Title: There Will Come A Darkness (Age of Darkness #1)

Author: Katy Rose Pool

Pub. Date: September 3, 2019

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it… or unleash it?

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? 

This will be a spoiler free review!

I think it was back in January when this book first appeared on my timeline and I was immediately hooked. It had no cover, just a graphic with the title, Katy’s name and the release date. Even the synopsis was different, but I knew I wanted to read it.

Then when early manuscripts and ARCs started circulating, I started drooling, and the FOMO was real. I just wanted a chance to read it. It sounded so amazing, and so like something I would absolutely enjoy. I was finally able to get my hands on it at ALA in June and finished it about a week ago.

I will say that my expectations might have been just a tad too high, but this book definitely did not disappoint. For me it was a little slow to get into after the initial first chapters, but quickly picks up when storylines start to converge. From there I didn’t want to put the book down. I stayed up until some ungodly hour to finish reading it and now I need book 2.

I might’ve been going through a slight reading slump going into TWCAD and that could explain why I struggled through the first bit, but regardless, this book has one of the best opening lines ever, and it instantly catches you, drawing you in.

As for the five characters – Ephyra, Beru, Anton, Jude, and Hassan – who will either save the world or destroy it; I was a fan of some more than others. I did like however that none of them where wholly good or bad, but kind of morally grey. That even their best intentions could go horribly awry, not panning out how they’d intended. I will say that I think my least favorite character of the main five is Ephyra. I understand why she does what she does, and acts the way she does, but I found her kind of annoying. I also found her a bit selfish. Again, I can see where she’s coming from, and she’s got semi-good intentions, but she’s only ever concerned about her feelings when it comes to her sister. I’d go into more detail, but that would border spoilers territory. You’ll have to read the book to see what I’m talking about.

Though, that’s not to say that the other characters are any less selfish, Beru just wants her sister to stop doing what she’s doing, Anton just wants to forget his past and survive, Jude wants to go by what his heart wants, though duty says otherwise, and Hassan wants to desperately be the hero his people think him to be. All different forms of selfishness, but for whatever reason Ephyra’s just rubbed me the wrong way.

One other thing that annoyed me was that there was no map. I’ve since learned that the finished copies will have maps, apparently very pretty maps, so I’ll be able to spatially visualize the world better. While I was reading, I kept struggling to see the world. Katy’s writing paints a very, very pretty picture, and I was able to see the characters, the cities, the different places very easily, but I struggled to see the world as a whole. I don’t tend to reference book maps while reading, but I do like to have them to look at before I dive in. I’m definitely a visual person, and they help build the world in my mind.

Katy has a brilliant way with words and through them, this world came to life. The writing was a bit dense at times, but I think it served a purpose. She’s laying down the groundwork for this world and establishing it in readers minds. I kept saying that if this book were ever made into a movie or a show, it would be very easy to create the locations due to the details Katy included.

The ending. I sat in my bed, gaping, jaw slacked because oh my god. There were a couple of things that surprised me towards the end of this book, but who the Prophet was, surprisingly wasn’t one of them. I had kind of pieced together the clues, but that didn’t mean that it still didn’t surprise me – it was just lessened because my hunch proved to be correct, but again, Katy has this way of telling the story that’s just beautiful. You see these characters grow in this book and come to reconcile their beliefs and thoughts and in light of who the new Prophet is, how that affects them. You see the characters come to terms with who they are, face fears from their pasts, and just simply acknowledge their histories. So many of them have altered their memories to hide from painful truths, but by the end of this book, they’ve all come to light and have no choice but to face them head on.

I’m definitely excited for book 2 and to see what Katy has in store for us and these characters. The end has me reeling, still, and the wait might kill me. I’m so grateful I was able to read one of my most anticipated reads before release and I hope you pick up There Will Come A Darkness when it come out in September!