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arwena's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shannonxo's review against another edition
4.0
Apparently I'm really in a "let's finish all the series I've let sit languishing for a few years" mood.
There will be some mild There Will Come A Darkness spoilers so carry on at your own risk.
The last few trilogies I've read, the middle book has been so limp and full of useless filler that the entire thing felt entirely unnecessary. So needless to say I didn't come into this one with a lot of expectations. And that's on me. This second installment is surprisingly solid. A trilogy that was thought out from start to finish and thought out well. The stakes are higher, the characters more fleshed out and set on interesting new paths, and new figures, items and stories of lore and magic woven cleanly into the narrative. The prophecy that guided the first book continues on, threatening the Age of Darkness.
This wasn't perfect though. I had the same issues with this second book as I did the first, but perhaps a little worse because this is the second book. It took a long time to get into this because of the five POVs. There's a lot of ground to lay for each character before the story finally settled and got going. But what made this harder was that a) I forgot a lot of what happened in the first book and b) the in-narrative recap for each character was not good. And again, this was an okay book until the last quarter, with the ending earning a star all on it's own because it's just so exciting and intriguing and leaves me eager to continue with the next book.
It's also quite difficult for me to imagine this as an ancient Greece inspired world. I mean, there's literally the colosseum on the cover of this book and the author has confirmed is Grecian-esque, but it just does not feel coded that way. Like you can't help but think that a white author should not be writing this because to me it feels more middle eastern. That little element of yikes could not leave my head.
So what have all the main characters been up to? Forgive me if I spell anything wrong as I read via audio.
Jude is the character I remembered the least about in terms of specifics. He is the Keeper of the Word, but he's lost his grace after the battle at the lighthouse, which I completely forgot about and is something that wasn't recapped well. He is facing an investigation into both his and Hector's actions and how it relates to their oaths.
Anton is still one of my favourite characters. I love his wittiness and snark so much. The gambler has been revealed as the last Prophet, and he really could do without. After an attack by the Witnesses on the fort, he and Jude--the loversssss--run away together, trying to find Jude's lost sword to try and restore his grace.
Ephyra is my other favourite, and the Pale Hand is quite angsty this time around. Beru ran away from Ephyra after she killed Hector, and now Ephyra is determined to find the lost Chalice. Without Ephyra there to "heal" her, Beru will die soon and only the relic can save her. It takes Ephyra into a little bit of a Tomb Raider adventure with Ilya, Anton's traitorous brother, and I'm obsessed with their dynamic. Love it so much.
Beru may have ran off but she isn't alone for long, teaming up with Hector. What, didn't I just say he was dead? Well, surprise, someone who is not Ephrya has turned him into a revenant like Beru, and the pair are now connected. The pair set off to find a sisterhood of healers who can restore the piece of Hector inside Beru and heal him, all so Beru can atone for somethings before she dies at last.
Hasan remains my least favourite. I honestly could have skipped all his chapters and been okay with that. Wouldn't have missed all that much either. He's such a useless little loser to me, always whining and griping about how he isn't appreciated and no one listens to him.
What amuses me this time is I did not like the narrator. I really needed this series to have at least a male and female narrator, if not a different voice for each POV. Todd Boyce is okay, but some of the accents and voices he uses are not nice. There's one character named Evander, I think, and oh god, that was a big nope every time he spoke.
Third book, here I come!
There will be some mild There Will Come A Darkness spoilers so carry on at your own risk.
The last few trilogies I've read, the middle book has been so limp and full of useless filler that the entire thing felt entirely unnecessary. So needless to say I didn't come into this one with a lot of expectations. And that's on me. This second installment is surprisingly solid. A trilogy that was thought out from start to finish and thought out well. The stakes are higher, the characters more fleshed out and set on interesting new paths, and new figures, items and stories of lore and magic woven cleanly into the narrative. The prophecy that guided the first book continues on, threatening the Age of Darkness.
This wasn't perfect though. I had the same issues with this second book as I did the first, but perhaps a little worse because this is the second book. It took a long time to get into this because of the five POVs. There's a lot of ground to lay for each character before the story finally settled and got going. But what made this harder was that a) I forgot a lot of what happened in the first book and b) the in-narrative recap for each character was not good. And again, this was an okay book until the last quarter, with the ending earning a star all on it's own because it's just so exciting and intriguing and leaves me eager to continue with the next book.
It's also quite difficult for me to imagine this as an ancient Greece inspired world. I mean, there's literally the colosseum on the cover of this book and the author has confirmed is Grecian-esque, but it just does not feel coded that way. Like you can't help but think that a white author should not be writing this because to me it feels more middle eastern. That little element of yikes could not leave my head.
