This book is an isekai where an inciting incident transports the writer into the fantasy world they created. It's like breaking the fourth wall in acting, only more challenging to name in a novel. The main character, Kyla, goes through a metamorphosis of understanding and acceptance. The plot is a manifestation of demons, both real and imagined.
Characters, world-building and inner conflict felt real. This story explores the internal machinations of a writer's mind. Characters are pieces of an author artfully crafted and set free upon a world that reflects their soul. Writing is extraordinarily personal, and this story is a raw representation of that truth.
I've read a few stories where the writer transports into the world they created (this is a rare trope), and this was a different twist. I started to read <i>Kill Your Darlings</i>, intrigued by the fantasy plot. I left it with a lot of thoughts about writing. I wouldn't change this story, but I'd like to read a book based on the fantasy world.

<i>I received this book as a free ARC</i>

Kill Your Darlings turns tropey portal fantasy into a deeply personal tale that may genuinely help struggling readers out there, and this is the best way of approaching the book. What starts as a fairly simple aligning of depression with fantasy darkness expands into a truly complex grappling with mental health. It is also nice to see an asexual protagonist, even if it (and broader queer aspects) didn't feature quite as heavily as I might have expected. The unsurprising catch is that, by exploring depression through tropey fantasy, you have to be prepared for it to be VERY tropey; also, I don't think it is able to broach reasons why we read fantasy that aren't just escapism (especially why we might want to read dark and even horrific stories). Along with a slightly unpolished prose style, it does end up feeling like an amazing idea not quite executed right, but its emotional heart makes it worthwhile.

I read this book through NetGalley and wow. I love how the author depicted the fight between depression and the main character. I also like how most of the book takes place in Solera. Yet I really want more though. I wanted to know if she finds a Valen equivalent but I don’t need it to happen.

While I enjoyed this story, it took me a long time to get through it. It reminded me too much of my own attempt and what I went through as well during my darkest time in life. I think there was a trigger warning at the beginning but I don’t remember at the moment.

Some parts of the story do get very meta and it becomes a bit distracting from the overall story. Also some parts drag on for a bit way too much, but it’s not too excessive to the point where it’s hard to read the book. Yet I did get stuck around chapter 10/11 for a while and I’m not sure why.

I’m thankful I got to read this, because it captures what goes through your mind during an attempt and also helps you realize how much you still have to live for. While I probably won’t read this again because of how it reminded me of my dark times, I would recommend this to others who might need it.

Arc given in exchange of an honest review.

Wow. I had high hopes coming to this book based on the premise and was not disappointed. This was such an amazing and exciting fantasy, it had something that everyone could enjoy. The story was so unique and the characters were all well fleshed out and relatable. It did deal with some heavy topics at points and I think they were handled respectfully. Pacing wise, I thought it was really good balancing keeping the story going and also giving enough time to really immerse yourself in the world created, which is not an easy thing to do. Would highly recommend this to fantasy lovers of all kinds.

Inkheart Meets Inception?

This teaser offered above the actual synopsis made me quite interested in this book. I’ve never read Inkheart but loved its premise. I’ve seen Inception multiple times and adored its confusion and plot twists. And without much of an introduction, L. E. Harper (I will hereafter always refer to her by her name) surely served us with this tense and promising combination. We meet her protagonist, an unnamed author (although the synopsis reads otherwise; she will be names “the author” or “the protagonist” hereafter), believing to be only dreaming but ultimately stuck in that quite realistic dreams. She gets to explore her self-created world and all her darlings within, even confines in them who she is instead of their friend Kyla whose body she possesses. She also has to face the fact and admit it that she knows every detail about her darlings’ deadly endings – because she wrote them.

L. E. Harper did an amazing job inviting us into this fantasy world and making the author experience everything for the first time although she knows it by heart. None of her descriptions seemed to be pure information drops but were always connection to sentiments of this unique adventure. And the adventure did only begin. With her beloved characters, the protagonist will try to defeat her book’s antagonist. She will aim to save this world that is worth more to her than the reality outside Solera. Without ever really stepping a foot into our universe, we acknowledge step by step how the life there must have been for our protagonist.

