[Kaye’s Review:] There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

There Will Come A Darkness
by Katy Rose Pool
Pages: 484
Release Date: September 3rd 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, YA, Romance
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC
Goodreads

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. Less

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.

The Six Prophetic cities are flourishing in all ways of overindulgence and evil. Everyone is aware that since The Prophets have disappeared, the world has gone from good to bad to worse with no instruction or guidance on how to rise above. There are murders in the holy city by the Pale Hand, preaching of reckonings and deliverance by The Deceiver and cities falling to the Witnesses. Are these events natural for a falling, failing world? Or do they play into a bigger picture Fate has laid out before darkness falls on this world?

There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool is a stunning read that dives into the lives of 5 unrelated characters that get thrown together to potentially end the Age of Darkness or to bring about it and the end of the world. Much like that of the worlds of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J. Mass, the characters are constantly on the precipice of falling even deeper into chaos while trying to hold onto anything and everything they hold dear- which is not much. The twist and turns that Pool takes you through gives you just enough cookie crumbs to feel like you have the story figured out until she dumps you back on your head and you gasp for air as everything you thought you knew is changed.

I am a huge fan of the magic that is the Six of Crows duology and I cannot help but draw parallels to this series and Pools magical mystery she has presented. Pool has developed her own “Grisha” for the story with her “Graced” beings. They have different graces like the Grace of Sight, Grace of Blood and so forth that greatly remind me of the different classes of Grisha. The main story line follows the persecution the Graced are facing. Pool uses a multi perspective way of story telling like many multi character stories do. Each character brings their own essence, personality and reasons to live and die while also interacting in dynamic ways with each other. So much hangs in the balance that the only way through is to push forward whether the decisions are for good or for evil— the characters pick what is best for them.

I think that is what I like most about these sort of stories. There is no evil and no good. You have main characters flipping and flopping the line of decency as they do everything in their power to serve what they believe is right. There are so many points of view- all being the CORRECT way according to that moment and that persons ideology. Pool does a great commentary on the current state of our world in writing this way, whether she meant to or not. She gives the reader the conclusion that there are not always good and bad decisions— no wrong or right. There is only your decision in the moment and that which you can come to terms with. Whether you agree with this or not, it makes for a very great way to get characters from point a to b with no expectations.

A grand sum up of There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool—

Random things I did like:
1. A lot of male leads that the YA category is desperately needing.
2. The art with which she presents her characters turmoil in the decisions they have to make and the reasoning she gives for them in time.
3. The mystery she uses to unfold the story. She holds back so much just until you need it for the pieces to fall in place.
Random things I didn’t like:
1. The lead characters were so strong AND weak making their decisions. It was hard to find a hero in the story to root for. No one person stood out as a rallying point and all became a muddled mess that is true to humanity. (This is both a good and a bad thing because it is realistic to reality but hard to grasp and depressing in a unrealistic world of a book you want to get lost in).
2. I believe there is a small plot hole with one of the main characters, Jude. He is not present when the Godfire is revealed so there is no way for him to know what it is when he is later confronted with it. I may be wrong here.

In all, a great mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat. Lots of characters to relate to, and even a little love interest here and there. Very special seeing that in 2019 so many authors are embracing diversity and putting forth content that will relate to soo many groups of people in respectable ways. Well done, Katy!

She had believed in him then, even before she knew him. Believed in him enough to risk everything and come to Pallas Athos to find him. It was fate. He hadn’t realized it then, but he knew it now.

Katy Rose Pool, There Will Come A Darkness