The Darkening

Written by Sunya Mara

Narrated by Rachel Petladwala

In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

Even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jul 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9780358669302

Sunya Mara

Sunya Mara grew up in six different cities across five different states and now calls Los Angeles home. She studied film and business at the University of Southern California and went on to write and illustrate at Kobe Bryant’s Granity Studios. When not telling stories, she spends her time haunting old movie theaters and staring at museum walls. Visit her online at sunyamara.com.

Reviews for The Darkening

[Elisa Zepeda · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this as the premise was interesting but it turned out to be slow and boring. World building is lazy and the main character seems robotic.

[Leah Hall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it! Really enjoyed the twists and thought the main character had a great arc. I also thought the world building was very unique and detailed.

[Monica · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was interesting and started out great... It then slowed down so much it was hard to get into and the love story seemed one-dimensional. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish listening to it. ?