As the Shadow Rises is an outstanding sequel to Katy Rose Pool's first novel, There Will Come a Darkness but it does suffer a little from being a bridge book. Bridge aka second novels of a trilogy* tend to read as if they were written in a rushed manner (a little here, but not much) and trying to keep the story going while prepping you for the final book.

As the Shadow Rises stumbles a bit in terms of framing, but there's a lot going on! And the pacing is strong, which keeps you reading to the ending...which definitely sets up the last forthcoming book! I enjoyed this, and can't wait for the next and final book!

(*Why aren't there more YA stand-alone series? I know some of my older teen readers and some of the more die hard adult YA fans seem to be souring on trilogies)

First of all, thank you to Fierce Reads and Net Galley for sending me an eARC of As the Shadow Rises!

I was uncertain going to book 2. I read book 1, There Will Come a Darkness with a group of Bookstagram friends! It has been on my TBR since it's release in September, but most of us, including myself, seriously struggled through it.

I swapped to the audiobook, and that improved the experience, but honestly, not by much. And I still struggled. I was hoping this would improve by book 2, but I almost DNFd it so many times. I really wanted to love it, but the story and the characters just really don't do it for me!

Thank you again for the chance to read it. I'm sure if one loved book 1, they'd love book 2!

Books with too many main characters should come with a recap. For the life of me I could not remember everyone's back story. This series would be best if binged read. If you do not that I think you will find it to be a great ride.

I'm pretty sure that this series is going to be the death of me in the absolute best possible way. The way that this book made the last book in this trilogy one of my most anticipated books of next year already. The way this book made me mentally start counting down for it.

This is not your standard middle book, this is so much better. If you need me, I'll be gushing about this book series and the characters.

Thank you so much for this e arc! This is a sequel I had been looking forward to ever since the first book came out! I absolutely loved it! Possibly even more than the first!

I felt like at times the plot was fairly predictable; I was never left surprised by anything that happened in the story narratively. The characters and writing were enjoyable and the over all pacing of the book was solid. If you enjoyed the first book, you will enjoy this one as well.

This one took me a while to get through, just because of the size of it, but I still really enjoyed it! I loved these characters in the first book, and I loved seeing their story continue in this one. There was action, there were surprises, and lots of moments where I wanted to yell at them for varying reasons, lol! I still highly recommend this series for amazing world building and lore, as well as fantastic characters.

And of course, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy!

Review posted on GoodReads (August 21, 2020)
Review linked.

4.75/5 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review!

AS THE SHADOW RISES was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, and it was well worth the wait! I absolutely loved THERE WILL COME A DARKNESS last year, and this was a great addition to the series. I really loved this book. I fell in love with all of the characters in book one, and it was great to see them grow and change for the worse and the better in this book. I really love how Katy Rose Pool has really morally grey characters, and throughout the book I was left to wonder who would be the heroes and who would be the villains in the end. To me, she has such deep and complex characters that I cannot get enough of!

Also... THE ROMANCE! I am going to keep this review spoiler free so I will only say this... THE ROMANCE IN THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED AND I AM SO IN LOVE.

The only problem I had with this book was the pacing. I did feel like there were a few moments throughout the plot that were a bit slow. However, I did feel that the pacing in this book was a lot better than the first book. I think for me, I was already so invested in the characters and their stories that the pacing didn't really bother me that much in the end.

I really recommend this series to everyone! It is great for fans of AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER!

Thanks for reading!
Caden

This series reminds me why I still read YA fantasy. Lately I seem to be disappointed by most YA books I read, but this series is delightfully fun. We follow five POV characters on four different journeys that will eventually come together.

There may be slight spoilers for the first book in the next paragraphs.

I absolutely love the chapters following Jude and Anton. Their interactions and slow burn romance are everything I want in a YA book. Seeing Jude struggle with his feelings and duty as he and Anton get closer is just perfection.

I also enjoy the chapters following Prince Hassan as he tries to win his kingdom back. I do find him a bit frustrating in his decision making though.

