Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 11th, 2022
Pages: 352
Publisher: Del Rey Books (Random House)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
IMPORTANT: This is the sequel to Child of Light. If you have not read the first book, you may not want to read further in this post so as not to spoil anything!
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“It’s been two years since Auris escaped from the sinister Goblin prison and learned of her heritage as one of the Fae. She is now happily partnered with her Fae lover Harrow and deeply bonded with her new family. All seems to be going perfectly–until, somehow, the Goblin attacks begin again. Someone, it seems, has not forgotten that Auris exists and seems determined to retrieve her…but who? And why?
As Auris begins to dig deeper in the mystery, old friends and new enemies appear, and Auris begins to realize that her still-shrouded past must contain the answers she needs. But even she does not suspect how far down the rabbit hole she is about to go until Harrow is taken and an impossible ransom demand is issued. Then, with two new companions at her side, Auris must attempt to unlock the remaining secrets of her past. For if she cannot, she will never see Harrow alive again.”
My Review:
When I saw this book available as an ARC, I immediately requested it. I loved the first book, Child of Light, and I just knew I had to read this one too.
I will admit, I was a tad nervous going into this one because the first one felt like it could’ve been perfectly fine as a standalone.
I wasn’t sure what direction this sequel would take, nor if it would live up to the first book or fall into the dreaded sequel slump that tends to happen a lot in the fantasy genre. But, as it turns out, my nerves were for not because this one is just as good.
I appreciated the intermittent recapping of the previous events and important information, as it had been a while since reading the first book.
I like when authors do this since we typically have to wait a year before continuing with the story and will have forgotten many of the details by then. But in the case of this book, I was able to pick it up and read through it with no issues or feeling like my gaps in memory left me lost.
There is a new addition to this magical story world (which I will not spoil), but just know that it is amazing! It’s definitely my favorite mythical concept and something I think that all fantasy readers love.
I had no idea this element was coming and I enjoyed it immensely. I have no doubt you will too. (And if you have read this book, you’ll no doubt know exactly what I’m referring to.)
In Daughter of Darkness, we are again taken on an epic journey with our favorite heroine, Auris. We get to learn more about her past and solve some of the mysteries still left over from the previous book. I really liked seeing her come into her own power.
The tale has all the expected plot elements from this series: surprising twists, sorrowful tragedies, and action-packed battles. And it all leads to yet another thrilling conclusion.
As always, the charming relationship between Auris and Harrow is envy-inducing; I just love them together. And just wait for the exciting reveal at the end!
We are introduced to a few new characters that you will surely adore as much as I did. And we get to see the return of some familiar characters with new and interesting backgrounds that we did not previously know.
I did, at times, find the story to be a little too repetitive – the inner monologues and some of the plot sequences – which is why it is not quite a five-star read for me.
But, regardless, I still really enjoyed this story and I know that fans of this prolific author and this series are going to love this book.
I’m not sure if this series is going to continue, this book certainly wrapped everything up quite nicely with a satisfying ending that left no loose ends or cliff-hangers, which I liked.
There is no news as of the time I am writing this as to whether this was the completion of a duology or not. We’ll just have to wait and see.
If we are blessed with more of this series, you can be sure that I will be reading it!
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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