I think this is a perfect read for young adults who are looking for stories based on Jewish traditions and beliefs. It's a fun and action-packed tale. I feel it wasn't for me, as some of the exposition and pacing in the beginning felt a little awkward and clunky to me, so I struggled to get/stay immersed. I ended up deciding not to finish, but I do encourage other readers to give it a try and decide for themselves.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC!

This Dark Descent is a fantasy that follows a young girl name Mikira who needs to save her family's ranch by entering a challenging horse race. The story is full of enchanting magic and adventure.

This book, unfortunately,  was not for me. Although the writing was good, I didn't enjoy the dialogue. I felt like it pulled me out of the story multiple times. It couldve been because I didnt like the characters as much, so it was hard to like the dialogue.

The story had everything I look for in a fantasy like adventure,  magic, and  betrayal but it didn't stick for me. Another issue I had was with the magic system, it needed more clarity.

Unfortunately this book was not for me.

Give me anything Jewish fantasy/lore (in this case, everything Kinnish) and I will gobble it right up. Really enjoyed this one!

I LOVED Josephson’s first duology, The Storm Crow, so so much! It’s definitely an underrated fantasy I try to recommend as often as I can! So I was excited for this one, even though the Scorpio Races x Peaky Blinders wasn’t a comparison I was especially intrigued by.

I just couldn’t fall in love with the characters in this one. The book started slow for me and the romances weren’t what I was expecting. I will say that I read this in the midst of a big fantasy book slump, so maybe it was just the wrong time to read it. Perhaps I’ll try it again when the sequel releases!

I was initially intrigued by the premise of a Jewish mythology-inspired narrative in "This Dark Descent," but my interest quickly waned as I delved into the first two chapters. The writing style left much to be desired, and the direction the story was taking did not sit well with me.

The first glaring issue I encountered was the writing itself. The opening chapters attempted to strike a balance between providing a wealth of information and driving the plot forward, but it fell flat on both counts. The extensive information dump about the magic system, the social structure, and Mikira's family history, felt shallow and lacked depth. The world-building seemed forced and unclear, leaving me struggling to connect with the fictional universe. The lords were interchangeable.

Simultaneously, the pacing of these initial chapters left me bewildered. While a significant amount of events supposedly occurred – from the underground racing to Mikira's father's abrupt arrest, culminating in the prompt for the narrative as a whole (the bargain for her to enter the Illnir) – the execution felt clumsy and rushed.

Adding to the frustration was the blatant inconsistency in the story's details. Confusion arose when trying to determine the frequency of the competition. At one point, the narrative stated that the competition was hosted once every ten years ("hosted once every ten years"), only to later contradict itself by claiming that it occurred annually ("every year, one hundred racers entered the Illinir"). Such careless errors not only pulled me out of the story but also raised questions about the overall attention to detail in the writing. In the second chapter, Mikira does not want to be a pawn between feuding lords, but soon after chooses just that.

It felt very underdeveloped. I am wholeheartedly thankful to the publisher for approving me on this title, but I couldn't muster the patience to read beyond the lackluster beginning it presented.

A fresh, competitive dark fantasy that will be sure to delight any YA fantasy reader. With complex characters, an imaginative world, female friendship, dual POV, and Jewish representation, there is a lot to love in This Dark Descent. This was my first from Kalyn Josephson, and she is truly a gifted writer! I'll definitely be checking out her backlist and counting down the days for TDD2. Full review will be posted closer to release date.

First of all, I’m incredibly thankful that I got a chance to read This Dark Descent as an eARC before its release! I enjoyed this immensely and my 10-year-old horse-girl self was overjoyed to follow this story. I loved to see the different characters as well as their development and couldn’t get enough of both the magic system and the horses. (Yes, the horse-girl is speaking here.) Even though I will have to wait for the official release before all else, I cannot wait for book two and see, if one of my assumptions might come true! Until then I will suffer in silence for the one thing I won’t forgive Kalyn about. But that’s a spoiler, hence the 'silent' part.

The comps sold me. I mean come on The Scorpio Races meets Peaky Blinders? Need I say more?

I enjoyed this a lot, the world was so fun. But I feel a bit confused about some of the magic system and found Mikira to be way too hotheaded overall to be relatable. I found myself getting really frustrated during her povs and waiting for them to be over. I am curious though to see where everything goes.

One of my favorite magical realism finds was Maggie Steifvater's Scorpio Races.

And all of the things I loved about that book are here.