So what have all the main characters been up to? Forgive me if I spell anything wrong as I read via audio.
Jude is the character I remembered the least about in terms of specifics. He is the Keeper of the Word, but he's lost his grace after the battle at the lighthouse, which I completely forgot about and is something that wasn't recapped well. He is facing an investigation into both his and Hector's actions and how it relates to their oaths.
Anton is still one of my favourite characters. I love his wittiness and snark so much. The gambler has been revealed as the last Prophet, and he really could do without. After an attack by the Witnesses on the fort, he and Jude--the loversssss--run away together, trying to find Jude's lost sword to try and restore his grace.
Ephyra is my other favourite, and the Pale Hand is quite angsty this time around. Beru ran away from Ephyra after she killed Hector, and now Ephyra is determined to find the lost Chalice. Without Ephyra there to "heal" her, Beru will die soon and only the relic can save her. It takes Ephyra into a little bit of a Tomb Raider adventure with Ilya, Anton's traitorous brother, and I'm obsessed with their dynamic. Love it so much.
Beru may have ran off but she isn't alone for long, teaming up with Hector. What, didn't I just say he was dead? Well, surprise, someone who is not Ephrya has turned him into a revenant like Beru, and the pair are now connected. The pair set off to find a sisterhood of healers who can restore the piece of Hector inside Beru and heal him, all so Beru can atone for somethings before she dies at last.
Hasan remains my least favourite. I honestly could have skipped all his chapters and been okay with that. Wouldn't have missed all that much either. He's such a useless little loser to me, always whining and griping about how he isn't appreciated and no one listens to him.
What amuses me this time is I did not like the narrator. I really needed this series to have at least a male and female narrator, if not a different voice for each POV. Todd Boyce is okay, but some of the accents and voices he uses are not nice. There's one character named Evander, I think, and oh god, that was a big nope every time he spoke.
Third book, here I come!
abkinlaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nbwessler's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so much better than the first, which I felt got off to a rough, slow start. Not so here. The story moves along at a nice pace, and I found myself engrossed, rapturously flipping those pages right from the beginning. I’m a sucker for an ensemble cast, and an even big sucker for unlikely (if not unexpected) pairings--both romantic and not--and this series more than delivers. (Consider me fully suckered. Anton and Jude totally own my heart)
The story remains character driven, each protagonist undergoing their share of growth and turmoil--though perhaps some more so than others--and I remain impressed by Poole’s ability to milk her character’s flaws in a way that is entirely realistic. They manage to frustrate as well as endear. You cannot help but root for them even as you know they are making terrible or even devastating decisions, and I am invested in each and every one of them.
That said, the plot does not dither. It moves steadily forward, world building and dropping twists along the way. It’s a cliffhanger ending, so be prepared to languish during the wait for book three.
All in all, a wonderful second entry that does not suffer middle book syndrome in the slightest. The first book introduced the playing pieces and set up the board, but now, dear reader, we get to play!
ARC provided by NetGalley.
The story remains character driven, each protagonist undergoing their share of growth and turmoil--though perhaps some more so than others--and I remain impressed by Poole’s ability to milk her character’s flaws in a way that is entirely realistic. They manage to frustrate as well as endear. You cannot help but root for them even as you know they are making terrible or even devastating decisions, and I am invested in each and every one of them.
That said, the plot does not dither. It moves steadily forward, world building and dropping twists along the way. It’s a cliffhanger ending, so be prepared to languish during the wait for book three.
All in all, a wonderful second entry that does not suffer middle book syndrome in the slightest. The first book introduced the playing pieces and set up the board, but now, dear reader, we get to play!
ARC provided by NetGalley.
nightc0urt's review against another edition
4.0
* I received a eARC of this from Fierce Reads.
This story just keeps shocking me with how much I love and enjoy it! Honestly, as a “bookstagrammer,” I am shocked that I don’t see more people reviewing and talking about this series!
This book picks up directly after the events of TWCAD, following our five different points of view. I think one of my favorite parts about this story is that there are five different characters with stories of their own and they all weave into each other’s lives.
The way Katy Rose Pool has written this story is just mind blowing. As the Shadow Rises (and TWCAP) is full of twists and turns, romance (even though in my opinion, it isn’t to centered on the romance) and we see our characters struggle and grow a lot.
The only character I would have loved to seen more progress with is Ephyra but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that in the final installment. I did love that we saw more of Beru though since her chapters were very few and far in between in There Will Come a Darkness! I was able to better understand her character and feel more of an attachment to her.
Overall, I love the way Pool can move her stories along. No parts of this story every felt dull or unnecessary to me, the pacing was always perfect and I love how it just completely picked up where the first one ended and kept going. There wasn’t too much explaining it any info dumping, I just felt like I was watching a movie the entire time!
