There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

*Spoiler free*

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared. All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course: A prince exiled from his kingdom. A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand. A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone. And a dying girl on the verge of giving up. One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?

I’m not quite sure when I decided I wanted to read this book. I know I saw a lot of people talking about, the title is really cool, the cover is awesome, and I found out it’s a high fantasy book with a prophecy and an ensemble cast. That pretty much sealed the deal for me haha. Trigger warnings linked here.

I don’t know what I think about this book. I feel like I’m hovering on the edge of saying I didn’t like it, but there was enough there that’s keeping me from fully committing to that. So, I really do not know my overall feelings for this book.

This world is so big and so complicated. I adore expansive fantasy worlds. I’ll jump at any book that sounds like it would have them. So I’m shocked that I did not like this one. There was too much. There were too many names, too many places, and too much going on to get a grip on how this world is laid out. It made my brain feel cluttered trying to sort everything out. It kind of makes the book feel a bit cluttered too. There was so much information presented at all times, that I felt like I never fully got a chance to wrap my head around anything. I felt more grounded as the book went on, but the cluttered feeling never really went away.

So much goes on and so much happens. There are so many moving pieces and so many characters. I was actually able to keep track of them alright though! Despite this, I felt like their stories were kind of a straight shot to the end. I felt like there wasn’t enough interweaving to make this book feel like it came together in the end. Maybe that’s because this is only the first book and that will come later, but I still wanted more characters to connect and interact. I honestly don’t know why some ended up where they did. Just, I guess I was expecting more from how all the characters would come together. It felt like separate stories, with a touch of crossover here and there. They took place in the same world and the overarching plot connected them, but that’s about it.

Despite this, I didn’t outright hate this book. I did enjoy reading it. Honestly, I’m kind of in awe of the authors mind. To create this world and to keep everything straight and to create such a complicated plot is serious talent.

I did enjoy the characters too. My favorite one was the one who didn’t get that many chapters, but she was still super sweet and I’m curious to see where the next book is going to take her. The rest of them were pretty cool too. The plot sort of tore them away from their personal development, and I would have liked to see certain things happen, but I did like them. They were confused and they were determined and they were fierce.

Ensemble casts are always hit or miss for me. This one lands somewhere in the middle. I never got frusterated when switching POVs, and I found all of them interesting and I was invested in their story.

The overarching plot is HUGE. Like, huge huge. I don’t think I’ve read anything like it before. I say that as good thing! I feel like only strands have been introduced and there’s still so much more to be told. And I honestly don’t mind that. What was revleaed is so interesting and I cannot wait to find out more. It should be so interesting to see what happens next.

I know I talked a lot about what I didn’t like, but I promise I didn’t hate this book haha. I just don’t think it worked for me, but I did enjoy reading it, I just didn’t get pushed into the loving it zone. I hope the things I said a least make a little bit of sense haha, because I think I rambled a lot.

There Will Come A Darkness comes out September 3, 2019! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!

Thank you for reading!