The Darkening
A dark fantasy where storms, revolution, and paranormal forces collide to reshape a world on the brink of chaos. Characters caught in the upheaval must deal with both external conflict and personal demons. The story blends political intrigue with paranormal elements.
Everything You Need to Know About The Darkening
Vesper Vale is the daughter of failed revolutionaries in a city surrounded by the Storm, a curse-filled darkness that corrupts anyone it touches. Her mother chose the Storm over the executioner's axe. When her father is arrested by the Wardana, the city's protectors, for illegal ikonomancy, Vesper disguises herself and joins the Wardana as an apprentice to find him. That puts her inside the inner circle of Prince Dalca, heir to the throne and the public face of the fight against the Storm, armed with nothing but her father's ikonomancy texts and a grudge she has to hide.
Execution of a parent (backstory), arrest and loss of family, monster attacks, a curse with body horror elements, violence, grief.
YA fantasy readers who want an original magic system, ikonomancy works through drawn symbols rather than innate gifts, and a city-under-siege setting with real claustrophobia. The romance with Dalca is a slow build tangled up in class resentment, closer to forbidden love than instalove. Not the book for readers who want adult-level spice or a self-contained story.
Book one of the Darkening duology. The story continues and concludes in book two, so expect open threads at the end of this one.
Reader Reviews
No reader reviews yet. Be the first!