Kalyn Josephson has written an exceptional story. Following two female main character who are both backed into a corner. Do they choose to fight or flee? The Illinir is a hazardous race through different territories. Danger lurks within every shadow. Enchanted animals, unlicensed use of magic, unrest in the lower class communities, all under the thumb of the brutal crown.

This book was a rollercoaster I didn't want to end. I could not put it down once it had its talons in me. The magic drawing me in. The thrill of the races. The spark of romance between a few of the characters. I loved the unique part of the magic in this story. The golums are a spectacular touch. I can not wait for the next book in this series.

This Dark Descent is a tightly woven tale, alternating viewpoints between the two female main characters, Mikira and Arielle, each of whom is in dire straits, for totally different reasons, when they encounter Damien Adair, who offers each of them the thing they want most in exchange for helping him reach for the thing he wants most. In a society built on deals and intrigue, the deals Damien offers each woman goes well beyond the normal for their society, both because each deal demonstrates greater empathy and compassion than any other lord would bother with, and because he knew, without being told, where to find each one and what she wanted - or needed - the most.

In their world, there are multiple types of magic - but some types are forbidden, because they were practiced by the citizens of a defeated country, and the victors banned it; regardless of type, unregistered use of magic is forbidden, ostensibly because unregistered magic users cannot be properly regulated and taxed - and the penalty is, at best, virtual enslavement; at worst, summary execution. Arielle is just such a magic user, practicing unlicensed, and practicing a forbidden type of magic as well. Mikira's father is an unregistered user, although he uses an accepted type of magic, and both must be saved from the attentions of Damien's chief rival, Rezek Kelbra - but will Damien ultimately be better or worse? Recommended for teens and adults.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.25 (rounded to 2 stars)

This Dark Descent is pitched as Peaky Blinders meets The Scorpio Races but it really missed the mark for me.

Mikira Rusel is from a family of breeding enchanted horses and helps her family's ranch after their fall from grace. They are threatened increasingly by Kelbra house, which they owe their debts to. Mikira is backed into a corner in order to protect her father and farm, and enters into the dangerous Illinir, a horse race with enchanted horses but she isn't allowed to race with an enchanted horse. Mikira has to work with Damien Adair, another lesser house lord. She meets Arielle through Damien, a black market enchanter, who is to help Mikira win the race. All have their hidden reasons for working together.

We follow two different POVs throughout this book, Mikira and Arielle. Damien and Reid, a servant of Damien, are also two main characters we follow through the plot. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to really connect with them. We are told about the characters and their characteristics, like Mikira is different from others girls and comes off prickly, rather than being immersed in the story and seeing it through her actions. As a whole, I had a truly hard time connecting with them and didn't really care for them as a whole. This also translated into the romance. I do think the romance aspects were well written and there was LGBTQ+ representation, but due to my lack of connection with the characters I just couldn't connect with the romance well.

The plot takes off so quickly, like within the first three chapters so much has happened and sets it up for the rest of the book, but then the middle slogs so so much until you get to the last 20%. Essentially huge changes happen in the character's lives before we really meet them so it lacks any emotional connection. The world-building was there, but it was lacking. It talks about a huge war and all these different regions but there was no map for me to follow along. It has a large ancestry chart of the royals which truly was not needed as we only meet the King and his two children, but maybe for the sequels? I will say the Kinnish people are based on Jewish people, with their religion, anti-seminitism, and history, and this was very fleshed out and in depth. Another question I had was why horses? Why did they use enchantments on animals and why was that the most used function of it when they could also use it for pretty much everything else in their life such as household items and inanimate objects?

For a book that is pitched about horses and centers around them so much, I was really hoping the author would apply an extensive knowledge of breeding, riding, and temperament of horses. Instead it felt it was written the same as when any horses are included in fantasy. When discussing breeding, it's relatively only in regards to the magic. I might have just been giving myself higher expectations, but I was hoping that a lot more of the scenes with horses would include more depth of knowledge of the animal. Additionally, this is comped with Peaky Blinders and I was really looking forward to that side of the story. And yes there is violence, betrayal, and gangs, but the actual writing leans extremely younger YA and each character does not seem mature enough in those settings. It was just a weird combination of the setting and writing that did not jive with me.

The last 20% did actually hook me a bit more. The plot finally came together in a way, whereas before there were SO many different plot lines that we had to follow. There is betrayal and some things I didn't see coming and it leaves on a cliffhanger that definitely wants you to pick up the next book.

However, this book just didn't really work for me, but I do think I am in the minority. I do plan to read other books by this author, but I will not be continuing this series.

