While the premise of this book is quite unique and interesting, the story's execution could be better. Most of the characters don't feel fully developed and it is often hard to differentiate them from one another, particularly the other interns.

The story is fairly unpredictable. There are definitely some shocking twists along the way. However, the final big reveal is somewhat predictable especially to avid readers or movie watchers who see this kind of twist quite often. Thus, even though the book had some good points, it was mostly a disappointment.

It has been awhile since I've read a book by Marisha Pessl, but I loved [book:Night Film|18770398], [book:Special Topics in Calamity Physics|3483] and [book:Neverworld Wake|36545927] so I was excited to delve into this one.

Description:
What would you kill for?

When an ad for an internship with the Louisiana Veda Foundation poses this question, seemingly every high school student in the country rushes to apply. Arcadia “Dia” Gannon has been obsessed with Louisiana Veda, the late game designer whose obsessive creations have attained a cultlike status, ever since she and her mom played Disappearing Act—but Dia has never won anything in her life. So she’s shocked when she’s chosen as an intern, along with six other teenagers from around the world.

Little is known about Louisiana Veda. Her game-making empire, Darkly, was renowned for its ingenious, terrifying toys and games, rife with hidden symbols and secrets. But after Veda’s mysterious death, Darkly went bankrupt, and production was discontinued. The remaining games are priced like highly sought-after works of art, with the rarest and most notorious items commanding tens of millions of dollars at auction.

Now the interns are thrust into the enigmatic heart of Louisiana Veda’s operation, and Dia immediately questions everything: Who are these other kids? Why do they all seem to have something to hide? And why was she really chosen? It soon becomes clear that this summer will be the most twisted Darkly game of all.

My thoughts:
My goodness Marisha Pessl has such a creative mind. This book showcases a dark game creator who is a legend, Louisiana Veda. She was very secretive and not a lot was known about her. When Arcadia "Dia" Gannon arrives on the private island with the other interns and they start delving into the Valkyries game, clues are found and little by little some secrets are uncovered. This was so much fun following the interns in their quest. There are some harrowing situations and it get scary at times, but Dia is determined and she has remarkable intuition in ferreting out information. Great inventive plot and some wonderful characters. Anyone who enjoys games and mysteries will love this book.

Thanks to Random House Children's | Delacorte Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl was an interesting and mysterious story that kept me hooked from the beginning till the very end.
A well written read that had great character development and the story was extremely well written.

I was so excited for a new book from Marisha Pessl! I loved Special Topics in Calamity Physics back when I read it what feels like ages ago, and I subsequently loved Night Film and its unique storytelling format. Darkly is just as layered and intricate as Pessl's previous work and I really loved diving back into her storytelling.

In Darkly, we are immersed in the world of Darkly Games, a mysterious brand created by the enigmatic Louisiana Veda. Seven teenagers from around the globe are selected for an exclusive internship—an opportunity that delivers far more than any of them anticipated. I was completely hooked by this twisty, unpredictable story.

The protagonist, Dia Gannon, is a devoted fan of Louisiana’s games and knows far more than the average player, making this internship a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she can’t pass up. Raised in her family’s antique shop by her eccentric mother, Dia’s life has always been a bit unconventional. Her obsession with Louisiana’s games and disappearance drives her, and as the story unfolds, she comes face-to-face with answers to questions the world has long asked about Louisiana—answers she may not be ready for.

There are six other interns we get to know, and I enjoyed getting to know each character and where they fit into this particular Darkly puzzle. Admittedly, however, I did sometimes have difficulties remembering who was who among some of the other characters, as I felt their individual personalities were not developed past some more general characteristics. I felt like the author put a focus on a few characters, such as Poe, but then others just seemed there as plot devices and lacked anything overly memorable about them.

