I enjoyed this book and the characters. There was plenty of action but at points the story felt like it was dragging a bit but that might be because of the number of character points of view. Overall a solid book one of the series and I will be looking forward to picking up book two when I can.

The book automatically made me think about Zelda just a little bit with the prophets and the characters. The character design in this book is and was exquisite. I enjoyed reading all the descriptions, development, and love put into the characters from the very beginning. Many of the characters have found their way in the world that is so important to that character that I can’t help but love them. The way the POVs are written in this book is great and easier to follow then many POV books—I get very confused with those quite often. Here, I really enjoyed reading it that way and felt that it was done in a simple but complex way.

There are many themes and ideas that come into this novel such as love, heartache, self-respect, loss, and more. I really loved delving into the lives of the different characters as I am a character writer myself and truly enjoy developing all sorts of different characters. The characters in this book caught my attention so much and I believe that students would be able to connect to the different characters as well (there is someone for everyone). This can be utilized for many grades and many different groups of people—it would be a great book club book.

I enjoyed the magical aspects that this book had in it as it created a very unique way of magic that I enjoyed immensely. There is a lot of backstory that can help you understand what is happening cover to cover. I would suggest this book for a book club or even independent reading as it is not a difficult read and definitely has the high interest aspect to it that all students can get with.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE REST!!!

Seriously wow this was fantastic. The alternating POV, the worldbuilding, everything just worked! And somehow managed to play with cliches and tropes without being predictable and boring, instead this was a completely fresh story that I can't wait to get more out of. I especially loved how we were able to really follow the story of these characters and develop such unique attachments to them, especially as some we found out later will probably be breaking our hearts!

Great first entry into what is sure to be an outstanding series.

This book was the beautiful epic fantasy that I need. There is a complicated magic system, five main characters with intertwining stories, and a looming darkness throughout the story. The story is told from the point of view of each of the five main characters, so it jumps in and out of each of their lives as they all become intertwined. There is Ephyra, the assassin (that I mentioned above is my favorite). She has the power to heal or kill with her touch and she has been taking the lives of others in order to keep her sister, Beru, alive. Beru is Ephyra's moral compass, keeping her from killing innocent people while also taking care of the two of them in their travels. Anton is the gambler. A boy with a dark past that he continues to run from and a magic ability that he tries hard to forget. Hassan is the prince in hiding. His home has been overrun by religious zealots, determined to eradicate magic and all those who possess magical abilities, so he has escaped to live with his aunt. Finally Jude is the protector, the Keeper of the Word, sworn to protect the Prophet. He has lived his whole life preparing for this role.

All of these characters are beautiful and flawed and I love them all so much. Though the actual book is pretty hefty, weighing in at almost 500 pages, I still flew through it because I just had to see what happens as the darkness creeps in. If you're looking for a fantasy read that keeps you engaged with a wide cast of characters, definitely pick this one up!

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool is so well written. The magic system is unique. I really enjoyed how Pool put everything together. I would like to start with the magic because I think it helps put everything together. First off there are people in this world that have special abilities. People that have these abilities are considered to be graced.



The Four Bodily Graces:

- The Grace of Heart - Enhances strength, agility, speed, and senses (Elite Fighters)
- The Grace of Blood - Gives and takes energy to heal or harm (Healers)
- The Grace of Mind - Creates objects imbued with unique properties (Alchemists and Artificers)
- The Grace of Sight - Senses and located living beings (Scryers)



This world that we dive into seems to be a very religious one. The world believes in prophets that guide people. There is a Hierophant that is convinced that Graces are unnatural and that anyone that has a grace should be removed from positions of power. The problem with this is most of the world’s rulers are people that come from families who have been graced. The people that follow the Hierophant that are trying to remove the graces from power are called the Witnesses. These Witness groups attack kingdoms to overthrow the rulers. The goal is to kill the graced. Basically the Witnesses are groups of zeolites. This is the background of what is going on in this world.