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Roaring Book Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was so confused. I read the first chapter three times and was still lost. I loved the premise but the dialogue and narrative style was incredible convoluted.

Inventive, original, and compelling.

I appreciated the diversity portrayed, dual POVs not based around a romance, as well as the complicated arcs of each character.

The pacing lagged occasionally, particularly in the beginning, and there were times that worldbuilding could have been woven in more organically.

However, overall this was an enjoyable read that I think would appeal to fans of upper YA with historical feeling settings.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. There was a lot going on in this one and I still feel like I was left needing to know more about the story.

I enjoyed the dual POVs. We follow Mikira, daughter of an enchanted-horse breeder, and Arielle, an enchanter whose magic is illegal. I thought both characters were interesting but we don't really get a lot of backstory on either, it was just touched upon. I would have loved more, especially about Arielle's Kinnish magic.

Damien, the person who ties Mikira and Arielle together, is also an important character in the book and I think he and his background needed to be fleshed out more.

I think for me, this book needed to be longer in order to have the information that I wanted. It was a good read and interesting, which is why I gave it 3 stars, but I just didn't think it was as informative as I wanted it to be.

That ending though.. Interested to see what happens next!

Thank you Netgalley and Roaring Book Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Mystical, suspenseful, and intense. It was a wild and crazy ride.

Our story has a dual POV which made for an interesting set up with two very different perspectives and sets of secrets between our two FMCs, Mikita and Arielle.

I loved the magic system with enchantments . I also enjoyed the kinnish magic system and culture which was based on Judaism. We have some possession related themes as well .

The horse race section seemed like it would be more front and center but later on became more of a side theme compared to what else was happening which was somewhat different than where I expected the story to go. I felt like Mikira’s challenges were certainly not as focused on as Arielle’s for sure because of this.

It has some romance but it is not truly the main aspect of the story and it is slow burn. Definitely a more YA type romance.

Overall it was an enjoyable story and any fan of the hunger games type story will definitely enjoy this one.

DNF at 25%

While I did very much appreciate the world building and setting that was Jewish-inspired, the portion that I read felt very much closer to a Historical novel with a heavy hand on equestrianism. And as a personal preference, I tend to stray away from Historical and novels that have a regency feel because they don't peak my interest.

Objectively, for the first 25% that I read, I feel like the exposition into who these characters were before diving in to scenes that started moving the plot were lacking. I didn't get to feel invested into the main character's story and the reasons for why she acted the way she did.

With the magic, I wished for more to reel me in but I didnt get much more than a general feeling that magic existed in this world and that was it.

So, unfortunately it was for me but it might be for others. I might try to read this book in the future but for the moment, it just didn't work for me.

An absolutely glorious story that’s 100% Peaky Blinders meets Six of Crows.

I don’t know that I’ve ever read a book that’s deserved the SoC comp like this one—I’ve always been chasing the feeling SoC gave me on first read, and this came so close. I LOVED the magic system with its enchantments and golems, the horse races and the character of the creatures, the mismatched found-family-with-tensions vibe of the characters. I loved each of them in their own ways, for hwo different they were from each other and how beautifully they contrasted one another.

And this cover, like everything else Katt Phatt touches, is perfection.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a hardcover. So grateful to Netgalley, the publisher, and Kalyn Josephson for blowing me away with this one!

Kalyn Josephson is a second-chance author for me. While I enjoyed the concept of Storm Crow, I found the world building lacking and the character relationships tenuous at best. While This Dark Descent showed a lot of improvement in Kalyn's writing, I still found it to be slightly deficient in these areas.

This Dark Descent is told from two POVs: Mikira, a generational horse breeder who makes a dangerous deal to save her father, and Arielle, a Kinnish enchanter whose cultural magic has been outlawed by those currently wresting for power. I did enjoy both POVs for different reasons - Mikira's pushed the plot more, while Arielle's POV contributed more to world building.

So, let's talk about plot and world building. The trigger event that gets the ball rolling on the plot is Mikira's dad being taken away. Similar to Storm Crow, I thought this was too early. I didn't get to know her father, I didn't know much of their plights, and I didn't have a strong grasp of their world, so I didn't feel much emotion when he was indentured by the Kelbras in the first chapter. The idea of horse breeding and enchantments never felt fully fleshed out, even by the end of the story and the world's fight for verillion felt like there was little foundation. I'm still left wondering what people use verillion for, outside of what we see Arielle use it for (which is forbidden magic). I didn't fully get the stakes, I guess.

