“Darkness Awaits” by Jamila Stone is the second book in this unique world … absolutely recommend this series and author

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this wonderful book.
Unexpected secrets stand to change two witches’ lives forever...
Having narrowly survived their last semester, Natalie King and Alexandra Aurelius are prepared to revel in victory...but junior year is promising to be anything but peaceful!
With her mother in prison, Alex struggles against enemy attacks from her own family. Finding solace in Nat’s support and the arms of her new girlfriend, Rachel, Alex pushes through the pain as best she can; but darkness is creeping in from every direction, and even the fiercest of friendships can fall victim to dark influences.
As the two witches cautiously navigate their renewed friendship and new relationships, shadowy souls push their way into Nat and Alex’s lives. Now, more than ever, the witches must stick together and protect their loved ones.
But as human and supernatural government relations are stretched to breaking point, a very personal bombshell is about to shatter Alex’s world forever.
Can she rely on Nat to see her through again?
Or will even their united powers prove too weak for the forces that are determined to destroy them?

So I definitely enjoyed this book more than book 1. The pacing was fast and I felt it made sense more. No odd jumps in time. I like how Nat and Alex have become friends again and there is a new group of mixed supernatural creatures. Nat and Alex are certainly a lot more powerful witches and I like the new covens that are introduced in this story. Certainly this year for the group of friends is tougher, the school work is harder, the power is more demanding and on top of that there is dark magic around and some very BIG secrets that are revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic system in this story more and the relationship dynamics as well. This story was jammed packed with queer representation and I LOVED IT! Jamila certainly doesn't hold back and I enjoyed every second. The twists and turns in this story left me on the edge of my seat wanting more and more.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the magic system and both the supernatural and paranormal creatures. I still love that there is a seer and phoenix, two that aren't as popular in fantasy books. I definitely recommend this book for both the queer representation and also the jammed pack book full of characters and drama.
I will be buying this book when it gets published.