Lastly, we follow the sisters, Ephyra and Beru, on their separate journeys. These were the parts that brought down my rating. I didn’t care much for either of their storylines and found myself rushing through so I could get back to Jude and Anton.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to YA readers, especially those who have been struggling to find the next great YA fantasy. This book would make a great transition from YA to adult.

Iconic.
Definitely going down as a favorite!!!


I don't want to spill the tea too much on this incredible follow up, so I will post a full review at a later date!

Just know that you'll be taken for a ride in this second installment!

As the Shadow Rises is the second book in The Age of Darkness trilogy by Katy Rose Pool, which takes place right where the first book ended off. I read There Will Come a Darkness earlier this year and it was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2020 so I was desperately hoping that the sequel would live up to my expectations and did not suffer from the cursed “middle book syndrome.” Let me tell you that As the Shadow Rises took my expectations and surpassed them! This book is full of so much action, adventure, twists and turns, and diverse characters that I could not help but love it as much as its predecessor. I literally could not put this book down and I did not want it to end!

The Writing & Worldbuilding

I simply adore Katy Rose Pool’s writing style. Her descriptions of place, character, setting, etc. are so amazingly crafted and she truly knows how to hook a reader from the first page. I absolutely love the world of The Age of Darkness trilogy that Pool has created. Each location is so unique, different, and beautifully portrayed on the page that I truly feel like I am there with the characters. Also, her ability to create and generate emotions (from both the characters and the reader) from just a few words and descriptions is superb and I love how she crafts dynamic characters and relationships that come to life on the page.

The Characters

One of my favorite things about this trilogy are the amazing characters! This book sees the return of our five main protagonists, other familiar characters (both expected and unexpected), and some new faces as well.

Jude: Jude has returned to Kerameikos with Anton, the Last Prophet, but with the knowledge that he has broken the Paladin’s oath by going after Hector and abandoning his duties. Not to mention that his sense of duty is complicated by his uncertainty about his role as the Keeper of the Order of the Last Light and his growing feelings for Anton. This book sees a lot of character growth for Jude, especially in terms of him learning to grapple with what he wants versus what is expected of him and questioning everything about his life, including himself. Jude really learns to accept himself by the novel’s end and comes into his own, finally admitting to himself all of the things that he has been suppressing over the years. I loved every moment between him and Anton and their chemistry is amazing! They both really bring out the best in each other.

Anton: Anton, now in Kerameikos with Jude and the rest of the Order, is dealing with the roles and responsibilities that come with being the Last Prophet as well as working to face his vision of the Age of Darkness and how to stop it. I absolutely LOVE Anton with all my heart. I adored him in the first book and this book only made me love him more. Like Jude, Anton goes through a lot of character growth in this book and learns to accept his role as the Last Prophet. He must make a lot of difficult decisions in this book, even if it means facing some of the darkest moments in his life or dealing with emotional pain. I love his humor and overall personality, which works as the perfect contrast to the more serious Jude. We learn a little bit more about his past in this book and why he is the way he is due to his upbringing and his life on the streets, which I really enjoyed. As previously mentioned, I adore his relationship with Jude and their whole dynamic together. They both need each other in more ways than one, which I found really sweet and important in both of their storylines.

Hassan: Hassan has returned to Nazirah, but with no real way to get back his throne and is willing to do anything to keep his people safe and reclaim his city, even if it means making some questionable decisions and working with even questionable allies. To be honest, I was not a huge fan of Hassan in the first book and this feeling continued for me throughout this one. Hassan has less chapters in this book than in the previous one (where his storyline seemed to reign) which made sense, but that only made me want more from him in this one. I was literally screaming at some of the choices he was making, but I could understand why he was making them. I hope to see him play a big role in the final book and I fully expect him to right his wrongs with his friends and his people at his side.

