I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel a little bad giving this review. I read the blurb and requested the book before I realized it was a YA novel. I just don't jive with YA fantasy. I have read a few good ones, but they are VERY few and far between. I think it has something to do with the characters, mostly. In YA books, the characters are always so young and unbelievable. I am a young adult, so that usually doesn't bother me, but it does when a 15-year-old is doing these fantastic things and outthinking adults who have a lifetime of real experience. It's just not convincing. So, if you are into the immensely popular genre of YA, you can probably disregard my opinion of this book.

There are 5 POV characters. I actually found them to be pretty well done. Some of them were fairly similar in voice, but they were all interesting enough. I do think the author had too many POV's, though. Switching back and forth between 5 of them got to be a lot to keep up with and broke up the flow of the book. I read a ton of authors who use multiple POV's, but this author just doesn't create a strong enough voice for each character to make it as enjoyable. She would have been better off working on maybe one or two of them. The story itself takes FOREVER to get going. The fact that I was able to keep reading this book says a lot about the quality of it. The writing itself was excellent, and the only thing that kept me going. The author has a lot of potential. I am sure that there are people who will love this book; it just wasn't for me.

I very much liked There Will Come a Darkness bye Katy Rose Pool. I even didn't mind the story being told from 5 different characters. However, I feel like we ran into a few of the YA tropes that we just can't seem to shed. (4.5 stars)

I love the plot of this book. The idea was so well thought through and seems very standard at the beginning but developed into something very original. I appreciate the blending of cultures and the diversity in the different characters and their personalities.

I wish I had a better feel for the culture of the main six cities. I want to know more about their customs and traditions and how the uprising is going to change/effect how they live as a whole. I wish there was just a bit more information as a whole, more background on events and things.

However I do love the background we keep getting on the pasts of all of the characters. I love slowly finding out details about their lives and how it brought them to where they are now and how it will eventually bring them all together.

The relationships in this one feel much less superficial (minus one) than most YA books and for that I'm thankful.

I absolutely will be reading the next book and can't wait to find out what happens next!

Katy Rose Pool's There Will Come a Darkness is the authors debut novel & the first installment in her Age of Darkness trilogy. Pool brings a new spin to the idea of prophecies and chosen ones. The setup with its setting reminiscent of ancient Greece is also intriguing. For generations, Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

Hassan a prince exiled from his kingdom.
Ephyra a ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
Jude a once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
Anton a reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And Beru a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?

In the beginning I did struggle a bit because there were (5) different points of view, each with their own story line. Pool has created a world where some, not all, are Graced with special abilities that fall into (4) categories: Grace of Heart, Blood, Mind, and Sight). The villains of the story are a radical group called the Witnesses. They are led by a man calling himself Hierophant. Hierophant is intent on ridding the world of anyone with Grace which would lead to what is being called the Age of Darkness.

Ephyra is dedicated to her sister Beru. She is a Grace of Blood but instead of being someone who is a healer, she has become the killer known as Pale Hand. Those with the Grace of Blood are able to give and take energy to heal or to harm. Killing monsters, or those who deserve to die, is turning her into one. Ephyra is morally gray who has done some truly crappy things to keep her sister alive. Ephyra is approached by a mysterious woman who claims there is a way to save Beru. She must, however, put her trust in someone which isn't always easy. Ephyra has been compared to a plethora of other series characters but, in the end, she is probably the one character I most feel for because of what she's had to do to keep her sister alive.

Beru is the one character who is without any Grace that we know of. (There's still two more books so we shall see if that changes.) She's been relying on her sister to take care of her for years now. The sisters really do have a tragic backstory that I won't spoil. They are constantly on the run, and Beru feels as though Ephyra would be better off without having to stay with her to ensure she lives. Beru's best moments come later in the book when she undertakes her own journey of self and acceptance that she has her own path to take without her sister around.

Jude is a Paladin who was raised from an early age to play a role in the coming age of darkness. As the heir to the title of Keeper of the Word, he is sworn to protect the last prophet with his life. But, when the Prophets disappeared, the Paladin fled the world to their own island. Did they leave the last prophet to his/her own demise? Jude is also a Grace of Heart which enhances strength, agility speed and senses. Grace of Heart are elite fighters. With a rumor spreading that the Hierophant may have been one of the Order of Light acolyte's, he's already taken one of the 6 prophetic cities, Jude and his Keepers may be forced into fighting a battle against the spreading darkness.

