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The Darkening

By: Sunya Mara
Narrated by: Rachel Petladwala
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Publisher's summary

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.

©2022 Sunya Mara (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers
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Dear Listener,

What made me fall in love with Vesper and her mission?
"Vesper has three missions—the one that’s been handed down to her by her revolutionary parents, the one she chooses for herself, and the one that belongs to everyone in her world, which is dealing with the cursed storm that surrounds the city. Sometimes, Vesper finds that serving one mission means sacrificing another, which I find to be something many of us must go through.
Vesper has no great powers, no special magical abilities, and she sees herself as being neither as clever as her genius father, nor as brave as her revolutionary leader mother. But when trouble comes—when Prince Dalca comes to her door looking for her father and his secrets—Vesper does what she can. She makes mistakes and gets herself in worse trouble—but I love her persistence and her compassion. Because of her compassion, she finds her bravery and finds her own way of moving through the world.
So, dear listener and reader, may you enjoy going on a journey with Vesper, and navigating her strange and magical world through her eyes." – Sunya Mara, writer of The Darkening

What listeners say about The Darkening

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Meh

No content. I was very disappointed. I saw a lot of people recommending it, but then was shocked. I kept hoping till the last page that something will surprise me!

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Ok like where is BOOK 2!!!!!

So I found this gem through book tok and was pulled in right away with the adventure and thrill. Sunya Mara writing and world building was sooo profound I didn’t want to leave it. Typically i don’t cry when reading books but this book made me shed a few tears onto the pages. Please pick up this gem! You’ll thank me later

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T

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Gripping

I loved the unique way magic is presented, and the world building is creative. The characters have depth and are complex.

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Author loves her adjectives

This book lacks substance. The author clearly loves her adjectives and goes way over board describing things but the story suffers. Your never really sure what is happening and what the characters are really like. Also, the narrator never uses another voice for all the characters so you often wonder who is talking when multiple people are talking. Didn’t finish.

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