Darkly's dark and mysterious atmosphere made it hard to put down and easy to become immersed in. I loved never knowing where the story would go next, and the sheer number of secrets waiting to be unearthed was thrilling. The games themselves were utterly fascinating, leaving me wishing they existed in the real world—though I’m certain I’d be terrible at them, haha. Pessl’s hallmark complexity shines in how the games are seamlessly woven into the narrative, which blurred the line between game and reality in a way that was both unsettling and exciting at the same time.

The ending also offered a satisfying conclusion to the many mysteries presented throughout the story. There were moments when the ending seemed the slightest bit rushed, as if Pessl wanted to wrap up as many threads as possible in a limited amount of time. However, I also feel like once certain things are discovered and everything comes to light things do tend to happen quickly anyway, so it didn't feel too abrupt.

Overall, I highly recommend Darkly to anyone who enjoys a good twisty story that has layers and layers of secrets to unearth. If you've enjoyed Marisha Pessl's books in the past, I think you'll also be pleased with this one.

Thank you Netgalley & Delacorte Press for an eARC♥️♥️♥️


I have to say, I was beyond excited to dive into "Darkly". After reading "Night Film" by Marisha Pessl (which is honestly one of my all-time favorite books), I was literally over the moon when I heard about her new release. And let me tell you, "Darkly" did NOT disappoint!
The story follows Arcadia "Dia" Gannon, a 17-year-old intern who wins a chance to work with the legendary game creator Louisiana Veda. But things take a dark turn when Dia and her fellow interns start digging into the mystery surrounding a stolen game.
I loved how Marisha Pessl created this eerie and immersive world that drew me in and refused to let go. The characters were all well-developed and complex, with Dia being a particularly relatable and endearing protagonist.
The plot was expertly paced, with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. I devoured this book in just a few sittings, and I'm already itching for a new book by Marisha Pessl 🥰🔥

' My thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press/Random House Children's Books for the ARC of "Darkly" in exchange for an honest review.
Bowled over by the ambitious, detailed world building that went into this complex YA mystery-adventure. By world-building, I mean the world of the byzantine board games created by young art student Louisiana Veda, who became a legendary figure of dazzling creativity and impenetrable dark secrets.
This fascinating woman died mysteriously after building 'Darkly', a game manufacturing empire on her own private, forbidding island. Also included in the circumstances of her death......the disappearance of what was rumored as her penultimate game, 'Valkyrie', supposedly a game that its players might not survive.
Now seven teenagers from around the world have been selected for a summer internship on Louisiana's island. And they've been tasked (with a huge grand prize)_ by the sinister, all powerful law firm that controls the 'Darkly' estate. They're to find out how obsessive gamers are now playing the elusive, stolen 'Valkyrie', including one boy who's disappeared while playing it;
Among these diverse teens who've taken up the challenge is Arcadia 'Dia' Gannon, whose fearless, perceptive sleuthing leads the group into no end of harrowing adventures. As the secrets and revelations of Louisiana's Veda's incredible star-crossed life unfold, there's danger, suspicions, and some heartbreaking surprises swirling around the 'Darkly' empire and all its legends and puzzling backstories.
By no means a fast paced thrill ride., the riddles, mysteries and layers of deception here are mind boggling, but I simply couldn't stop turning the pages. And those games! I doubt I could ever play them, but they sound like they'd make me first in line to see movie adaptations.
And there's nothing I love more than a mystery whose twists finally come at you like an avalanche, right up to the final pages. Add to that the incisive meditations on the tortuous life of a misunderstood artist and you've got yourself a 5 star read.

Seventeen year old Arcadia “Dia” is chosen along with six other teens to be an intern at the company which produced a series of fantastical board games. The internship is quickly revealed to be a competition to solve a mystery surrounding the final game created by Darkly founder Louisiana Veda. Numerous rules make winning hard as does working with the other competitors especially sexy and mysterious Poe.

The world of Darkly is stunningly built from the eerie settings to the wickedly cool cast of characters. Dia herself is a master class in character building from her old timey interests, geriatric best friends, and antique superstore workplace, which includes a clowder of black cats who share a name. Love interests Poe and Choke ratchet up the tension as Dia tries to puzzle out who she can trust. Even the secondary characters like lawyer Nile Raiden who oversees the interns and Dia’s wacky love obsessed mom are fully formed and fascinating.