Anton is a very curious Grace. He has the Grace of Sight which senses and locates living beings. He has much, much more to him than that. But, he can't use his grace without seeing his own brother trying to drown him who is tries to stay one step ahead of at all times. Anton is ruthless about his survival and has no time for prophecies, but that's what happens to him. Anton's past relating to his brother leads him to direct confrontation with a woman willing to train him how to use his sight, the Hierophant who wants him, and Jude who learns Anton's greatest secret.

Crown Prince of Herat Hassan lost his home and his parents to the Hierophant and Witnesses. Hassan managed to land in Pallas Athos, one of the Holy Cities, with his aunt where he years to return home and save his parents. Hassan is not one of the Graced. But, his eye open to the plights of his people when he crosses paths with a certain Herati refugee who gets Hassan's blood boiling. Not being Graced like his parents is something he struggles with mightily. Hassan's relationship with Khepri is heart-warming. He's a prince, she's a solder, but they are dynamic together.

Overall, I have to say it is a good thing that I take copious notes when I am reading. I can easily break down each of the 5 main characters plus some really important secondary characters and not feel as though I lost something in translation. This is a huge undertaking by the author to feature 5 distinct characters with the weight of the world on their shoulders. Each of them have a destiny whether they want it or not. Each of these characters could easily become main characters in a flick of a pen.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A darkness is coming to the world. One hundred years ago, the Prophets disappeared. They had one last prophecy that only The Order of the Last Light has protected. And now they believe they've found the last prophet.

In this story we meet five people who become entangled and set on a collision course with the impending darkness:
A prince exiled from his kingdom--Hassan
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand--Ephyra
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart--Jude
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone--Anton
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up--Beru

I loved each and every one of these characters. I don't think I can pick a favorite one and I'm really looking forward to how their story lines are going to expand in the next volume already.

The world building was so intricately done. We're introduced to so many different cultures, cult movements and people, but there was never any "info-dumping". We pick up bits and pieces through each POV. Every character had a role to play and I loved seeing each part of the prophecy unfold.

I loved the plot twists and reveals throughout the story and there are going to be so many consequences from what happened in this installment. The atmosphere of this book is decadent and the impending darkness is always lingering. I could feel it building throughout the story, like fingers trailing across a lover's face.

The growing conflict between the Hierophant and the graced, people gifted with magic in body, blood, mind or sight, was so intriguing and well done. I loved how the danger of the Hierophant was always looming and present. As our protagonists continue to fight, we see the enemy develop new weapons and tactics to win.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I NEED the sequel!

I am in the minority here, but I was SO bored throughout this book. In the beginning, it was because of info. dump.. in the middle, I just didn't feel a huge connection to all of the characters. I think that the overall plot is a good idea, but all the perspectives were a little too much for me. I saw a comparison to Six of Crows, but all of these characters were within the same plot point-- and it was a good 3rd POV narrator. Overall, not my fave.

There Will Come a Darkness was a phenomenal read. Pure fantasy mixed with adventure, mystery, magic (!!!), and romance. I couldn’t get enough of the diverse characters with their own backstories and ways of dealing with their own issues. The story was told from four different points of views making the reader feel and root for each character and gain an understanding that their choices and decisions were ultimately fated. It was pure joy to follow each of them on their journey, live through their complex and inner struggles, and experience a heartbreak when something happened to one of them. I also loved how Pool included gay characters, and I love how beautifully she portrayed them and how she created a world that is filled with acceptance and understanding. I mention this because some of my students will love to read this book purely for that reason. I loved that there was magic, which made the entire story ten times better for me. Lastly, I love the world-building, the lavish descriptions of each unique setting, and the cultures and people she described. It literally felt as if I was there in these cities, eating and dreaming about their tradition food (the refugee camp scene). One negative to this book was that the middle felt too long and overwritten. I almost lost interest but kept going because I so desperately wanted to know who the Prophet is and what would happen to each character. I can’t wait for the second book. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was amazing. Loved it! The world building, the interconnected stories, the hard to put down drawing you in, this book has it all.. Be prepared to have a couple of hours available for the last half of the book because you will ignore every thing else because of this book.. Can not wait for the next.

