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A review by jillsbooknook
A Deal with Darkness by Alexis L. Menard
5.0
5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I wasn't a monster. I was a Hound. Though, the line between the two was starting to blur."
A Deal With Darkness is the second novel in the new adult high fantasy series, Eternal Night. It is also a prequel series set 200 years in the past so you do not need to have read the first one to understand what is going on - I have not read the first book but after finishing this one I am eager to pick it up.
The story follows the character Isoldra Maan, a woman who sold her herself the Lord of Lost Souls five years ago to protect her family. She only needs to collect 250 more souls for him but when dark powers invade the land and the divine need helping locating the heretic at the center of this, Isoldra has the opportunity finally wipe her debt clean - to rid herself of the infamous title of Hound. Yet she must work with a watcher, a divine figure who aggravates and draws her in almost as much as the man she is indebted to. As plagues rips across the nation, Isoldra must decide who she should follow for even in death there is still work to be done.
Isoldra is a fierce character with a deep sense of loyalty that I absolutely loved diving into. Her backstory is shared smoothly throughout the story and I liked seeing her as a character who knew herself. She is willing to whatever needs to be done but also recognizes and faces any truths. She's funny and sarcastic and every encounter she has was thrilling to navigate.
Now, Haal isn't mentioned much in the synopsis but he is the character I absolutely adored. His dedication to Isoldra despite their dynamic made me grin each time and I loved seeing their relationship develop further. Even though they are not together when the book starts he recognizes what she is to him and has no qualms letting other people know.
Evander is the watcher mentioned at the beginning and I do feel it was a little harder to connect to in the beginning. Once we start to see him with his friends and engaging with Isoldra outside of hostilities I ended up really liking him. His willingness to accept when he is wrong and to support, not overtake, each situation was great to see. The final moments of him and Isoldra were powerful!
"'You were my own personal plague, slowly destroying my sanity with the thought of never seeing your sinister smile and staring into your depthless gaze.'"
This book does have spice but it is a slow burn in all the best ways so you won't see anything until around the 70-80% mark but it was so good and the character development made it so worth the wait when we finally have them together. I will also note there is a small love triangle but more like Edward, Bella, and Jacob situation in the book Eclipse ... so while there is a choice the writing is on the wall.
The world building in the book is fascinating and I have no doubt you would have a lot more of an idea if you read the first book but for reading the second book I felt I had enoughh to really get invested in the world. I loved the mixing of gods, humans, and divine beings to really expand the world. That said, I did feel this book was more centered around plot and character than world building.
As for the plot, this is an excellent investigating plot that kept the characters moving throughout. I never felt any slow downs and there is a lot of tension and build up leading us through. I loved seeing the character's story mix well with the plot, rather than it just be an information dump while walking. It was actually a smoother read than The Last Daughter , which is another book by the author I absolutely loved. There are some good harrowing moments and moments to really bask in the feels that kept me reading throughout the night.
Overall, if you're looking for a new adult fantasy with gods, magic, soul mates, and heartstring-pulling slow burn love than this is an excellent choice. There is also a fun Hades and Persephone vibe going on here! I really connected with the characters and world as well appreciated the plot development and world being built here. I am definitely picking up the first book after this one and I encourage others, too!
This review is based on an ARC received from the author.
"I wasn't a monster. I was a Hound. Though, the line between the two was starting to blur."
A Deal With Darkness is the second novel in the new adult high fantasy series, Eternal Night. It is also a prequel series set 200 years in the past so you do not need to have read the first one to understand what is going on - I have not read the first book but after finishing this one I am eager to pick it up.
The story follows the character Isoldra Maan, a woman who sold her herself the Lord of Lost Souls five years ago to protect her family. She only needs to collect 250 more souls for him but when dark powers invade the land and the divine need helping locating the heretic at the center of this, Isoldra has the opportunity finally wipe her debt clean - to rid herself of the infamous title of Hound. Yet she must work with a watcher, a divine figure who aggravates and draws her in almost as much as the man she is indebted to. As plagues rips across the nation, Isoldra must decide who she should follow for even in death there is still work to be done.
Isoldra is a fierce character with a deep sense of loyalty that I absolutely loved diving into. Her backstory is shared smoothly throughout the story and I liked seeing her as a character who knew herself. She is willing to whatever needs to be done but also recognizes and faces any truths. She's funny and sarcastic and every encounter she has was thrilling to navigate.
Now, Haal isn't mentioned much in the synopsis but he is the character I absolutely adored. His dedication to Isoldra despite their dynamic made me grin each time and I loved seeing their relationship develop further. Even though they are not together when the book starts he recognizes what she is to him and has no qualms letting other people know.
Evander is the watcher mentioned at the beginning and I do feel it was a little harder to connect to in the beginning. Once we start to see him with his friends and engaging with Isoldra outside of hostilities I ended up really liking him. His willingness to accept when he is wrong and to support, not overtake, each situation was great to see. The final moments of him and Isoldra were powerful!
"'You were my own personal plague, slowly destroying my sanity with the thought of never seeing your sinister smile and staring into your depthless gaze.'"
This book does have spice but it is a slow burn in all the best ways so you won't see anything until around the 70-80% mark but it was so good and the character development made it so worth the wait when we finally have them together. I will also note there is a small love triangle but more like Edward, Bella, and Jacob situation in the book Eclipse ... so while there is a choice the writing is on the wall.
The world building in the book is fascinating and I have no doubt you would have a lot more of an idea if you read the first book but for reading the second book I felt I had enoughh to really get invested in the world. I loved the mixing of gods, humans, and divine beings to really expand the world. That said, I did feel this book was more centered around plot and character than world building.
As for the plot, this is an excellent investigating plot that kept the characters moving throughout. I never felt any slow downs and there is a lot of tension and build up leading us through. I loved seeing the character's story mix well with the plot, rather than it just be an information dump while walking. It was actually a smoother read than The Last Daughter , which is another book by the author I absolutely loved. There are some good harrowing moments and moments to really bask in the feels that kept me reading throughout the night.
Overall, if you're looking for a new adult fantasy with gods, magic, soul mates, and heartstring-pulling slow burn love than this is an excellent choice. There is also a fun Hades and Persephone vibe going on here! I really connected with the characters and world as well appreciated the plot development and world being built here. I am definitely picking up the first book after this one and I encourage others, too!
This review is based on an ARC received from the author.