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A review by annagwritesandreads
The Darkness Rises by Stacy Stokes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Note: There is discussion of School Shooting and Death in this novel. Check for all content warnings before reading.
General Description: Whitney can see a dark cloud over people when death is coming nearer to them. She used this power to save someone, but that someone ended up shooting multiple people at a school football game. Whitney has lived with the guilt of this alone, but now, someone knows her secret and is threatening to expose her to the world. Who is targeting her and can Whitney find out before her entire world crumbles?
The good:
- The concept was SO unique to me. I loved the idea of the skill of seeing these clouds, even thought that is a ton of responsibility. Quintessential speculative fiction in my opinion.
- I was actually okay with the lack of full explanation for why Whitney has this particular power. We stay in Whitney's true perspective and the point of the book is not to figure out the power, so I feel pretty content with the progression of the book, even if not all my questions were answered.
- I think the mystery and plot twists were fantastic. I was convinced I knew what would happen but I was wrong.
- Whitney character development was on point and I think she's a fantastic character.
The loss of 1 star:
- I don't know why I'm so picky on pacing lately, but it felt too slow, then too fast, and there was never a good rhythm that I could get into when reading it and kept me pretty disengaged at important parts of the book.
Overall, if you read the content warnings and can handle them, and are looking for a darker YA speculative novel, this is a great next pick
General Description: Whitney can see a dark cloud over people when death is coming nearer to them. She used this power to save someone, but that someone ended up shooting multiple people at a school football game. Whitney has lived with the guilt of this alone, but now, someone knows her secret and is threatening to expose her to the world. Who is targeting her and can Whitney find out before her entire world crumbles?
The good:
- The concept was SO unique to me. I loved the idea of the skill of seeing these clouds, even thought that is a ton of responsibility. Quintessential speculative fiction in my opinion.
- I was actually okay with the lack of full explanation for why Whitney has this particular power. We stay in Whitney's true perspective and the point of the book is not to figure out the power, so I feel pretty content with the progression of the book, even if not all my questions were answered.
- I think the mystery and plot twists were fantastic. I was convinced I knew what would happen but I was wrong.
- Whitney character development was on point and I think she's a fantastic character.
The loss of 1 star:
- I don't know why I'm so picky on pacing lately, but it felt too slow, then too fast, and there was never a good rhythm that I could get into when reading it and kept me pretty disengaged at important parts of the book.
Overall, if you read the content warnings and can handle them, and are looking for a darker YA speculative novel, this is a great next pick