The book includes a number of letters, photos, maps and more, which helps the reader step into Dia’s shoes as she weighs each clue. Pessl deftly manages the large cast of characters and complex world and each new twist and turn makes the book hard to put down. At the end, I found myself satisfied and ready to read another of Pessl’s masterpieces.

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

Thanks to Random House Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“What Would You Kill For?” A premise that sounds like the games and the violence of “These Vicious Games”; This young adult tale almost hits that dark point but misses.

Dia applies for the internship that”ll change her life forever- an internship at Darklys; a clever multi board game industry with a mysterious creator dead. What could go wrong? Actually, this is starting to feel like a teenage Wonka ticket. Welcome to Darkly. Wander where the witch lies.

There were some clever moments, particularly that when they were playing the game. But I felt missed opportunities for more moments like those. And too many teen characters without much discerning factors to keep them separate ; a couple of them I could have done without. I needed more of the game moments in the story, I needed more of the fantasy that was Louisiana and Darkly. Overall, the relationships felt forced and underdeveloped. And I didn’t fall for the love stories.

This was an easy read to get through; fast paced and a plot line easy to follow and a mostly satisfying ending. If you enjoy young adult thriller that are more plot heavy, this should be a good one for you.

I was hooked from the first line. This was an eerie, strange and mysterious story. I loved the game aspect and how I didn’t know who to trust! I was so fully immersed in this story as it was incredibly atmospheric!

Take Agatha Christie’s And There Were None. Put it in a bowl with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the movie with Gene Wilder). Add in a splash of both escape room and LARP-ing. It’s only then that you might get some kind of idea of what Darkly is, and even then you’re still pretty far away from understanding what you’re getting into.

Believe me, that’s a good thing, because you don’t want to know everything about this book before going into it, because a huge part of Darkly’s attraction is you don’t know exactly what the heck is going on until the turn; and even then, you aren’t going to know the whole story until almost the last page.

Darkly is a plot-forward YA thriller told in first-person POV, with the text heavily interspersed with epistolary and expositional (such as maps) material from the past. I do have to note for readers that reading this as an ebook was very difficult because of the small text used for the letters, blueprints, etc. I really think this book is probably best read in physical form.

Darkly has a compelling and engaging start that hooks you and fast pacing that never lets up. The story completely engulfed me and I couldn’t put it down. It was a pretty quick read because I just felt like I needed to keep reading. The stakes were so high, the plot was so interesting, and it was just so much fun. I highly recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this title by the publisher and author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action Adventure/YA Fiction/YA Mystery/YA Thriller

Rarely do I start and finish a book in a single sitting. This is a full 5* from me and I will be buying the physical copy when I can get my hands on it.

However, from the beginning, I was hooked on the story, the characters, and gaming aspect, and the dark atmosphere. There are echoes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or even The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer and if those are books you love (like I do), then this will be a phenomenal choice for your next read.

Dia is not the typical "chosen one", which I enjoy. Though there still seems to be a bit of a love triangle of hot guys vying for her attention, she is more focused on solving the game and questioning motives and who she can trust to fully let her heart make her too dumb.

I love the idea of a dark obsessive board game maker having such a cult like following and I know if I were part of this world, I would be wrapped up in this mystery as well. The board games sound comprehensive and like psychological thrillers and I think that was an aspect which drew me into the story. There are twists and turns within the book and there are just enough characters to question without it being too many and overwhelming.

I hope to see more from this author. She has a phenomenal style and I was absolutely hooked.

#Darkly is a wonderful book filled with secrets, lies, and twists. It's also about finding your place in the world and taking your future into your own hands. 5 stars.

This is an intriguing book that will definitely interest the gamer set of teens, as well as those that love mysteries. The characters are well-developed and the story is loaded with twists and turns.