Ephyra: Ephyra, truly without Beru for the first time in her life, is desperate to find the only thing capable of saving her sister, Eleazar’s Chalice, no matter the cost. Like Hassan, I was kind of iffy about Ephyra in the first book, although I do find her a very unique character and unlike any that I have read about before. I did like seeing slightly different parts of Ephyra in this book – the one that had to work with others to accomplish a single goal and the one that was a bit more emotional than in the previous book. She has very questionable morals, which only grow worse without Beru there to guide her and I liked seeing what Ephyra would be like without Beru. We definitely see a darker part of Ephyra in this book, especially in the latter part, but we also see the same Ephyra as before, willing to do anything in her power to protect Beru even if Beru no longer wants her protection.

Beru: Beru, living on the last dregs of her newly “stolen” life, is trying to atone and make things right in any way she can. I really liked Beru in the first book and was so glad when we got to see more of her in the sequel. I just love her kindness and her desire to help others, she is just so pure and innocent. She always has the best intentions at heart and just really wants to atone for her stolen life and leave some good in the world to make up for the bad that she and Ephyra have caused. I liked witnessing her journey (literally and mentally) throughout the book and when she did something unexpected.

Despite loving the old characters that we knew from the first book, I was slightly underwhelmed by the new characters that were introduced. They fell a bit flat for me and were not super developed. I hope that we return to a few of them in the final book, though, because I would like to see more of them.

The Plot Twists

I really loved the twists and turns of this novel and there certainly were a lot of them, both predictable and unexpected. Pool definitely knows how to write plot twists and create wholly unexpected moments. And that ending! Pool has wonderfully set us up for the final installment of the trilogy!

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and found it a perfect second book to the trilogy. This book and the first one are definitely some of my favorite reads of 2020 and this series has to be one of my favorites. This series is so underrated, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to literally everyone. I cannot wait for the final installment! 2021 cannot come soon enough!

Throughout this book, which took me fully 4 times as long to read as any other book this length, I kept thinking: If I were someone who only read 30 or so books a year, boy would I be pissed if this were one of them. What a clusterfuck.

This is the epic continuation of There Will Come a Darkness, and it starts exactly where it left off. First off the writing and pacing of this book is flawless. And the world building was everything you could ask for, I could picture all of the locations so easily. The plot twists were so good, but some of them you can see coming but they do appear at surprising times and ways. I was held captivated throughout the entire story. I was continuously invested in the story with its imagination, excitement, and anticipation that this book kept from beginning to end. The characters that we loved all came back again and there were two characters that I did not expect to see in this one that I was happy to see again. All of the characters were great, but for me there wasn’t enough character growth in Ephyra, she stayed pretty stagnant for me. It was great getting to see more of Beru’s perspective and the moments between Anton and Jude were beautiful. And their growth together and individually was beautifully done. This is an amazing sequel to follow up a stellar book one, for the world building and characters to become more intriguing. This book has me highly anticipating the sequel even more now. I highly recommend that you check out this series because both books leave you on the edge of your seat.

I was such a big fan of the first book, and I truly was a little scared to go into this one because we know the common "middle-book syndrome" that can happen in fantasy series like this. Needless to say, my being scared was for naught because this book was absolutely brilliant. There is not a single dull moment in this one, and I think I can say that it's even better than the first. The cast is incredibly dynamic, and Pool weaves their narratives together so well! If I were to have to point out a flaw, which I honestly believe this sequel is free of, I would say that the fast pacing would sometimes leave out certain details that made the scene feel rushed. But honestly, that kind of thing doesn't bother me and gives a sense of urgency throughout the scene. A big pro of this book, as well, would be the transitions between scenes being so smooth that it was as close to watching a movie as you can get through reading. This is not a series you want to miss out on!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Last year I made it VERY clear that I thought There Will Come A Darkness was one of the best debut novels I had ever read in my life. With a review like that, there was a lot of fear that this book would suffer from second book syndrome. Would the plot fall short? Would the character development halt or get boring? THANK GOODNESS none of that happened. If the third book in the trilogy is written as well as the first two, Katy Rose Pool will be cemented as an all time favorite YA Author for me.