L.E. Harper's preface already prepares us for the implications of this story that are not always easy digestible. From the very first chapter on, we experience the protagonist’s desperation and hopelessness, although it is countered by the love and excitement for her creations. The book is not only dark and getting us readers down all the time, but the author’s depression constantly resonates in her behavior and thinking. I’ve adored this portrayal of “darkness” in one’s sole but also the character development and her continuing strengthening and the recalibration of her perspective. While reading, I noted down tons of quotes that will keep motivating me the next months and years.


In conclusion
This book caught my attention from the very first page. Harper smoothly introduced us to the unnamed author’s created world that she gets to explore and her own, contrasting them through the protagonist’s memories. We fall in love with her designed characters and discover the mystery and sense behind this adventure. With fantastical elements, humor, and much heart, Harper draws an authentic, moving image of one’s personal abysses and depression, but also evokes hope and reasons for keeping up the fight.

I ended up really loving this book. The premise describes an author who wakes up in a fictional world of her own making, after being broken down by the real world that has left her isolated in her depression. The fictional world, or Solera, is well established outside these pages, and brings our main character face-to-face with her darlings- darlings she has written to die in the climactic final battle between their good forces and the evil leader Zalor. I was expecting the book to open up in our reality then to travel to Solera with our main chracter together after we've been made witnesses of the sad circumstances around her life. So I was quite surprised when I opened up the first page and was waking up next to Valen, the handsome and nearly-perfect love interest penned for Solera. I spent the first half of the book wondering about this choice, but the last third of the book clarified a bit and I don't think there's another way this could have been written.
We never find out the name of the main character, so I'll refer to her as Kyla for now- the identity of the fictional hero in Solera that both represents our unnamed author's best traits and worst habits. Fictional Kyla is a 19 year old lightwielder with a close set of friends, and as our main character lives out the story at hand we see this play out as a wonderfully heart warming found family trope. There is also a mild enemies to lovers story, albeit not really enemies.. and not really lovers either.
Personally, the romance aspect did fall flat for me. I think the story would have not suffered without it, but I understand why the author might have felt like it needed to be included. There's a lot of discussion with the love interest that might have felt out of place with one of the other chracters.
I loved the world building and magic system, the characters' diversity, and the intertwined plotline of the fictional world with the real world. There's a beautifully done scene that mirrors a battle with the real life Kyla's hiding from. This book does a great job of demonstrating the MC's arc, and I wish we'd been invited to get a glimpse of that in real life after the last chapter.

4.25/5 stars
Favorite Reasons to Read:
Relatable main character that pulls no punches about her depression and the impact it has on her life. The growth she experiences is painful, optimistic, and realistic.

I loved the world of Solera so much, I actually went and purchased the previous series that she based this book on to get more of it.

Ace representation! While I'm not asexual, I love the inclusion of ace characters in books.

The evil presented in this book. Originally, I was going to list Zalor in my Bones to PIck section, as I'm not a fan of evil simply being evil for no reason. I really enjoyed the unraveling of details throughout the latter half of the book.

Bones to Pick:
I hate the word "Earthling" and this was a very present word throughout the entire book.

There were a couple of times I was taken out of the moment, specifically when the MC is over-thinking things during action scenes.

I really thought I would enjoy this, but I ended up abandoning this read about... 25-30% in? Too much disconnect with the main character, not really buying into the fiction (you spend how much time writing a novel only to forget what the world is like as soon as you inhabit your MC's body?), and the story just didn't grab me enough to stay hooked.

The book starts off with the main character, an author of a fantasy series, being whisked away into the world she created. At first, she thought it was a dream but finds out it is much more than that. As the story progresses she realizes she needs to help save her darlings, her beloved characters, from an ending that she needs to change.

There are many ups and downs as the MC fights with her own mental health, trying to undo unhealthy coping mechanisms she has created. I will say please be sure to read the trigger warnings as there are some major themes in the book.

The twist at the end wasn't one that I expected at all and had me tearing up.

Overall, I struggled a bit at the start to get into the book, but in the end enjoyed the emotional journey I went on with myself, the author, and the MC.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this as an ARC, in return for an honest review!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat! I never knew what was going to happen next, and it helped me to keep my depression in check! Please please please check the forward of this book before reading!!! This book touches on several dark subjects, and it’s beautifully done!!! It has been a long time since a book has touched me this hard!! I experienced all kinds of emotions, and I think that’s what the author was going for! Emotional connection to these characters brought some of my issues to light, and has made me see I need to change for the better!! So a huge Thank you to L.E. Harper for this beautiful work of art!

