This book had a lot of potential. I feel the writing was not as strong as it could have been. From the first chapters the characters felt flat. Things that did not have to be explained were over explained. An example: Evie did not react in a precarious situation where her team was clearly able to handle it. There doesn’t need to be an explanation that she trusts her team because her actions show she does. There are many times throughout the writing that this occurs. I think this author has so much potential and a lot of great stories to tell.

The Wild Dark is the sequel to Katherine Harbour’s popular The Dark Fable. And reading the first book is absolutely necessary before heading into the second. In fact, I suggest rereading The Dark Fable first because a lot of little details and nuances will be missed if you don’t.

Like its predecessor, The Wild Dark is dark in tone. There are moments of sarcasm and fleeting bits of joy, but if you don’t like a brooding read, it’s not for you. You can also expect some high-stakes moments as well as some heartbreak.

Harbour seems to hit her groove in The Wild Dark. Her writing is more assured and plotting/timing overall feels tighter. The heists are again the best parts. They’ve been intricately planned out, and you can really feel the drama.

The Wild Dark is a modern-day fantasy heist that’s better than its predecessor.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Wild Dark by Katherine Harbour is a third person multi-POV YA contemporary fantasy sequel to The Dark Fable. After losing Jason to Cirian, Evie and her crew need to plan their next series of heists. Traveling around the world to acquire Pandora’s Jar, they run into Jason and the Basilisk who will not rest until it destroys their group once and for all.

I requested this book without realizing that it is a sequel and I do feel that I needed the first book to fully understand everything that is going on. Some series you can just read the sequel and pick things up, but Katherine Harbour obviously did a lot of the heavy-lifting in The Dark Fable and went full steam ahead in The Wild Dark. There’s nothing wrong with that and some readers definitely do prefer that style. All it really means for the sake of my review is that I can’t say if the relationships felt like they had a big payoff and I will heavily encourage any reader looking at this book to read The Dark Fable first.

Of the three main POVs, I did prefer Evie’s, who we spend the most time with. Evie is trying to hold everything together but she’s willing to admit when she has a false impression or when she’s struggling, even if it’s only to herself. I can tell that she has a lot of respect for her crew but has a lot of frustration with the loss of Jason and his insistence that he was abandoned in the first book. There’s also a bit of a sense of wonder which vaguely reminded me of Inkheart, which is probably my favorite Middle Grade fantasy of all time. I will be keeping an eye on Katherine Harbour’s work in the future because I have been so hungry for a book that reminds me of Inkheart.

What I really liked was the mixing of fairy tales and Greek mythology. One doesn’t overpower the other and it feels subtle enough where nothing feels shoehorned in. There’s a unicorn and portals and Pandora’s Jar which are all such big parts of the Western fantasy canon and it’s fun to see them played with in new ways. It’s really hard to mix sources together because they have such a strong coding to their native cultures, so the leads traveling around the world definitely helped to sell it.

I would recommend this to fans of The Dark Fable and readers looking for a fantasy heist that takes place in our world in the modern day

I really loved reading this book and I can not wait for more by this author!! I flew through this book because it was that good. The author did an amazing job keeping the plot interesting without it getting boring or slow. I will be recommending this book to all of the family and friends.

Second in the series and just as good as the first. There is still a lot going on but it is so worth diving into this adventure. I loved the story telling and the characters. Absolutely a fun and enjoyable read.

The second in The Dark Fable YA Romantasy series. This has good bones but the writing can feel repetitive at times. I love a good heist novel and bringing together found family. I just long for a more streamlined presentation. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows.

This book felt anticlimactic given all the buildup but was still an enjoyable read. Thanks to Bloomsbury for the ARC!