Like most people I’ve spoken to, COVID-19 has me in a little bit of a reading slump. Don’t get me wrong, I’m reading! However, I’m reading much slower than I normally do, taking 3 days to finish books that would normally take me 1. As the Shadow Rises was such a ride that I could not put it down for the life of me. I had plans to be productive today and clean, get groceries…I did not leave my apartment. Instead, I spent the day immersed in the incredible story Katy Rose Pool has created for me.

As my two favorite characters were Jude and Anton in the first book, I was happy to see them take a front seat in the sequel. Their development and growth as characters was such a joy to watch and I can’t wait to see where the plot takes them.

Hassan was kind of a miss for me in this book purely because he had less of a role in the overall forward movement of the plot. I feel that he will have more of a part to play in book three and am interested to see how he grows as a character. While he has definitely matured, I feel as though a lot can happen with him moving forward and I look forward to seeing it.

While Ephyra remains a character I am not particularly a huge fan of, I continue to love her chapters. She’s a compelling voice in the story and her love of Beru is admirable. Speaking of, I ADORE Beru and she actually became one of my favorites in this sequel. I found myself nervous and worrying for her throughout the book.

Overall, this was absolutely the sequel I was hoping for. It was full of action, emotion, and twists that kept me on my toes from beginning end. I can’t wait to see how Katy Rose Pool wraps up a series that is quickly becoming a top favorite.

This book was so much better than the first, which I felt got off to a rough, slow start. Not so here. The story moves along at a nice pace, and I found myself engrossed, rapturously flipping those pages right from the beginning. I’m a sucker for an ensemble cast, and an even big sucker for unlikely (if not unexpected) pairings--both romantic and not--and this series more than delivers. (Consider me fully suckered. Anton and Jude totally own my heart)

The story remains character driven, each protagonist undergoing their share of growth and turmoil--though perhaps some more so than others--and I remain impressed by Poole’s ability to milk her character’s flaws in a way that is entirely realistic. They manage to frustrate as well as endear. You cannot help but root for them even as you know they are making terrible or even devastating decisions, and I am invested in each and every one of them.

That said, the plot does not dither. It moves steadily forward, world building and dropping twists along the way. It’s a cliffhanger ending, so be prepared to languish during the wait for book three.

All in all, a wonderful second entry that does not suffer middle book syndrome in the slightest. The first book introduced the playing pieces and set up the board, but now, dear reader, we get to play!

Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me this one in exchange for an honest review. A lot of draw power is needed when offering a middle book to the reader, knowing that the story is not going to end and the reader will need to wait another year for the conclusion. The middle book also tends to have a tough act to follow considering the strong start of the series starter. As The Shadow Rises delivers. I’m continuing to see this as among the next best potential Netflix series and Season 2 (let’s call this book Season 2) picks up magnificently from where Season 1 left off. All the known characters are off to their own adventures (kinda like Lord of the Rings) and, in some ways, for the most part, Shadow Rises is 4 separate stories. By dividing them up, Katy Rose Pool goes extends the character development and builds relationships between the 4 separate smaller teams that have formed, each with their own conflicts and harmonies. The similarities to Lord of the Rings are also prevalent with the continuing theme of finding what needs to be found in order to prevent the end of the good life as they know it. And just like Lord of the Rings, you know that at some point, at some time, fate will eventually need to find a way to perhaps bring them all together if there is any chance to save the world. Of course there are surprises, some that the reader will see coming from miles away, but many more that will make the reader say “Wow how did I not see that when it was so in front of me”. That’s part of the charm of reading this book.

