Book Review: ‘The Darkening’ is Great….if You’re a 14-Year-Old YA Fantasy Lover
Left is the Fairyloot special edition. Right is the standard hardcover.
Don’t get me wrong, I love YA fantasy, even as an adult. When it’s written well, it’s for all ages. The Darkening by Sunya Mara has a super interesting world, and there’s so much potential for the magic system and characters. But I found the quite a few things missing. This is one of those reads that, if you’re young, you might absolutely love it and not notice all the holes in the details, especially if you’re just discovering fantasy. So perhaps in that sense, it’s a fun introductory to YA fantasy. Even with it’s faults, I still devoured it quickly.
Things to Know:
Book one of an incomplete series
YA Fantasy
Diverse set of characters
Cliffhanger ending
The cover art gets an A+ —it’s gorgeous!
There’s no way around it—if you like your magic systems clear and structured, this is not the book for you. Mara plays fast and loose with her magic system, and as someone who reads a lot of epic fantasy, I found it so frustrating. The written magic system made up of ‘ikons’ was so cool, but we never learned how they actually worked or why. And then there was the magic of the storm and anyone who gets touched by it gets a random ‘curse.’ There’s no rhyme or reason for what happens to a person. Some of them get cat eyes, some have moving letters over their bodies, some limbs turn into partial trees. What?! There’s no explanation (maybe a hint of one at the very end, but not really). Also, there are cloaks that magically let the Wardana (an elite storm fighting unit) fly. It was very cool, but I’m still confused how these work. It’s magic. Don’t question it.
“What many people never understand is that ikonomancy is a language of its own. It’s an expression of your will over that which exists. So, you need to express what exists, and then overlay the change you wish to make. And as with language, simple ideas, simple words can be strung into sentences.”
In some ways this story feels like every other YA fantasy story you’ve ever read. Strong-willed young girl has lost a parent, other parent tried to raise her sheltered, but of course, that doesn’t work for long. Parent gets captured, so reckless daughter (who’s somehow a prodigy at fighting) tries to infiltrate the royal fam and falls for the prince. Betrayals upon betrayals… we’ve all read this story, right?
One of my favorite quotes:
“He’s pathologically rude, twice as cocky as he has any right to be, incurably and unapologetically classist—speaking kindly, he’s a pompous ass of mythic proportions.”
Some of the characters decisions really felt like whiplash at times. Dalco, I’m especially looking at you, Sir. I did like the supporting cast of characters, especially the Prince’s crew. So there is a bit of found family element. And again, I found the premise of the storm super interesting. Plus, the city itself gave me Gondor vibes, as it was made of multiple rings. The last 20% of this book really packed a punch. I don’t want to spoil the end, but it honestly did want to make me read book two. I hope we get more character development in the next installment!
It’s not a favorite, but if you want a super quick read that feels familiar, or you have a young reader in your household, this might be a good pick for them.
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