The Characters with a point of view:


- Ephyra (The Pale Hand): The Grace of Blood



Ephyra is devoted to her younger sister Beru. All Ephyra is trying to accomplish is to heal her sister. Even if that means causing harm to others. Ephyra is able to steal a person’s Esha (spirit) and put it into her sister to make her live longer. When she does this, it leaves a pale hand on their skin, which is how Ephyra got the nickname The Pale Hand.


- Jude (Captain of The Order of the Last Light)



Jude is definitely an interesting characters to me. He struggles between his duty as captain and trying to be a good friend to his childhood best friend. Once of the biggest things I see in Jude’s character is he doesn’t think he is enough. His first priority is to protect the last prophet.


- Hassan (The Prince)



Hassan is the Prince of Herat. When there was an attack on his kingdom he escaped to go live with his aunt. All he really wants is to return home and save his kingdom from the Witnesses.



- Anton: The Grace of Sight



Anton was bullied by his older brother who was born without grace. Anton believes that is his brother is chasing him down to kill him so Anton stays on the move. He is constantly moving cities and not staying anywhere for long. Since Anton was bullied so bad by his brother, that he refuses to use his grace even if it allows him to sense the esha’s around him.



- Beru



Beru is Ephyra’s little sister. She was brought back to life after falling extremely ill by Ephyra’s grace. In order for Beru to stay alive, Ephyra has to continue to give Beru other people’s Esha. Basically this resurrects Beru every time. Beru’s only concern is her sister. She is afraid that Ephyra is going to lose herself to the darkness.



The Story:


Having five different characters tell this story was a lot. There were a few times that I felt completely lost. We get to know each of the major five characters quite well. We learn that there is a last prophet and a prophecy. This prophecy states there will come a darkness and the last prophet will lead the people to peace. There are five key players (our characters anyone?) that will bring about this darkness.



I really felt that book one was like the prologue for this whole series. Not a whole lot happened in the book but we were given so much information. I am actually slightly hoping that this will be more than a three book series because I feel like there is too many things that need to happen for there to only be two more books. Now don’t get me wrong, I thought this book was great. I just think that it set us up for the series vs actually being the first book in the series.



This cast of characters is great. I am looking forward to getting to know them better with the next book. I would really like to see a plot driven by action and not just telling us who the key players are. I definitely think this will be a series to watch.

Lets just say that after reading an advance copy of this book, I STILL preordered it. It's THAT good. The world building and the magic system were TOP NOTCH and so unique. I loved it so much. I'm also a huge fan of multiple points of view and this author blew that out of the park. I can't wait for the next book in the series!!

*I WAS PROVIDED AN e-ARC BY THE PUBLISHER FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG TOUR. THIS DOESN’T AFFECT MY OPINION*

If you’re looking for an alluring, eye-catching, jaw-dropping, and absolutely stunning piece of YA Fantasy, you’ve found the right book to buy.

There Will Come a Darkness began and ended with two large ‘BANG’s. It started out agonizingly addictive, and it ended clenching our emotions.

Having over two POVs can be a bit scary for some people, and if not dealt with properly, can quickly become the ruination of a book. However, Pool did not disappoint, and she made sure that we, her readers, would fall in love with her novel. The point of having that many POVs was for deeper grasps of and better understanding for these specific characters, as well as glamorizing the plot.

The character development in this book was absolutely phenomenal. We were given characters who were both strong and sensitive, both unfaltering and fragile. It’s always important that, when having more than two MCs, you are strengthening the need for those characters throughout the book. And I can definitely assure you that that was well done.

If I could give a hug to Pool, I would. Her writing style is addictive and alluring, and this novel decimated what it means to be YA Fantasy. For that, I rate it 5 stars.