I don’t often find myself re-reading an author’s previous books all at once, but Marisha Pessl wrote such an intriguing book with her newest release, Darkly, that I had the urge to check my local library’s Libby collection and place holds on her previous titles that I’d read several years ago. None of Pessl’s other books are near as good, in my opinion.

So, what made Darkly so good? Lots of little things. I was fascinated by the imagery and mood that Marisha Pessl creates. There are ornate old buildings with secret hatches and hollow walls for creeping, soaking wet boat rides captained by a possible madwoman, and strange encounters within the game that could be someone out to get the group–keeping readers on the edge of their seat from the beginning.

Though we will eventually be introduced to a full cast of quirky characters, we first meet Dia, the protagonist, as she helps out at the floundering antique shop her mother and two elderly business partners own. Chaos might not be a strong enough word for what happens at the shop day in and day out, and Dia knows she may be the only thing keeping the business afloat. Yet with her mother making risky business decisions without asking Dia her opinion, she only has so much control over whether the shop stays open.

Dia has long been an avid fan of Louisiana Veda, the creator of the Darkly games, interactive and mysterious games of risk and chance that may or may not have clues to win hidden throughout. After Louisiana Veda’s death occurred, her games got even more popular and collectible. When an unbelievable opportunity arises for Dia to work for Louisiana’s estate alongside a small group of select individuals doing some sort of administrative work, it seems like it would be wrong for Dia not to apply. But she is not expecting to be selected, let alone to become entangled in a new game that she can only assume Louisiana must have been working on until the day she died.

As Dia continues trying to solve the different levels of the game with her small, loyal group of peers, they slowly uncover information that no one seems to know about Louisiana and her childhood. It soon becomes clear that some very sad situations, overshadowed Louisiana as a young girl the results of which helped shape her career and especially this latest game. It takes a bit of time to sort out what this newest game is all about, but once Dia and her friends are on the right track, clues start falling into place. There are a lot of moving parts in this story, and it is a little bit difficult to keep track of everything that is going on at any given moment. Often, multiple chaotic scenes are occurring simultaneously. Though many important scenes happen in the beginning, it wasn’t until the end of the book that the puzzle started to come into focus for me. So, of course, once I finished reading this story for the first time I went back and re-read Darkly to soak in all of the details.

Sometimes, I think authors put a lot of pressure on themselves when writing specifically for an adult audience. Then, when they decide to dabble in YA, they let loose and the best content comes from the creativity that is tapped into when writing for a completely different age group. Though this isn’t Marisha Pessl’s first foray into YA, I would have to say that Darkly is an indication of her finding and claiming her place in the teen market and I certainly hope to see more books similar in tone in the near future.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy from Random House Children Books

I loved loved loved this book! When I first read the premise, I knew that this book was going to be shrouded in mystery and games. The story itself did not disappoint. I loved how the story was written and how I never knew what to really expect. It was such a joyride. I will definitely be reading more from this author!

This was a really cool book to read. There’s a lot of unique imagery due to the nature of darkly’s and the shape the game boards and puzzles take on. There were layers and layers of mystery and even though I wasn’t really surprised by how it ended the journey there was so much fun that it didn’t bother me. I’m not going to spoil it by explaining my thought process and why I guessed the ended, but still it was a good end.

I loved the touch of multimedia pieces throughout the novel. It made you feel like a part of the mystery a bit to read newspaper articles and secret letters as the story went on. A lot of the characters felt more like characters then real people, but that makes sense for a story like this where each teen was chosen specifically based off their unique skills, attributes, and personalities.

Throughout the novel Louisiana is this larger then life figure whose layers unravel piece by piece as the teens make their way through a darkly game of their own. Darkly was a fun and intriguing ride.

If you love mysteries, puzzles, and board games this book is for you. This mystery that puts a group of teens in a dangerous game to figure out the truth behind a missing boy will entertain you from beginning to the end.

