Review: There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you are a habitual fantasy reader, there is a lot in this book you've read before. Magic ("Graces") which can only be wielded by certain people and in certain ways; prophecies that people are trying to make come true or prevent from happening; "the chosen one," who is supposed to save the world; mystical warriors who are out to help the chosen one; and a couple of unsuspecting kids trying to survive who inadvertently bring about the end of the world.

It also was not unpredictable, in that I knew that the person who was supposed to be "chosen" wasn't actually the person people thought. And I also figured out that there would be a betrayal (and was not surprised in the least by who it was). There were a few surprises which I did appreciate (what Beru actually was, Mrs. Tappan's interest in the girls).

The story-telling was good, not great. I felt like there was way too much teenage angst going on in these characters (a lot of whom are actual teenagers, but who read as older people acting like teenagers). At times we veered into purple prose territory. The whole thing with Hassan and Khepri threw me because he's only 16, and I'm pretty sure she's older - early 20s? Anton is also only 16, but when his age was revealed late in the book I was a bit startled because he read like someone in his early 20s as well. I did not connect with any of the characters - I couldn't picture any of them, their ages were confusing, and they didn't jump off the page as "real."

Overall an interesting enough story to keep me reading, but I was not interested enough to pick up the next book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the e-copy to review.

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