So I am actually surprised by how easy this one was to read and how much I enjoyed it! For whatever reason, I had the impression this was going to be a very involved and in depth high fantasy that would be kind of slow and hard to get through. Those books are often works of art, but don't tend to be something I reach for when I'm on the edge of a slump like I was when I read this. Luckily, I was totally wrong! This is such a great and vibrant fantasy world and I loved it, but something about the writing style made it so engaging and easy to read that I flew through it! There were a few things that I could have predicted but there were times my mouth literally dropped open because the twist was something I hadn't been expecting. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.⁠⠀
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Plus, this cover is just GORGEOUS!!

I was looking forward to reading this story based on the high praise from other authors I follow on social media - and their recommendation was right on the mark! I truly loved this book, from its pacing, characters, world-building, and riveting plot. In fact, this story was featured in our school’s book club this month and was greatly appreciated by students AND staff alike.

This one took me a while because I was mostly reading on lunch breaks, but I'm so intrigued by the concept! Ephyra and Anton in particular stand out as favorite characters, but all of them are so fascinating and complex, and I loved seeing how their stories came together. I think this one is going to be a hit with fantasy fans, and I'll definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out (in FOREVER because this was an ARC - thank you NetGalley! - sobs that I have to wait)!

There was so much hype around this book that I had to give it a try and I am glad I did! The characters were fun and engaging and the story kept a strong pace so it didn't get boring.

I kept waiting for this book to live up to the hype, and it definitely did not. The writing is not great, and every character constantly explains what they are doing to other characters. It’s a fast read because all characters do is talk, but the story is so focused on the plot that I didn’t care about any of these people. Plus, way too many narrators. Obstacles and mysteries are introduced and resolved on the same page. Despite being leaders, princes, and murderers, this group of characters seemed young and immature, and each one was so bad at what they did. Hassan, an exiled prince who is arguably the main character of this story, is annoying, weak, and incapable. He’s supposed to lead his people against his oppressors, and his plans are hastily put together and rely upon people he’s just met. It makes no sense. Don’t even get me started on his love interest. The Pale Hand, who is supposed to be this amazingly competent murderer, is duped, trapped, and has an annoying guilt which made her uninteresting as a character. She murders to save her sister, but spends most of her time whining about it. She should have been written as a sociopath or something. Jude is terrible, Anton is annoying, and Beru is hardly in the story. I truly don’t get why people like this book.

This book really packed a punch! I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was very pleasantly surprised with how this story hit the ground running and never stopped. The characters are interesting and I had fun getting to know their personalities and how they interact with everyone around them. Really happy I requested this one from Netgalley!

5 out of 5 stars. Incredible characters, solid plot, excellent pacing (didn't drag) and ending was not what I expected, which was great. Highly recommend!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Wow! Wow! Wow! WHAT A DEBUT!

Katy Rose Pool’s writing is phenomenal — poised and fluent and thoroughly enjoyable. I was completely invested from the first page, and although I had to (ugh, adulting!), I didn’t want to put this book down!

There Will Come a Darkness is a beast! This book is a solid start to the Age of Darkness series, offering vivid world-building and introducing readers to a great cast of characters with interesting back stories. There are 5 POVs that were a smidge overwhelming at times, but Pool truly did a spectacular job interweaving their stories.

The plot is fascinating and rich and brooding and I just want more! There’s a lot of corruption and betrayal which lends to an overarching dark theme. I was living for the magic, political intrigue, and fierce relationships that were driving the narrative — I’m also kind of a sucker for the whole prophetic storyline thing!

The characters are ridiculously intriguing and well developed. “A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.” Yea, it didn’t take much to sell me on this one.

Overall, I highly recommend There Will Come a Darkness. It gave me vibes from a lot of faves like Graceling, The Smoke Thieves, and Falling Kingdoms, so I know a lot of YA Fantasy fans will enjoy it. I am very much impressed with Katy Rose Pool and can’t wait to see what book 2 has in store for us!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Please note that it, in no way, had an effect on my opinion or review.