I'm always a little wary of buzzy ya debuts with a lot of hefty comp titles. It's not even the book or author's fault, but unfortunately holding THERE WILL COME A DARKNESS up to some of the heavy hitters in today's ya fantasy won't lend to overly flattering comparisons. That said, TWCAD is a perfectly respectable first book in an ambitious trilogy. The worldbuilding feels a little heavy handed, but is intriguing and draws from a lot of different sources. The real tripping point for me were the multiple viewpoints. Some are incredibly similar and it just felt like a lot of consolidation could've been done without losing anything of significance. But, again, it's the first in a series, so hopefully Pool is setting each of them up for something thrilling in further installments. I'll probably pick up the next book, but I doubt many of us will be running to the stores on release day for it.

There Will Come a Darkness was marketed as the next big thing, but I struggled to get through this book. I have had to put it aside multiple times, and I wasn’t very interested in picking it back up. YA Fantasy tropes were plentiful in this novel, and it did not feel like it was anything new. Six of Crows is the exception to the rule where multiple points of view are concerned. For There Will Come a Darkness, it just became very confusing in figuring out who was who since the voices of each character were not particularly distinct. Maybe I’m missing something, but this was one fell flat for me.

This is a okay start to a series, but I'm not as enthusiastic as others seem to be. There are all sorts of twists and turns but most of them don't really seem to mean anything. There are too many characters who are too similar to each other. The chapter titles declare who is the focus of the chapter and I'm not sure that this should be necessary. All these battles and reversals and only 1 named character dies. Just doesn't seem much payoff for all the fuss. Not sure I care enough to read the next.

I was really drawn into this book from the beginning. The world-building blew me away. I feel that Pool did an excellent job of establishing this fantasy world without using lots of boring exposition to do so. I also felt like, despite it being a made-up world, it felt familiar in many ways, which kept it from feeling too different to connect to.

The one thing I didn't really enjoy was the characters, which is keeping me from rating this book higher. I felt like each of the different characters followed in the book was just too annoying to me. They all behaved like selfish, unruly teenagers. While some of them are young, and this behavior is understandable, not all of them should be like this, otherwise, it gets to be too much. Almost every character is being driven by their own selfish needs, putting many others in danger in the process. They all did things that just made me shake my head or roll my eyes, which was annoying. I didn't look forward to any one character's pov chapter, except maybe Beru, who is the least selfish of all of them, and also the one with the least amount of chapters dedicated to her.

The action and the plot overall were decent. It's the traditional good vs. evil set-up, with the added aspect of some of the population has superpowers. While the book isn't entirely predictable, it's enough that I wasn't surprised by anything, except for one moment towards the end of the book. But I did enjoy the fighting sequences - I felt they were very smooth and fluid and I could picture them easily. That is not an easy thing to write, so I give props to Pool for that.

I would still recommend this book because I felt like it was a decently constructed action-adventure story and has a lot of interesting aspects, it's diverse, and the fantasy world is really interesting.

There Will Come A Darkness has an awesome title and an absolutely breathtaking cover, but there is another reason it has garnered so much attention from reviewers:

It’s good.

It could have gone horribly wrong, believe me — an epic fantasy with five different POVs, historical worldbuilding, magical prophecies, and several plot twists could have combined into a book-shaped disaster. It could have been impossible to follow, it could have been a chore to sift through five different characters’ thoughts, it could have been all drama and no substance —

But it didn’t go horribly wrong.

It’s one of those stories that draws you in and keeps you there. You don’t have to expend any mental effort “getting into” the world or the characters because the moment you start reading, author Katy Rose Pool makes sure you’re hooked.

The basics:

1
Magic
The magic in There Will Come A Darkness isn’t too obtrusive. It comes in the form of “Graces,” which essentially give those born with them a special skill. They fit in extremely well with the general setting and vibe of the story, which does include some murky prophecies from long-ago Prophets.

