A review by spootilious
The Darkest King by Gena Showalter

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

 

This is going to be a painful review. 

1 star 

I believe this is the lowest rated book I’ve ever reviewed which saddens me to know end because I have been a fan of LOTU for over a decade and I really wanted to love William’s story. 

Showalter failed to deliver in so many ways and her editorial staff is certainly not blameless. I put off reading this book despite having purchased it as soon as it was released because I really wanted to savor it. Imagine my disappointment when the first chapters are riddled with so many grammatical errors that it pulled me out of the fantasy. 

Even looking past the poor editing the book feels as if Showalter didn’t actually want to write it. Unlike her other novels everything about this one felt forced. Sure the unicorn thing is a weird one and the dialog is always a bit cringy but the weird spin on mythical creatures and the cliché lines always held a sort of charm that I came to love with the series. 

Showalter has always delivered nice twists and good battle scene and the sex was never too out of place despite there always being a lot of it. None of these things were in this book. Everything was predictable and far more cliché than could be considered ‘charming’. Half the time I felt like I was readying a bullet point outline of a first draft not the final project. 

William’s and Sunny’s characteristics seemed to bounce back and forth (and I don’t mean like the duality that is mentioned) like Showalter couldn’t decide how she wanted them to act. Sure the blueprint for every book is the same: each one wants the other they don’t want to admit it conflict conflict conflict but this was so much worse. 

The battle scenes were skipped over half the time and the ones that weren’t honestly needed a bit more flushing out and the ending was very bland. 

I really wish I had something good to say about this book but I can’t find it. Will I stop reading the series? No. Do I still love LOTU? Yes. Am I upset with Showalter? No, I’m worried she might be growing bored of the series though and if that’s the case I’m terrified to read her next novel.