This story just keeps shocking me with how much I love and enjoy it! Honestly, as a “bookstagrammer,” I am shocked that I don’t see more people reviewing and talking about this series!
This book picks up directly after the events of TWCAD, following our five different points of view. I think one of my favorite parts about this story is that there are five different characters with stories of their own and they all weave into each other’s lives.
The way Katy Rose Pool has written this story is just mind blowing. As the Shadow Rises (and TWCAP) is full of twists and turns, romance (even though in my opinion, it isn’t to centered on the romance) and we see our characters struggle and grow a lot.
The only character I would have loved to seen more progress with is Ephyra but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that in the final installment. I did love that we saw more of Beru though since her chapters were very few and far in between in There Will Come a Darkness! I was able to better understand her character and feel more of an attachment to her.
Overall, I love the way Pool can move her stories along. No parts of this story every felt dull or unnecessary to me, the pacing was always perfect and I love how it just completely picked up where the first one ended and kept going. There wasn’t too much explaining it any info dumping, I just felt like I was watching a movie the entire time!
jolietjane's review against another edition
4.0
The Age of Darkness series is such a tragically slept on series. It's a multi-POV action-adventure series with romance, mystery, heists, morally grey characters, Queer/POC characters, and tons of cool Mediterranean world-building that draws from north Africa, the middle east, and Greeko Roman cultures. It's also significantly more mature than most YA books- and would feel like an adult SFF if it wasn't for it's Six of Crow style "everyone needs a romance" vibe *(which we will get to later)
Anyway, YEY for good sequels!
This was originally marked as a duology, but it looks like this will now be a 3 book series now, which is actually a pretty good thing, since As The Shadow Rises opened a lot more doors into the story. Nearing the end I found myself wondering how it could possibly wrap everything up in what felt like which a middling book.
As the Shadow Rises neatly wraps up There Will Come A Darkness's wild ending, while also being accessible enough that if say, it's been a year since you've read book one, you can still hop back in and be like "OH RIGHT, THAT HAPPENED. It does a great job reintroducing the characters and repurposing them to move to the next stage of their adventure.
As the Shadow Rises is much more heist and Indiana Jones inspired than the political drama/intrigue focused first installation of this series, but the tone shift is earned and welcome- this book is super fast-paced and maintains that momentum to the end. The world is super well built up, with lots of culture and world history bleeding through the dialogue naturally, and since the world is inspired by many cultures instead of being strictly eastern, western, African, etc, the world feels very complete, even with our characters limited worldview.
In terms of story progression for the characters, I am mixed here.
Epherya's plot was way more interesting. Like wow. Every moment with her on-screen was an absolute joy. Her treasure hunting arc made this book.
Beru gets way more love as well, and though her arc is smaller, it's meaningful and emotional.
Hassan was the other show stopper. I was a little iffy that he was going to have one of those weirdly tropy "prince meets members of the lower class and realizes he's been wrong all along" storyline, but it turns out the rebels that he connects with aren't that great either. His storyline is so complex and political, I only wish it was given more attention.
Anton and Jude though? No thanks.
This is one of those "everyone needs to get paired up" books. The good news? It's all slow burn, and some of the couples have bumps in the road ensuring they won't actually get together until the third book if at all. TONS of surprise enemies to lovers- and while Katy Rose Pool actually sets all of these couples up to interact in the first book, I was actually still pleasantly surprised with some of the pairing choices she made because they were decently bold. Most of the POV characters are paired up with non-POV characters and have super interesting storylines with them.
What this results in are VERY STRONG side characters. I have an issue with books that only focus on POV characters and can't create interesting worlds around them. I found myself just as interested in the side characters, especially the romantic ones, as I did the POVs.
These "side character romances" are also..just..REALLY fun.
You have
- Enemies to lovers Reylo style force bond zombie romance
- Enemies to lovers tomb raiding adventure where they don't trust each other but need to keep each other alive.
The main romance is between two of the POV characters (Anton and Jude) and I personally found it insanely draining/boring/made both characters less interesting. Their chapters were actually the low point of the book for me, which is a little disappointing because it is a M/M queer romance, but I think this could have been fixed at least a bit by removing one of their POVs, we didn't need both especially when their adventure was the slowest and least interesting)
Since a lot of their journey seemed to involve pining over each other or reflecting on their destinies, having both of them switching off only meant more time away from the action-packed stories of the other three characters. These chapters droned and won't have much value unless you are really, really invested in their relationship. It didn't help that these two had my least favorite POVs in the first book as well.