This is going to be an unpopular opinion, going by the other reviews so far, but meh. MEH! The idea that this is like "Graceling" is just insulting - the only similarity with that book is that people have 'graces' that are like little bits of magical powers, but I felt like they were a bit more Garth-Nix-Abhorsen powers, but no comparison to that amazing amazing series. And there is hardly any power-having in this book. It's all battle and betrayal and fight and scrap and remember-that-time drama. Boring.

If you like "Game of Thrones" or twisty ruler-take-over-kingdom-drama with a heck of a lot of violence akin to religious persecution and The Crusades, then go crazy on this book. It's for you. If you like first-in-series books to drop you off a cliff because "we called it #1..." then sure, go for it ... This INFURIATES ME, p.s. - I mean, if you're going to bother to write a book, it's a for sure cop-out to do the drop-off-a-cliff ending, especially in the first effing book. I'd understand moreso in the 2nd-of-3 b/c that's the sad life of the middle book, but the FIRST ONE?! Seriously? You can't even bother to end it and provide a hint at another book, you have to just cut it off as if you are saving some of your limited story-words for another book? Ugh.

I repeat, MEH.

I loved the title, but I really did not enjoy this ride.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. It did start off with so much information and a lot of characters were thrown at you. But once you get into the book and get to know the characters a bit more you'll fall in love. This was a quick and very enjoyable read. If you want a quick fantasy fix go ahead and pick this one up.

2.5 stars

I definitely think I'll be in the minority on this one. I don't know what it was about this book that made me feel ambivalent towards it, so it's going to be hard for me to write out my thoughts in a concise manner. Everything about this book pointed towards me loving it; a group of misfits, outcasts, whatever you want to call them, in whose hands rests the fate of the world; a beautiful, distinctive writing style; lush worldbuilding. Everything I've just mentioned is a huge plus and is true about this novel! However, I ultimately think it came down to my inability to feel emotionally invested or connected to these characters. For the most part, they didn't really distinguish themselves from each other and I just never felt them. I'm sure many people will love this story, and I don't want to deter anyone from picking it up because I think it has everything that constitutes a hit. This book and I just didn't have chemistry, and that's okay.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for the eARC.

Yes! This is how a book like this should be executed! We are introduced to major players in an un-annoying fashion, and quickly get backstory on what pertains to the story IN THE MOMENT WE ARE IN without unnecessary filler.

We have prophecies, doom, love, death, and somewhere in the midst of it all--hope.

Let's first talk about prophecies-this one was clever and kind of open to interpretation and not fully decoded, until it was, then oh boy was it. (view spoiler)

The world is in danger and it is down to five people bringing it about and stopping it. Well. Okay then, let's see how this is gonna go down!

The love, oh I am all in for the love in this book. No triangles, thank the writing gods. But the connections, marriages, and first blushings all made me squeal happily on the inside. The author did not shy away from same sex unions and let me tell you-I love how she delivered this so naturally that it is a part of the book, and not something thrown in to pay lip service or fill a checkbox. Also. I ship Anton and Jude so damn hard I squeak like a schoolgirl everytime they are in a scene together.

The author does not shy away from death, so be ye prepared!

And lastly, hope. We have to have hope that the darkness will be averted, or fixed, or something. And I have hope the rest of this series will kick ass.


But yes, I loved this book. It had a decent pace, no rushed ending. Instead the ending was a beautiful set up for book two. The worst part is now waiting for book two.

Additionally, the author provides Content Warnings for her book because it does touch on things that may be triggering to some readers. Check that out here https://katyrosepool.com/content-warn...
Much thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this advanced copy...even though I finished it after the actual publication date. Now to add the book to my must own list!

4/5 stars for this new YA Fantasy! Just may bump it up to a 4.5 after I stew on it some more. Let's start with #1, the title! And #2, the cover! Am I right?! Amazing! This is a debut title, but you wouldn't know it while reading. It's such a unique story, with a unique magic system! The large cast and multiple POVs reminded me so much of my queen, SJM. I can't wait to read the sequel, I ALMOST hate that I read it so soon after the release. Almost ;)