I do love a Good character driven story a shame it took me so long to get to this. It's always a pleasure to see the characters continue to grow

A young adult fantasy jam packed full of adventure, prophecy and magic. In this sequel in the Age of Darkness trilogy the forces of light and darkness collide in a war that could potentially end the world.

I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately, it was stagnant in places. I wish that I could say it was an easy read but I did have problem I will still continue reading to be sure!s in certain parts.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future!

Unfortunately, I just wasn't a fan of this one's premise. I didn't hold any interest in it after a certain point, and I won't be continuing the series after.

The second in its series, I enjoyed this more then the first. While I think the characters and relationships were a bit dull, the plot and world development was definitely more intriguing. I think as the book went on,
my opinion definitely improved, though the writing was a bit stilted at points and felt a bit naive. Wasn’t bad, I’ll check out the next book in the series definitely

Apparently I'm really in a "let's finish all the series I've let sit languishing for a few years" mood.

There will be some mild There Will Come A Darkness spoilers so carry on at your own risk.

The last few trilogies I've read, the middle book has been so limp and full of useless filler that the entire thing felt entirely unnecessary. So needless to say I didn't come into this one with a lot of expectations. And that's on me. This second installment is surprisingly solid. A trilogy that was thought out from start to finish and thought out well. The stakes are higher, the characters more fleshed out and set on interesting new paths, and new figures, items and stories of lore and magic woven cleanly into the narrative. The prophecy that guided the first book continues on, threatening the Age of Darkness.

This wasn't perfect though. I had the same issues with this second book as I did the first, but perhaps a little worse because this is the second book. It took a long time to get into this because of the five POVs. There's a lot of ground to lay for each character before the story finally settled and got going. But what made this harder was that a) I forgot a lot of what happened in the first book and b) the in-narrative recap for each character was not good. And again, this was an okay book until the last quarter, with the ending earning a star all on it's own because it's just so exciting and intriguing and leaves me eager to continue with the next book.

It's also quite difficult for me to imagine this as an ancient Greece inspired world. I mean, there's literally the colosseum on the cover of this book and the author has confirmed is Grecian-esque, but it just does not feel coded that way. Like you can't help but think that a white author should not be writing this because to me it feels more middle eastern. That little element of yikes could not leave my head.

So what have all the main characters been up to? Forgive me if I spell anything wrong as I read via audio.

Jude is the character I remembered the least about in terms of specifics. He is the Keeper of the Word, but he's lost his grace after the battle at the lighthouse, which I completely forgot about and is something that wasn't recapped well. He is facing an investigation into both his and Hector's actions and how it relates to their oaths.

Anton is still one of my favourite characters. I love his wittiness and snark so much. The gambler has been revealed as the last Prophet, and he really could do without. After an attack by the Witnesses on the fort, he and Jude--the loversssss--run away together, trying to find Jude's lost sword to try and restore his grace.

Ephyra is my other favourite, and the Pale Hand is quite angsty this time around. Beru ran away from Ephyra after she killed Hector, and now Ephyra is determined to find the lost Chalice. Without Ephyra there to "heal" her, Beru will die soon and only the relic can save her. It takes Ephyra into a little bit of a Tomb Raider adventure with Ilya, Anton's traitorous brother, and I'm obsessed with their dynamic. Love it so much.

Beru may have ran off but she isn't alone for long, teaming up with Hector. What, didn't I just say he was dead? Well, surprise, someone who is not Ephrya has turned him into a revenant like Beru, and the pair are now connected. The pair set off to find a sisterhood of healers who can restore the piece of Hector inside Beru and heal him, all so Beru can atone for somethings before she dies at last.

Hasan remains my least favourite. I honestly could have skipped all his chapters and been okay with that. Wouldn't have missed all that much either. He's such a useless little loser to me, always whining and griping about how he isn't appreciated and no one listens to him.

What amuses me this time is I did not like the narrator. I really needed this series to have at least a male and female narrator, if not a different voice for each POV. Todd Boyce is okay, but some of the accents and voices he uses are not nice. There's one character named Evander, I think, and oh god, that was a big nope every time he spoke.

Third book, here I come!

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I was very excited for this book initially but slowly it fell off my radar and I never wanted to pick it up again. Maybe I will someday.

It’s so rare to find a sequel you enjoy more than the first in a series, but wow! I need the third book yesterday.. I can’t wait to know what happens next! I loved that this book focused more on Beru and Anton than the first. Seeing the relationships between characters progress was awesome. Definitely worth reading!

I loved the first book in this series, and this was a great continuation of what is turning into a very promising trilogy.

While I did enjoy the first book more, this one was not a bad middle book. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves multiple POV fantasy novels and wants a fun time.

I'm excited for the third book to come out Fall 2021... I hope!

3.5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

An epic continuation that I could not put down!!! I will be writing a full review and posting it later, but this was just SO GOOD.

This is definitely a "read slow and savor" book and not one to skim through. With all the different POVs, the reader needs to take time to digest each character's situation and ensure you've got it down before turning the page. It can get messy, but it is worth it! I love all the characters because they are all just a little nicely flawed and human so you can relate to all of their struggles. None of them come across as the "awesome hero/can do everything" type, which is so refreshing. They all have real emotions, fears, weaknesses, and issues. The only problem is waiting for book 3.

I loved the second part in the series so much! Despite being a longer book, As the Shadow Rises was a quick read, and I could not put it down. I loved all of the characters so much and was invested in each of their stories from the start. I cannot wait until the third book in the series comes out so I can dive into the story again!

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

This is the perfect series for individuals who love character driven stories. Don't make a mistake, the plot is very well thought out and keeps you invested but the characters are the main point of this book. You get to see how characters become intertwined in a much deeper way from the beginning of the story. I would honestly say this is closer to 4.5 instead of 4. This was a well done sequel and I'm excited to see where the story goes from here!

I like how this is a character-driven storyline and how each character has an important roll to play. However, I just feel that the events that occurred were sometimes random at times. For example, the plot twist reveal at the end of the book where the Immaculate One revealed themself seemed a bit random to be completely honest. I just felt that the scenes that were really supposed to shock the reader, sort of fell flat, I love how Pool was able to have the different point of views and I feel that each character successfully had their own story but it really came together in the end. I loveeee the LGBTQ representation and Jude's struggles with his identity which probably make him my favorite character overall.

I think I just started reading the book too far after the first one. Unfortunately this is a case of wrong book wrong time.

The second book in The Age of Darkness series!

I liked this so much more than the first book in the series! I loved seeing the characters from the first book again and seeing the relationships grow and develop even more. There is a triple enemies to lovers in this, which is one of my favourite tropes so I absolutely adored it. Jude and Anton were definitely my favourite part of the story and I loved seeing them grow even closer as the story progressed. I love when storylines begin separated from one another and eventually converge in the end, so I really enjoyed the ending when everyone came together. I really liked Ephrya's POV in this one as well as having Beru off on her own as well. I still didn't care much for Hassan's POV, but I understand the need for it.

I was on the edge of my seat during the ending of the book and I'm excited for the next installment of the series to be released!

the first book was challenging for a lot of my students because there were too many characters and I think in the long run it was hard to get attached to them. we all had our clear favorites and were not very interested in the other perspectives. while that part continued in this sequel, the further exploration of all the characters and just the added time with all of them helped with all of that.

this was a brilliant sequel. everything i look for from one.

if it's possible i loved jude and anton even more. ephyra's parts are as always my favorite.