2
Characters
I mentioned the five (FIVE!) different perspectives earlier, and while it can be a lot to get your head around for the first several chapters, I grew to love them all. Each one gives you a slightly different way to look at the events unfolding, and each one keeps you on the edge of your seat as the plot thickens. I never found myself playing favorites or skimming through a chapter to get to the next POV, which was awesome.

3
Plot
I obviously can’t say much without spoilers, but suffice it to say, the plot keeps you invested. There are many twists and turns, some of which you can see coming and some of which leave you guessing. The end came so suddenly that I was reeling — WHERE IS THE REST? — but that just means I’ll be first in line for the sequel.

Every fantasy book can draw its inspirations and roots back to other fantasy works, but overall I’d say TWCAD was quite original. The characters, the plot, the setting, and the magic system all worked together to create an intriguing world from the get-go. Then you add secret prophecies, long-dead prophets, and mistaken identities… and it gets even better.

Honestly, there isn’t much more I can say without getting into spoilers, but I’ll leave some short descriptions of the characters below (because I loved each and every one of them). I highly recommend There Will Come A Darkness, and I know a huge amount of other reviewers and publications do, too. It’s one of the best YA books of the year, hands-down.

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.

I have not fallen this in love with a fantasy book in awhile. An excellent opening with a cast of diverse characters and a plot and magic system that I just ate up. I am a little sad I read this early (not really) because now I have to wait for book two, queue the tears.

This book was amazing! I loved the whole concept behind it. I could see some things coming, but not every twist and turn, and I loved it! The whole premise was that five different people could either prevent or cause the end of the world, and who will be which? From that alone you become instantly suspicious of some people, feel pulled one way or the other based on what you read, which as a reader, you should know, there's always a twist coming, but even then I still didn't see some people turning the way they did!

First off, the world is really well constructed and full of a ton of political intrigue. The mythology of the land easily unfolds itself as you read and made the entire story so interesting and intense. There are five different points of view and even though at the beginning I was only really interested in like one or two people, by the end everyone had me on the edge of my seat! This is definitely a must-read for 2019!

There are things I love about this, including the writing, but I had issues with the the way the story was told. I was drawn to the cast of characters mentioned in the synopsis. I thought it was going to be about a group of morally gray characters coming together to defeat some greater villain or threat. As I started reading, I was immediate drawn to the magic system. I love elemental type magic systems like in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse or Tomi Adyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. The magic system here is very similar. In this world, those who have these special abilities are considered graced. The world is made up of esha, which seem to be like spirit or soul.

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 is told with a lot of religious symbols and language. The world used to have prophets guiding people (to what, I can’t really pinpoint) at sacred temples. However, someone who calls himself Hierophant is convinced that Graces are unnatural and need to be removed from high positions of power. Most rulers came from families who were graced. I think being graced is considered being blessed by the gods so maybe that’s why there are prophets and such. Not exactly sure. Anyways, the Hierophant’s followers are called Witnesses. They’ve been attacking kingdoms to overthrow rulers and kill graces. They burn down temples. Overall, you get the sense they are zealous in their beliefs and will do anything for the Hierophant’s cause.

So that’s the situation at the start of the book. As we meet the characters, we learn there is actually a prophet, the Last Prophet, was was prophesied to be born. This prophecy states there will come a darkness and the Last Prophet would lead the people to peace. That’s the premise in a nutshell. And it all sounds like it should be amazing, but the way the story was told made it so hard to get fully invested. The story switches perspectives between 5 characters. And while I normally don’t mind different narrators, the issue I had was that the switching happened way too frequently. Sometimes we wouldn’t get back to someone’s story until later and when we did, it would only show a very small scene before the chapter ended and we moved to another character. For example, a chapter ended with the character getting badly injured. When the character’s next chapter rolled around again, it was him waking up and talking to someone for a quick conversation. I felt like if the chapters were longer, the characters would feel more fleshed out. The constant switching to only cover a small scene made my reading experience jarring and I kept losing focus. By the time we got back to some characters, I had forgotten what they had been doing.

Another thing was I was expecting them to be like a crew of some sort or to eventually merge together. This book felt like a really long set up for the climax of the plot which will appear in the next book. The central conflict between those who are graced, Hierophant’s, and those who play a role in the prophecy is all intriguing, I just had a hard time staying focused. Towards the end, I found it easier. Perhaps because the scenes were longer or I just got used to the narrative structure.