That being said, Arielle is Kinnish, a people inspired by Jewish culture and myths. You could see how much love and care Kalyn Josephson fed into building up the Kinnish people and their culture. It was definitely a love letter to her own culture and it paid off. That side of the world was extremely lush and well formed, and if there's anything I'll take away from this book, it's that. I really enjoyed learning more about the magic and mythology of Kinnism and then tenants of her magic. It was great seeing her character develop with her powers and I really liked that aspect of the story.

In terms of relationships, I appreciated that we had a demi MC, even if the discussion around it was very textbook. I found that her relationship was also kind of founded on an invisible foundation as I didn't see the relationship develop. We're told it did, but there are few interactions between Arielle and her LI that are actually played out on page in a way that I can be like, "ah yes, there's the emotional connection." Same with Mikira. There's an implication that she's bisexual and there are two love interests for her, but we don't see a lot of the connection. It's all kind of skimmed over and I wish we were able to get into the intimate interactions and see the connections more.

As a whole, I found the story fast-paced with the races and the looming deadlines. There was a lot of distrust and mystery that also lent itself to intrigue that kept the plot and the characters constantly moving. This was definitely more of a tell rather than show story, and it didn't gel with my tastes as much as I wish it did. That being said, if you liked The Shadows Between Us and Storm Crows, this is definitely in that same vein! I'm curious to see what's next as the setup for book 2 implies a totally different story than book one, which is intriguing in and of itself!

Rep: bisexual MC, demisexual MC, Jewish folklore

TW: death, blood, violence, injury detail, poverty, torture; mentions death of an animal (not dog)

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

eARC and finished copy gifted by Fierce Reads via Colored Pages Book Tours in exchanged for an honest review.

🖤 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓽 🖤

YA fantasy with Jewish folklore

🖤 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼
Mikira's family has been struggling financially with their ranch of enchant horses. When her father is taken as an indentured servant rather than hanged for being an unlicensed enchanter, Mikira enters a bargain with a Lord: win the Illinir with a non-enchant horse and get her father back, or lose the ranch and everything they own.

Arielle is still running away from her past. With Kinnish magic being punishable by death, she hides her skills by selling golems that pass as pets for the wealthy. Everything changes when Damien, Lord Adair, stops a violent attack on her. Having heard of her skills with golems, Damien enlists Ari's help with his own bargain: Ari must make him a golem horse to win the Illinir with Mikira as its jockey.

🖤 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼
OH. MY. GOD. I was skeptical seeing it compared to Six of Crows, but the violence and found family vibes are all there in addition to royally screwing over the wealthy.

I think this book is marketed more towards Mikira's story, but Arielle's story is just as important and is just as much at the forefront of the novel. Ari is trying to understand not only her magic, but her roots. Damien gives Ari the space to learn and also finally feel safe and at home, which is something she hasn't had before.

The ending of Mikira's story here feels very reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen, and I will never say no to that. I do, however, feel like Ari & Damien's story was more impactful.

I am 100% looking forward to the sequel. If you are thinking about picking up This Dark Descent, also consider looking at owlcrate's YA October 2023 box for a special edition!

A high stakes political fantasy and romance with Lords competing for family status, dangerous horse races, Jewish folklore, and mobsters. If you liked Six of Crows or Peaky Blinders, or maybe you're a fantasy loving horse girl, or better yet maybe you like unique world building. This is all of those things!

I found this to be an entirely unique and interestingly woven story, and kept wanting to see what was going to happen next. I'm looking forward to what plays out next in the continuation!

I received complimentary advanced digital and audio copies of this book from the publisher. All the opinions in this review are my own.

I requested this book for the Peaky Blinders vibes, but walked away with so much more. The premise was very unique. There were enchanted horses competing in a series of races and forbidden magic. As well as rivaling noble houses and a fantasy world steeped in Jewish folklore.

With a dual POV you will follow both Mikira and Arielle. After Mikira's father is accused of practicing forbidden enchantments she makes a deal with house Kelbra. She must either win the annual horse races with an unenchanted horse or lose and risk the livelihood of her family. Arielle is tasked with using Kinnish magic to build a horse from clay (golem) for Mikira, which is forbidden. Every time Arielle performs an enchantment the battle with the voice inside her head becomes more evident.

There are high stakes, competitive horse racing, enchanted animals, political intrigue, and blossoming romance between more than one couple. This Dark Descent is bound to keep you on the edge of your seat with its fast pace and dark twists around every corner. A few of the twists made my jaw drop. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was for the lack of connection with most of the characters, but I'm hopeful that in the next book that will change.

