested. I was not invested in this at all. The characters were dull, and what promise the first book had was not followed through with in the second book.

The idea is good, the author can write, but they definitely need a more brutal editor.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Lightstruck' by Sunya Mara.

'The Lightstruck' is the final novel in the duology by Sunya Mara and if you liked book 1, you'll definitely like book 2. This was on par with book 1 which is quite hard to do with most fantasies. The story was just as well written and just overall a good ending for a duology.