How can I put my love for this series into words? I really don’t know. I’m going to read my review for the first book (which I’m pretty happy with so I’m going to link that here) and try to sort out my thoughts from there. Also, I want to mention that I won an eARC of this book through Katy Rose Pool’s newletter giveaway (via NetGalley) so here is my honest review in exchange.
I mentioned the world in my review of book one so I’m going to start there for this one too. This world is run on the belief in the Prophets. They disappeared long ago, but left one last prophecy that predicted the end of the world. But there would be one more Prophet, one who has the potential to save the world from ending. We learn more about the lost Prophets and what happened to them and boy were they twisty. I really loved the way Katy Rose Pool told this story. There were things I expected to happen, but also some stuff that totally surprised me. I just really loved this story. It was written well with fast-paced action scenes and just enough drama, but not constant. There were slower scenes for traveling where I really loved getting to know the characters even better.
Ephyra was hard for me. She was still the morally grey girl I loved from the first book, but without Beru she seemed a bit lost. I definitely thought her storyline was interesting, especially with what we knew from Beru’s perspective. There were definitely some things she did that were super unexpected. But with the way the book ended I’m really excited to see where her story ends in the final book.
Beru is one of my favorite characters. She’s such a little bean, but she’s also really not. She’s fierce and determined. She knows what she wants for herself and she’s going to get it, even if it kills her. I loved Beru in the first book because of the strong sister relationship and how she brought the good in Ephyra out. But in this book, we get to see her stand on her own and I really loved that.
Hassan was hard for me. I really loved him in the first book. But in this book, he’s a bit all over the place. He failed in his mission in the first book, and he’s trying to figure out what his next steps are. So, when he finds a rebel group, he thinks they’re perfect to help him take back his city. As per usual, things aren’t always that easy. I didn’t love the way his story played out, but I didn’t totally hate it either. I really hope I like the way his story plays out in the next book.
Anton, my sweet baby Anton. He has grown so much. I’m honestly so proud of him. He starting to really give a shit about the world and might have figured out how to stop its end. I loved every page of Anton’s chapters. I will protect him at all costs. I really loved his character development and the way that he pushes the characters around him to grow as well.
For Jude, all this book was for him was character development. He’s struggling with who he is after certain events in the previous book. His whole identity is based on being the Keeper, but things are different. Nothing is going according to plan, so Jude is basically just trying to make sure Anton stays alive. I loved the relationship between the two. They push one another. Anton gets Jude out of his comfort zone and that’s when we really see him develop and get to know him even better.
Overall, I loved this book. The more of this series I read, the more it’s solidified as a new all time favorite. I’m blown away by Katy Rose Pool’s ability to have five different points of view and make them each so distinct. They’re all loveable and chaotic in their own ways, but they are so very different from one another. I loved this book and you will too.

Oh my stars!

I enjoyed the first book, but this one...
This one is soooo good!

We pick up where we left off, and get right into it. There are so many twists and turns, im honestly a little dizzy.

I love this story so much, and all of our misfits. Even when they're sketch, and alot of them are.
A lot of my questions were answered, but at the end i have so many more.

I can't wait for the finale!

Time machine, anyone?

<i>As the Shadow Rises (The Age of Darkness, #2)<i/> is the newest book in the Age of Darkness series by Katy Rose Pool. I was a big fan of the first book, so I was really excited to get the opportunity to preview the sequel prior to publication. I want to thank the publisher for this opportunity, but the review is entirely my own.

So, it's been a couple of years since I read the first book, so it took me a few chapters to get reacquainted with all of the characters. If you don't remember them well, I would recommend doing a quick Google to get yourself caught up on the five different perspectives within the book:

Hasan, A prince exiled from his kingdom and The Deceiver.
Ephyra, A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
Jude, A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
Anton, A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone and the last prophet.
Beru, A dying girl on the verge of giving up.

In <i>As the Shadow Rises<i/>, the story picks up where the last one ended. As with many books that are in trilogies, a lot of this book is leading up to the final scene, which will spur on the action for the last book. As such, there are times when the book drags a bit. I'm not saying that this is a problem because the story arcs are definitely necessary to help get the different characters all together in these same place by the end of the book.

If you were a fan of the first book, you're definitely in for