So that's where my 4 stars instead of 5 come in.
Anyway, read this series. It's fabulous and a much needed mature, well rounded, and graceful wildcard in the YA "genre".
Anyway, YEY for good sequels!
This was originally marked as a duology, but it looks like this will now be a 3 book series now, which is actually a pretty good thing, since As The Shadow Rises opened a lot more doors into the story. Nearing the end I found myself wondering how it could possibly wrap everything up in what felt like which a middling book.
As the Shadow Rises neatly wraps up There Will Come A Darkness's wild ending, while also being accessible enough that if say, it's been a year since you've read book one, you can still hop back in and be like "OH RIGHT, THAT HAPPENED. It does a great job reintroducing the characters and repurposing them to move to the next stage of their adventure.
As the Shadow Rises is much more heist and Indiana Jones inspired than the political drama/intrigue focused first installation of this series, but the tone shift is earned and welcome- this book is super fast-paced and maintains that momentum to the end. The world is super well built up, with lots of culture and world history bleeding through the dialogue naturally, and since the world is inspired by many cultures instead of being strictly eastern, western, African, etc, the world feels very complete, even with our characters limited worldview.
In terms of story progression for the characters, I am mixed here.
Epherya's plot was way more interesting. Like wow. Every moment with her on-screen was an absolute joy. Her treasure hunting arc made this book.
Beru gets way more love as well, and though her arc is smaller, it's meaningful and emotional.
Hassan was the other show stopper. I was a little iffy that he was going to have one of those weirdly tropy "prince meets members of the lower class and realizes he's been wrong all along" storyline, but it turns out the rebels that he connects with aren't that great either. His storyline is so complex and political, I only wish it was given more attention.
Anton and Jude though? No thanks.
This is one of those "everyone needs to get paired up" books. The good news? It's all slow burn, and some of the couples have bumps in the road ensuring they won't actually get together until the third book if at all. TONS of surprise enemies to lovers- and while Katy Rose Pool actually sets all of these couples up to interact in the first book, I was actually still pleasantly surprised with some of the pairing choices she made because they were decently bold. Most of the POV characters are paired up with non-POV characters and have super interesting storylines with them.
What this results in are VERY STRONG side characters. I have an issue with books that only focus on POV characters and can't create interesting worlds around them. I found myself just as interested in the side characters, especially the romantic ones, as I did the POVs.
These "side character romances" are also..just..REALLY fun.
You have
- Enemies to lovers Reylo style force bond zombie romance
- Enemies to lovers tomb raiding adventure where they don't trust each other but need to keep each other alive.
The main romance is between two of the POV characters (Anton and Jude) and I personally found it insanely draining/boring/made both characters less interesting. Their chapters were actually the low point of the book for me, which is a little disappointing because it is a M/M queer romance, but I think this could have been fixed at least a bit by removing one of their POVs, we didn't need both especially when their adventure was the slowest and least interesting)
Since a lot of their journey seemed to involve pining over each other or reflecting on their destinies, having both of them switching off only meant more time away from the action-packed stories of the other three characters. These chapters droned and won't have much value unless you are really, really invested in their relationship. It didn't help that these two had my least favorite POVs in the first book as well.
So that's where my 4 stars instead of 5 come in.
Anyway, read this series. It's fabulous and a much needed mature, well rounded, and graceful wildcard in the YA "genre".
paulasoto's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
woodennord's review against another edition
5.0
It's absolutely criminal that I rated the First Book a five stars because I loved this one SOO much more.
Everything good about the first book is in here. The politics, the characters, their relationships (of ALL forms, I hold Ephyra and Beru very close to my heart, as someone with way too many siblings to count.), their stories, their memories, the TWISTS!! No matter what I am constantly wow-ed.
I fear this is becoming my new favorite series, I just adored it so much.
My love might not be completely justified; as I own not an ounce of literary knowledge; but I feel nevertheless.
Bottom line; Jude is forever my favorite, although Ephyra isn't very hard behind.
Everything good about the first book is in here. The politics, the characters, their relationships (of ALL forms, I hold Ephyra and Beru very close to my heart, as someone with way too many siblings to count.), their stories, their memories, the TWISTS!! No matter what I am constantly wow-ed.
I fear this is becoming my new favorite series, I just adored it so much.
My love might not be completely justified; as I own not an ounce of literary knowledge; but I feel nevertheless.
Bottom line; Jude is forever my favorite, although Ephyra isn't very hard behind.
thestarlessskye's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I think this series is gonna be a new favourite. I absolutely enjoyed this second installment!
Janton forever. That is all
I think this series is gonna be a new favourite. I absolutely enjoyed this second installment!
Janton forever. That is all