I’m on the fence about continuing the series. I think I will have to flip through the second book to see if the story is told differently.

CHARACTERS:
Ephyra (The Pale Hand):
She has the a Grace of Blood. She is fiercely devoted to her younger sister Berg and will do anything to heal her. She is able to take esha from those around her to transfer it to Beru when she’s dying. When Ephyra touches someone, she can take their esha which kills them. Her touch leaves a pale imprint of her hand on the victim.

“Their eyes went dark, and Ephyra felt a sweet, sated relief, and in equal measure, a deep, inescapable fear - that killing monsters was turning her into one.”

Jude (Captain of The Order of the Last Light)
Jude struggles with wanting to be with his childhood best friend Hector and trusting that Hector who is a member of Jude’s guard is loyal to the Order. Jude also feels inadequate at his role as Captain. Above all else, his first priority should be protecting the Last Prophet. He’s my favorite character.

“He was a man grown now, and he knew the truth. His destiny was finally here, and it did not care whether or not he was ready for it.”

Hassan (Prince)
Prince of Herat. During an attack on his kingdom Nazirah by the Hierophant and his Witnesses, Hassan escaped Pallas Athos with his Aunt Lethia. His primary goal is to take back his kingdom from the Hierophant’s control so his people can go back home.

Anton:
Anton has the Grace of Sight. He was bullied mercilessly by his older brother who did not have a grace. He believes his brother is trying to kill him so he’s been living in hiding moving fro, city to city. He is traumatized and refuses to use his grace even though his grace allows him to sense people’s esha all around him.

“Scrying was seeking, using one’s Grace to find the esha that vibrated at a particular frequency. This was not scrying. Anton’s Grace reverberated through currents of Kesha, disrupting their patterns with an echo of itself. He wasn’t seeking. He was calling out. Help, he cried into the black, shivering world. Help me.”

Hector:
He does not have his own perspective but I consider him a major character.
He came to the Order as an orphan. He has a conflicting relationship with the Order. He was taken care of by the Order, but finding his family’s murderer is #1 in his priorities. The Order demands that all of the Captain’s guard members live (and die) protecting the Last Prophet at all costs.

Beru:
Ephyra’s younger sister. She was brought back to life after falling ill by Ephyra’s grace. However, in order to heal Beru, Ephyra’s grace pulled esha from those around her and transferred it to Beru. Resurrecting Beru, but killing everyone else. Beru worries about Ephyra’s obsession with finding a cure for Beru, and Ephyra’s soul is turning darker with every intentional murder.

“Maybe I was always meant for death.”

**3.5 stars**
This is a really solid fantasy debut that I enjoyed overall. I like stories with prophecies and see how the characters try to fulfill or stop the said prophecy. I like the overall world building and my favorite chapters were from Beru, Ephyra and Hassan. I liked seeing how everything unfolded and the ending was satisfying, despite this feeling about 100 pages too long. But I'm very interested in the sequel, so I'll pick it up when it comes out. I think this will be a good success in my library district and my library has already bought copies. I think people new to fantasy will love this debut novel and the writing is very well done as well. While it's not a new favorite, I still recommend it for people who like these type of plot lines. Thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

The world building in this book is original, and draws from several existing cultures and mythologies in a way that feels both familiar and new, including Greek mythology and Arthurian legend. There are five protagonists and then some, which can be bit a laborious for the reader but start to tie in deftly near the conclusion of this first installment. Particularly enjoy the lack of discernible placement in point in time, and as a reader the book can be post-apocalyptic, futuristic or historical in context.
Looking forward to Pool’s cryptic storytelling brings next.

Copy was given to me from NetGalley for an honest review.

2.5 stars, almost a DNF, but felt bad since it's an ARC and I wanted to be able to review this properly.

So, there's this world, and there were these prophets, who used to be around a lot and gave out prophecies and helped mankind, and then they dipped about a hundred years ago. They left a prophecy that stated there will be a prophet that returns and as long as everything goes according to plan the Age of Darkness will not come to pass. That's what we know from the description.