Thank you for the chance to read this book. Spoilers ahead.

I ended up DNF this book about 50% of the way through. I had too many questions that needed to be answered. The main character has lucid dreams and then writes books about her dream world. She then gets stuck in her main character's body, Kyla, and finds out it is not a dream. When she gets stuck in Kyla, she has difficulty remembering the earth. So my question is, how could she write books about this world if she can't remember earth while in Solera? Shouldn't it be the same when she woke up from her dreams? She shouldn't remember Solera when she wakes up on earth? So how did she write five novels about this place? It doesn't make sense to me. Then she would randomly remember stuff about earth. Also, is her name Kyla or a different name?

Another thing that bugged me was that it seemed like she was trying to take over Kyla's life even though she thought Kyla's soul might still be out there. She kept saying she had never felt love like this or had friends. But then she would remember earth and say I miss my friends. I don't know. It felt wrong for her to take over someone else's life. It felt like she was trying to make Valen love her even though Kyla was the love of his life.

It would be too much if she stayed in Solera and overtook Kyla's life. It feels wrong and dirty.

The concept was a great idea. I love the idea of someone getting stuck in their lucid dream to find out it is an alternate universe, but there was no consistency in this book.

In short, "Kill Your Darlings" by L.E. Harper is a powerful and captivating fantasy novel that deals with heavy themes of mental illness, depression, and trauma.
The main character, Kyla, finds herself trapped in her own fictional world and must use her love and hope to fight against the villain that threatens both her and her beloved characters.
The characterization and magic system are well done, With a mix of fantasy elements such as dragons, shapeshifters, and magic, as well as important themes of mental health, this book is a must-read for fans of fantasy and those who enjoy stories that tackle important topics in a unique and engaging way.

However, it should be noted that the book carries some serious trigger warnings, including depictions of depression, anxiety, and self-harm.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this early! I am a huge fan of transmigration stories—that is stories where people from the ‘real world’ are sent into a fictional one that they know really well—and especially those where the protagonist has to grapple with the idea that the people they once thought were merely characters actually are people who are affected by their decisions. This book does this really well and I was so happy for it. This story is such an interesting premise and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I especially liked how this story wrote about mental health as well. Kyla wrote her fantasy world with the intention of no happy endings because she could not seem to get one of her own. But now that she lives in the world she created, she must save the people she once doomed and in the process, save herself. While there could be some issues with pacing, ultimately I thought it was absolutely fantastic.
For fans of Brigid Kemmerer, this is a story you don’t want to miss.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc. I ended up DNF'ing this book unfortunately. The foreword was beautiful and really moving but a couple of chapters in and felt like I wasn't in the headspace for the trigger warnings. I'll definitely come back to it though

I don't know if i can be objective with this book review cause it resonated with me very deeply. Bur I will try.

the story and Solaria, the fantasy world that we are introduced to:
the characters: I loved them. Their personalities, their backstories, the little details that makes them awesome, all of them. Valen, the love interest, I liked him but he didn't made me fall in love with him, 7/10.
the world building was really good, love the story and legends of this realm, really impressing, but, as we fall in the fifth book of the series, a lot of stuff was missing. But thats ok.
the quest through Solaria: it felt kinda pointless. I know it was necessary for Kyla's redemption but either way was kinda disappointing.

as I was reading through Harper's darkest and meanest thoughts, I couldn't stop crying cause I felt so seen. I'm not alone, someone understands what is like being consumed by your mind, and all i got to say to her is: thank you for creating and sharing this, I'm so glad and proud that you fought and you keep fighting every day.

Kill Your Darlings
by L.E. Harper
Pub Date 24 May 2023
Publisher Shivnath Productions, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Title

Genre:
LGBTQIAP+ | OwnVoices | Sci Fi & Fantasy

What would you do if you were sucked into a fantasy world you created yourself. Her own real-life problems, however, have spilled into the fantasy world, and battle threatens the land. Her most recent edits killed off nearly all of her core characters. But, surrounded by the same characters she knows are going to die, she decides this might be her last chance to save them all.

This book is tough, not in a bad way, but let me warn you know if you are sensitive at all to the notions of depression and suicide you might want to bypass this story and review.