Heartpounding action.
Raw energy and fear.
The thrill of the race.
Proving you deserve to be who you are.
Bildungsroman coming of age.
Saving your family - and yourself.

But comparing this book to another isn't exactly fair. This book deserves to stand on its own!

Mikira is an amazing character, right from the outset. Her love of horses will resonate with this generation of readers like Black Beauty and Flicka did for past generations of horse girls like me.

"Enchanted for speed, the desire to run was as much a part of the stallion as bone or blood, just as it was a part of Mikira."

Even better, the author pulls from Jewish folklore of golems to craft a truly unique and powerful story. The heart-racing action of the races will have your heart in your throat, and the characters will leave your heart broken - and

"The last thing she wanted was to be a plaything in some tug-of-war between two feuding lords."

I think my favorite character might be Arielle, however. Smart, funny, brave, and a born enchanter, she's definitely the heroine that makes this book move! And her use of power crackles through this book's pages as much as the theo-political undertones.

"Monsters rarely look like monsters. At least, that was what Arielle's grandfather used to tell her. She never imagined that one day she would be creating them."

An amazing story. 10/10

As a Jewish person, this is such a special book to me. I never see this type of fantasy around, and I'm so glad to see a little piece of our history represented! I loved the worldbuilding, kind of a Hunger Games meets Seabiscuit with way more magic of course. I thought the girls started off a bit unlikeable but you definitely grow to understand their motivations and their actions.

THIS DARK DESCENT is the horse-filled fantasy of my dreams! I was fortunate enough to read a very early version of this book, and I fell in love with it all over again when I read the ARC.

You won’t be able to put down this thrilling story of a dangerous race, an unlikely alliance in the face of deadly opponents, and fascinating magic drawn from Jewish folklore. Both narrators were so easy to root for—I absolutely *loved* seeing Mikira fighting with fierce determination to protect her family, and Ari letting down walls and growing into her power. The entire group dynamic with Reid and Damien in the mix is EVERYTHING. I was on the edge of my seat with every page turn.

And did I mention there are enchanted horses? This book is phenomenal.

A huge thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an eARC of This Dark Descent in exchange for an honest review.

This Dark Descent is the thrilling start to an upper YA fantasy series. Mikira Rusel's family used to be prestigious enchant horse breeders until the growing tensions with powerful political houses left her family struggling. When her father is taken, Mikira's only option is to compete in a deadly horse race, The Illinir- where she must win. She finds herself caught up in blood feuds, outlawed magic, and assassination schemes with the people who agree to help her with the race. Arielle can create untraceable golems using forbidden magic. Damien, being a lord of House Adair, brings power, money, and mystery into the mix. Behind it all, their nation's tension with the never-ending war and unfair society are at their boiling point.

I'll start by saying I had high hopes for this book because The Storm Crow (also by Kalyn Josephson) was my favorite read of 2021 when I got back into reading. And oh boy was it a HIT.

I was immediately hooked. I finished this book in only 3 sittings (which I never do with average length books such as this), but I literally could not put it down. The characters, the intrigue into the magic, the deadly horse races, and the growing push for rebellion against the current political system had me on the edge of my seat.

Josephson had me loving to hate characters, willing them to do better sometimes and, actually, willing them to accept their darkness other times. It was a wild ride, and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the sequel. I feel this book offered an awesome range of characters and growth. Gosh I wish I could share quotes already lol. These characters made me laugh and cry... and sob.

The magic is super exciting to me and has me the most desperate for book two to see exactly what is happening with it and Ari. I love how multifaced the magic is, and I just know there's so much more to come.

The mob/mafia feel was done amazingly, it felt so real. The horse races were thrilling, but also helped further the intrigue into the world because of all they had to offer. The bond Mikira had with the horses were beautiful.

I will be keeping a very close eye on NetGalley in the future for book two. I am so ready to be back in this world, and this is one I definitely want to get physically and do a reread of it to annotate because I loved it that much.

The plot was different and I loved the race aspect. The characters didn't do it for me though. I just couldn't connect.

Wow. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did.

The worldbuilding is incredible. The conflict, the magic system, the setting, all of it is shown in vivid detail. The political landscape, especially, was very well done; I love when fictional politics get me roped in and engaged so I can, in turn, seethe at their real-life parallels. The magic, Kinnism (The fantasy stand-in for Jewish mythology) was also really cool. I'm not an expert on Jewish folklore by any means, but I did recognize most of the reflections the fictional religion/magic had with Judaism/Jewish people, which I admire Josephson being able to weave seamlessly into the story while making it stand on its own.