I will be looking forward to the next book in this series! Highly recommend if you like morally grey characters, slow burn romance, political intrigue, animals, competition with high stakes, and a distinctive magic system.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC

Ahhhhhhh oh my god this book, this book is everything 😭 I've been freaking out about it on my insta stories and on tiktok for the last two days, I loved it so much

💫 The found family!!! It was done so well and in such a wholesome way, I really really need book two to have more cute moments 😭
💫 The demisexual rep!! I picked up this book because this was mentioned, and please this was done perfectly ❤️
💫 Also, the bisexual rep!! There's a love triangle for this character and that was done so well too!
💫 The ships gave me perfect Kanej and Helnik vibes, I love them sm
💫 Also please, the animals were so cute 😭 if you like the Abraxos/Manon relationship from Throne of Glass, you'll absolutely melt while reading this book <3
💫 Also, that cliffhanger??? It was a multi-pronged shocker, Kalyn, please I need book 2 😭

-- ty to the author, the publisher, and Colored Pages Book Tours for a finished copy!

This Dark Descent is an engaging new series, with an original and complex magic system (inspired by Jewish folklore) morally gray characters, and political drama with intrigues, secrets, balls, and horse races.

Veradell is a dangerous place, it’s the capital of Enderlain, where the crown prince and the nobility reside, and all of them play a game of power. The intrigues reminded me a little of Game of Thrones (YA version) or Peaky Blinders (with the mobster houses) mixing with The Scorpio Races. 

Its dual POV, Mikira and Arielle are the lead ladies but Damien and Reid are as important as them. The characters are morally grey, everyone has hidden motives and reasons to justify their actions.

Mikira's family is in trouble, they are threatened by a stronger house, to save her family Mikira needs to compete in the deadliest horse race ever, and for that, she needs a sponsor; enter Lord Damien Adair, he needs Mikira to win to destroy a rival house; to improve Mikira's chances, Damien will hire Arielle, an artist and magician who can grant skills and tasks to her creations and make magic undetectable. And from Reid to Damien's grumpy but super smart friend.

This is a wonderful cast, everyone wants to win the competition, all for different reasons, when they ally they have their guard up, but soon friendship (or romance) emerges. They are complex characters, they are not perfect and make mistakes or get carried away by their emotions, which makes it easy to love them and worry about them. Even the villains have backstories although they are still villains and you don't root for them.

Also, some characters are demiromantic and bisexual representation. 

The world-building and magic systems are so good, the golems, and the ancient witchcraft books, were so interesting, and the author was inspired by Judaism stories. The pacing was great, it kept you hooked between the horse races, the lush balls, and the enemy attacks.

Overall, I'm completely hooked, there are secrets, alliances, betrayals, magic, and horses, and I can't wait for the sequel.

Read it if you like:
Political fantasy drama
Morally gray characters 
Magical Horses 
Six of Crows

3.75/5 Stars

This book follows a group of people as they do everything they can to help Mikira win the Illnir, a deadly horse race where riders are lucky to finish maimed. There is the morally grey Damien, the mysterious Arielle, the gentle Reid and the brash Mikira, who form tenuous relationships with each other shrouded in secrets and hidden motives.

The story is told in alternating third person point of view following Mikira and Arielle. This allows the user to follow the stories of the entire group as the race unfolds but may leave the reader frustrated at certain cut scenes.

The book was hard for me to get into as I felt like there was a ton of information dumping at the beginning that I had a hard time following and I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt and unsatisfying. I am still interested to see where the story goes but just felt like the ending was underwhelming after all the build up.

The book spent a lot of time world building but not enough time developing the characters for my taste. There were a lot of bits and pieces of each of the characters but not enough for me to grow attached to them and care for them. I didn’t feel like they were fully fleshed out or really changed throughout the story and thought some of their actions didn’t make sense for their personalities.

I would say the comparison to Six of Crows is a bit of a stretch, there is a main cast of a few characters in a world that is full of corruption. However, I did not feel the same bond between the characters and the characters aren’t necessarily morally grey.

Overall, I thought the world the author built was interesting and well thought out, I just wish I had more time to be immersed into it and that she spent a little more time on character development. I would recommend this book to younger readers looking for an interesting magical world inspired by Jewish Folklore or a book about horse racing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Roaring Brook Press) for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest review!