What if you fell into your favorite book world or the story you created. In Kill Your Darlings Kayla gets that chance. This is a book based in fantasy yet also not. Kayla wakes up one morning in the story world she created believing it to be a dream at first. When she fails to wake herself from her dream world she realizes she is trapped there, but is that such a bad thing? In her real life Kayla is depressed and facing a deadline. Why not just spend the rest of her life with her draconic best friend and the rest of her “darlings”. Enter, Zalor, the dark lord that is trying to take over the fantasy world Kayla created.


Solera is under attack and receding into darkness. So, Kayla imagines, that this is the reason she is stuck in her book world, she must venture on a hero’s journey. She is to be the hero of her own story. Or is she?

In the end Kayla is teetering in a world between life and death when she decides to be the hero of her own story, the real life story. The story where she is dying in the bath tub from self inflicted wounds.


See I told you this book/review is tough!

I loved the story. I loved the weaving of fantasy and reality. The forces of darkness and the parallels to deep depression. But there was also light and hope. It was hard to see the main character repeatedly fall into despair and self loathing that is a trademark of deep depression. There were slivers of hope and in the end the reality is not so beautiful as the fantasy but much more sad and gut wrenching.

The story took me on those highs and lows and was beautifully written. I felt very attached to Kayla’s story as I believe many would. Anyone can be where she was throughout this story and hopefully in the end survive. The story kind of rips your heart out once you realize what truly has transpired and then you just root for Kayla to survive.


Given my own battles with depression this story hit the mark on so many levels, true at first it seems to be a cheesy fantasy story (don’t get me wrong I loooove those stories too) but underneath it is a raw look at mental health. I have been on the edge of the knife and I am lucky that I saw the light and pulled back. The mind is a scary place to dwell sometimes. I am glad to say, like Kayla, I am a survivor.


I wanted to extend a thank you to L.E. Harper, the author of this book, for writing this story so beautifully. It is raw but also disguised as fantasy and I think could help others see the hope in the light and fight for another day.

This was my first sci-fi book of the year and it didn’t disappoint. The book had some amazing characters and world building

I received an e-arc from Netgalley and the Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Kill Your Darlings is a book about a fantasy world but also about the real world. It intertwines two different worlds together in a way that works really well, all the while not shying away from some hard-hitting topics. A main part of this book is depression and battling it, so much so that the foreword explicetly says it may be triggering. Before the book even starts the author makes sure that the readers are taken care of, mental-health wise and I appreciate that a lot.

This book was really well-written and it tells an important story. Everyone would love to jump into a book, live the lives we've been reading, but the Main Character actually has to do it, live in the book she herself has written. This book is just genuinely a good book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I definitely recommend it for other fantasy lovers, but do take note of the content warnings.

This book was incredible. The fact that this book brings you into a world, but then not only that it makes you realize that it's all a metaphor. I loved it. It's hard to describe without giving spoilers but the struggle the author went through and the main characters makes you fall into the story yourself.

Thank you, L.E. Harper and NetGalley, for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for a fair review!

Kill Your Darlings is an author’s dream and nightmare. The author wakes up in the fancy world she had created, surrounded by magic, swords, and dragons. However, her own real-life troubles have bled into the fantasy world, and war threatens the land. Her last edits killed off almost all of her main cast. But surrounded by those same characters she knows will die, she decides this may be her chance to save them all.

The story starts a bit slow, but it takes the readers all across a fun fantasy world filled with creative places. Many memorable characters bring the story to life. I especially like the dragons, but I'm biased toward them.

A dark past does surround the story though. About three-fourths through, the plot spikes as the author has to face the real world through the fantasy lens she has created. It does get detailed, so I recommend strong content warnings for suicide attempt and depression. L.E. does have her own content warnings at the front of the book as well.

I enjoyed how the author mixes her truth into the story. I’ve found that every well-written story has a piece of the author in it, but they're usually under layers, a bit hidden. Yet L.E. writes her demons out in the open with bravery. It feels like such a raw story of her fighting depression (and some aphobia).

My main critique is how some parts felt a bit telling. It wasn’t too much throughout that it clogged down the story. (Except maybe in one spot. But I also understood the creative decision to take a step back there.)

Overall, I enjoyed this story that I know will make a positive impact, and I recommend it.