[Lisa’s Review]: There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

There Will Come a Darkness
by Katy Rose Pool
Series: The Age of Darkness #1
Pages: 496
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Release Date: September 3rd 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, YA
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC, eBook
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The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it... or unleash it?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and An Ember in the Ashes.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There Will Come a Darkness is a solid fantasy debut that follows multiple characters through a well-established world of magic, prophecies, deceit, and political intrigue.

Katy Rose Pool did an excellent job with the world-building. I was intrigued from the moment the book showed up on our available review copies list, and my curiosity grew with each chapter. I liked that, while all the elements we look for in a fantasy novel were there, the characters’ abilities, called the graces, weren’t the only focus. Love, honor, duty, and sacrifice were all part of the mix.

Now, the story: while I rather enjoy reading in multiple points of view, in the beginning, I was worried that there might be too many in this one. When we have this many stories in one, I usually pick a favorite or two, and I lose interest in the others pretty quickly. I was pleasantly surprised that, while I had my favorites, that wasn’t the case.

We enter the story knowing that the Age of Darkness is approaching. The original seven prophets had disappeared decades ago, leaving nothing but an incomplete prophecy behind. While the prophecy eventually reveals the different players of the game, you can’t assign each role a specific character. I loved slowly solving the puzzle and filling in the blanks.

However, the ever-changing points of view extremely limited the time I spent with each character, and therefore massively impacted my ability to connect with them. Naturally, I was a bit disappointed. I’d say I connected with Jude the best, but with some of the others, there was just nothing there.

The overall plot was decent and set up rather traditionally: good vs. evil. While there were some elements that I did not see coming completely, there was also nothing that blew me away in terms of plot twists. It was a nice light fantasy read, and I will definitely have a look at the sequel once it’s out. Long story short, if fantasy is your thing I’d definitely check it out.