I really loved getting to read this book Marisha is one of my favorite authors and getting to read her newest book early was an absolute treat. The world of this book was richly imagined and works well within other books of it's ilk like Truly Devious and The Inheritance Games

Nobody knows who started the Louisiana Veda Foundation. They don't know what the foundation is actually doing. They only know that it's named after the enigmatic genius behind the Darkly game company and aims to preserve her legacy. When the foundation announces a worldwide contest to find 7 student interns, eager teens apply in droves. Dia Gannon, the reclusive daughter of a hairbrained antique shop owner in Missouri, doesn't know exactly what about her essay got her one of the coveted spots, but she's not turning down her opportunity to explore the life of her idol.

Dia finds herself whisked away to a mysterious location in England alongside six very different strangers, all of whom get swept up into a dangerous game alongside her. Together, they'll have to unravel Louisiana Veda's final mystery or die trying.

Part Willy Wonka and part cult horror, Darkly is a fantastical story that consistently dives into unexpected territory. Marisha Pessl meticulously plays her cards close to the chest and I can honestly say that for most of the novel, I didn't guess what was going on before the reveals came along. That being said, it does make for a pretty hard novel to describe in a review! There are so many eccentric elements in the story. They are logistically wild and I often found myself thinking that there is no way this story could actually happen in real life, but they were also pretty fascinating. It made for great reading!

Dia is a smart, reliable MC, even though the novel tries a little too hard to make her look like an outsider when she seems, by most accounts, like any other awkward teen. The other characters, particularly the other interns, were great additions that added fresh perspectives and suspicions. I particularly liked Poe, a wealthy French student who immediately takes to Dia, and Everleigh, a girl whose motives are muddy from the start. I also loved The Captain, whose dedication to the long-dead Louisiana was equal parts charming and concerning.

Bit by bit, challenge by challenge, the novel pulls itself together to form something that definitely felt unique. Though it certainly had some jaw-dropping qualities, I'm a little torn about the book's final chapter or two. The final scene is a clever callback, but I'm not unsure it satisfies given everything we know by the end of the novel.

In short, the novel is really kooky and fun and infuriating at times, but I'm not going to say much more than that. It's strengths lie in it's mysteries, so you're welcome for all my vagueposting. Now read it!

4.5 stars! It's not a wonder to me that it Marisha Pessl only puts out a book every few years. Her novels are chock full of mystery and suspense and puzzles and the language is so rich! There's also always some photos/letters/clues about what's really going on within the story.
Arcadia Gannon (Dia) is wasting away in her family's antique shop. She gets an opportunity to intern for Darkly, a board game company that puts Milton Bradley to shame. The CEO/creator of Darkly, Louisiana Veda, has been dead some thirty years and a contest is put forth to find the Darkly's stolen game, Valkyrie.
Dia and 6 other kids from around the world ae plunged headfirst into the mystery of Darkly, Louisiana and charged with finding the stolen Darkly game. They also must find a boy who started playing Valkyrie and seemingly disappeared. This novel is not to be missed and it will intrigue you long after it's over. If only there really were board games like the ones described in Darkly.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this e-arc.*

Here's "Darkly" by Marisha Pessl.

["Arcadia “Dia” Gannon has been obsessed with Louisiana Veda, the game designer whose obsessive creations and company, Darkly, have gained a cultlike following. Dia is shocked when she’s chosen for a highly-coveted internship, along with six other teenagers from around the world. Why her? Dia has never won anything in her life.

Darkly, once a game-making empire renowned for its ingenious and utterly terrifying toys and games, now lies dormant after Veda’s mysterious death. The remaining games are priced like rare works of art, with some fetching millions of dollars at auction.

As Dia and her fellow interns delve into the heart of Darkly, they discover hidden symbols, buried clues, and a web of intrigue. Who are these other teens, and what secrets do they keep? Why were any of them really chosen? The answers lie within the twisted labyrinth of Darkly—a chilling and addictive read by Marisha Pessl.

This summer will be the most twisted Darkly game of all."]





TO BE UPDATED SHORTLY





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