An absolute masterclass in fantasy—and so incredibly Jewish! Jews are frequently left out of magical alternate worlds, but here, Jewish themes, folklore, and culture are integral parts of the narrative and Ari’s perspective. In this world, the Kinnish people parallel the Jewish experience, which I loved and think is a great way to include Jewish characters in fantasy world where Jewish people might not technically exist. I really felt so seen in Ari’s experiences. And there are a handful of major Jewish characters as well, Damien the most prominent among them (after Ari, of course!)

Another thing I loved dearly is that both of the main characters are aspec! The specific words/labels aren’t used, but their experiences are described and shown throughout the story, and the author has confirmed online that both Arielle and Mikira are aspec. The world is very queer normative, and if any kind of queerphobia exists, we don’t see it.

The magic system is very unique, I’ve never read anything like it and I really enjoyed the new perspective. This book is a total page-turner too, always left me wanting to know more and figure out what was going on. The characters and their arcs are fantastic and just so compelling—it’s impossible not to love and root for our core four, if you will. Ari is a young woman who’s been systemically forced into powerlessness her entire life who is finally given the opportunity to grasp onto safety and unleash and grow the power within herself she’s been denied. Mikira and her family have been barely scraping by under the thumb of the powerful Kelbra family who take whatever they want, when they want it—even lives. Mikira
will do anything to protect her family and is seeking power in her own right to free her family from the Kelbras’ tyrannical rule altogether. She is impulsive with nothing but the best intentions, and yet it always seems whatever she does is wrong and ends up hurting the ones she loves. I see so much of myself in them both. (Personally I also think Mikira and Damien are adhd coded!)

There’s political intrigue, mystery, Judaism, magic, gay people—what more could a person want! I seriously need the sequel STAT.

“I will never tell you to not be angry. When the world has taken so much from you, sometimes anger is all you have left. But if you do nothing with it, it will consume you.”

I’m always so excited to see more contemporary books that incorporate Jewish folklore! I still have a lot of research to do on my own, but This Dark Descent did a great job of introducing various aspects of this tradition, namely golems, to new readers.

The plot moved at a breakneck pace—much like the series of horse races, the Illinir, around which the story is centered. The side plots of magic and political intrigue filled in the periods between races and heightened the tension of the event itself. Each character dealt with their own families, legacies, and flaws, which allowed each one to develop over the course of the novel.

As main characters, Mikira and Arielle’s alternating chapters complemented each other nicely. Mikira is easy to root for due to her strong sense of loyalty and righteousness. Ari was a more tortured soul, though her uncertainty and rough demeanor satisfyingly gives way as she receives encouragement and comfort. Mikira’s switch in character at the end startled me, though I look forward to her and others confronting the “new her” in the sequel.

This is the perfect time to start The Dark Descent since it’s Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New year! Shana tovah and happy reading!

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press/Netgalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the author's previous series, THE STORM CROW, so I was looking forward to picking this up. I enjoyed it quite a bit, maybe even more than her previous books. It's clear that her skill has only grown. However, while I mention her skill growth, I'm not sure it's ENOUGH to keep up with the completion currently in YA fantasy. My biggest issues with this book were similar in fashion to THE STORM CROW: it's undeveloped. This book needed more time, more development, and more words to really delve deeply into the rich world I believe the author intended. I'll likely read more, but ultimately, I think this book suffers from the YA high fantasy curse: a too-short book where it requires something meatier to really flourish.

Amazing! The built up of this world, it’s belief, and magic system integrated into a race with high stakes was a thrilling embarkment.

Deals were made. Four people brought together to win the Illinir race. A girl who dreams to race and save her family. Another girl with a magic gift to form golems and a mystery to untold magic. A boy with ambition and secrets. And another a Jack of all trades. The dynamic between these characters were amusing to read and the progression to the end kept me at the edge!

The ending to book one was satisfying. Fear and omitting information lead to a change in the group’s dynamic. What will happen next?

I enjoyed the prose of this story very much. Great flow and structure and revealing hints of the magic history little by little kept me intrigued and guessing.

Each character was very flushed out well. Unique and with their own struggles and worries. The actions and path they chose were a tad predictable but based on their attribute makes sense. Mikira was the reckless one. Trusting. Law abiding. And such anger with the unjust of the system. Arielle, is the magic user. Struggled to hide her hidden gift as an unregistered enchanted as well as her cultural difference. Afraid at first but growing into her power as she gains self confidence. Then Damien - ambitious with lots of connections and goals - very political mindset with visions of change to the system. Reid, Damien’s best friend, Jack of all trade - Mr Grumpy with a hidden soft heart.

I can’t wait to see where this series takes everyone and their journey

Much recommended!

Thank you MCG for this earc from Netgalley for an honest review!