This story is told from multiple points of view. Normally I don't have a problem with this, but the chapters are relatively short (there's just a lot of them), so you don't really get to know the characters in the beginning. There's not much of this world building, we know a city has been captured, we know refugees are in another city, and there's this distant island of people that somehow no one knew existed until they showed up? I didn't really understand why people were surprised that the Order still existed, because it didn't seem like they were cut off from everyone. We have a set of sisters that are trying to keep each other alive, we have the boy who is secretly gay and in love with his best friend but has a duty to uphold that he's trained for all his life, we have a prince who is in hiding from the people that seized his city and are holding his parent's hostage, and we have another boy who is a thief? I'm not quite sure actually, but he's on the run from an evil man trying to kill him. All of these characters eventually come together, sort of, to try and defeat the evil people, but so much of this was predictable.

I would have rated this higher if the plot didn't go exactly how I pictured it going. Also, since I knew it was going to be a trilogy, I knew nothing conclusive would happen in this book, that this is all set up for the next two. Which would have been okay, if it wasn't so predictable. That was the problem, as I got further into the story, I knew all the twists, so it just became dull trying to finish this. I don't plan on reading the next two books, and I'm disappointed because the description and the cover were so wonderful.

Are you a prince, an assassin, an innocent, a gambler, or a protector?
Katy Rose Pool‘s There Will Come A Darkness mashes up action, high fantasy, magic, and prophecy, but it’s really all ruled by its impressive cast of characters.

As part of the official blog tour, Macmillan asked us to talk about our favorite character– but it’s really so hard to choose a favorite because they’re all so good! From wholesome and torn to darkly ambitious, there’s something incredible about the full spectrum you get from the five leads.

So instead, we’re going to help you figure out which character is going to be your favorite– or at the very least, which one is the most like you!

Which character are you?

ANTON

- Good at fitting in and melting into your surroundings
- Knows how to read people
- Lover of high stakes and a good card game
- Social prowess aside, you’re just looking out for #1– YOU.
- But also maybe not, because your heart is secretly gooey mush

BERU

- Levelheaded and reasonable, because someone around here has to be
- Collecting and crafting FTW
- In a world of extremes, you long for a simple life
- Earns respect through earnesty
- Living for those “hiding a deadly secret” vibes

EPHYRA

-Loyal af. Maaaaaybe to a fault
- Will undoubtedly sacrifice your soul and safety to save the (few) people you love
- Slytherin level ambition
- Can run, jump, and flip out of almost any situation
- Always the best of intentions, despite the actual outcome

HASSAN

- Natural born leader
- Trying to find yourself after a major life upheaval
- Will do ill-advised things to impress someone you like
- Uncommon upbringing = Occasional failure to understand social cues
- Secret royals rock your world

JUDE

- Could go on a long, completely silent, phone-free mediative retreat and actually enjoy it
- Firm believer in destiny
- Knew what you want to do with your life from a young age
- Forbidden love tropes are your jam
- Usually a health nut, but in love with the occasional extra-sugary dessert

See why we love them all so much?!

This is a well-written and plotted YA debut and I enjoyed it. While there are certain characters that lagged the plot in my opinion (i.e. Hassan), I found this a quick read with enough action and twists to keep me going. Jude and Anton are definitely my favorites, and their chapters are the strongest in my opinion. I felt that we got to know them the best and their characters had great chemistry. I was also really interested by the sisters Beru and Ephyra, and I wish we would have gotten more of them. Hassan was definitely my least favorite, and the character I found the most uninteresting. I did not think his character was unique in anyway and I found him boring. I did find myself wishing for just a bit *more* from all the characters though—like some extra edginess or darkness. I was pretty much able to predict all of their actions and I wish I’d been more surprised.

The setting is clearly inspired by antiquity so nothing particularly new there, but Pool’s descriptions of the world and the way Graces work are vivid and interesting. However, the villain reminds me quite a bit of Amon from The Legend of Korra, so I’m curious to see what else we learn about The Hierophant and their plans in the upcoming books.

To conclude: this is a solid YA debut, and it ends with a satisfying tease of upcoming adventures. I do hope we get to see some more grit and unique world-building in the next books so that this series & its characters will standout more in the YA fantasy genre.