I also absolutely adored the characters. Both Mikira and Arielle were stand out protagonists in their own right, but I love how you can't have this story without leaving out either girl's POV. Even their romances were a point of interested for me. I don't wanna spoil want develops from them, but let's just they I'm curious to see how Josephson develops them in the next book.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. Not only do I have to wait for this book's official release but the sequel, too!

Kalyn Josephson is a must-read for me now. I loved her Storm Crow duology and devoured Ravenfall. She's done it again with this fast-paced, heartwrenching novel. I loved the characters and mourned that I will have to wait until the next book in order to be with them again. I couldn't put it down!

The combination of a high fantasy world (albeit, replete with guns), dark fantasy detailing, vibes, and themes, as well as the past and present of Jewish people and our experiences, makes for a novel that entrances the reader - all while keeping the story somewhat grounded in reality- all the way through to the last page. When challah bread is mentioned for the first time, it's nearly startling, despite knowing that the book was going to have Jewish mythology, which I - a Jewish woman - should be used to, the mention of simple bread nearly took me out from whatever spell Kalyn Josephson's writing was putting on me.

Kalyn Josephson doesn't just toss around Hebrew words or Jewish terms throughout the story, she saves them. She sprinkles them about - acting more like the binding gems in the very story, than anything else. She doesn't call the Jewish people "Jewish," but instead "Kinnish," yet still preferring to call challah bread by it's official name, as well as golems.
While this could simply be something that the author preferred while writing, it is also possible that it was done so that the spare moments these words were used felt more powerful, acting as a quick reminder of the real world connections, as well as making the text a bit more accessible to non-Jewish (or goyim or gentile) readers who might be intimidated by a main character being Jewish instead of Kinnish.

While potentially lessening the harshness of the topics and conversations brought up by the events for those outside of them, for Jewish readers - or at least myself - it's a gentle reminder that we have a character in young adult fantasy that we can point to and go "hey look, its me!" all the while we remember the history that Josephson's novel is built upon.

While I of course wish more time had been spent on discussing sexuality and gender, I completely understand that there wasn't much time to do so with the complex world and story and character arcs that Kalyn Josephson was developing, and I look forward to seeing more of these topics in the next book.

In this stunningly epic and creative world, the political intrigue remains at the heart of the story. Even as Mikira races for her life, even as Arielle uncovers lost bits of magic from her culture, a larger game is being played. One hinted at in the beginning, only to reach a fever pitch much later on. As though a game of chess, each noble family, each noble house sits as the pawns to make expert moves for their power, and anyone else simply is trod underfoot as the races go on, Mikira none the wiser except for her side of the story. Each move, every step, is carefully calculated and detailed by the author, leading up to a grand finale to tie up the first book in a new duology from Kalyn Josephson - complete with queer representation, Jewish representation, and helps to build excitement for the follow through in the next book.

The cover was what drew me in, the characters are what made me stay. Plot was excellent. Well done. I had a hard time putting this one down.

Yes yes yes!! The plot kept me hooked and the characters stole my heart ❤️
10/10!
All opinions expressed are my own, I was gifted this book through NetGallery.

I received an ARC from Get Underlined and was so jazzed bc this is one of the books I was most looking forward to this fall, and it did not disappoint.

Horse Girls of the world rejoice, because this book is absolutely for you. If you loved The Scorpio Races, you will probably love this, although it doesn't have murder horses (the humans do the murdering here). Speaking of murder, if you're not a Horse Girl but you love the complicated and dubious morality of Peaky Blinders, you are also going to love this.

I need to have words with the author though about that ending (WHAT WAS THAT??? EXCUSE ME???) but also because she said one of the MCs was aroace, but neither of them are serving aroace. One of them is demi, which we always love to see, and the other may be ace but seemed to be catching romantic feels for both a boy and a girl--and I'm always down for a bi love triangle but if there's love involved its not really aromantic, right?? So idk, ymmv, maybe I'm being nitpicky. Its a very minor detail in an otherwise fantastic book.

I went into This Dark Descent thinking it would turn me into a horse girl. I came out utterly transformed by how goddamn good it is.

I cannot get over how much I freaking loved the entire thing. Masterfully crafted from top to bottom, the emotional beats it hits are STUNNING and had me breathless for every single one. Whispered threats became bangs inside my chest and there is just something about the way that Kalyn writes scenes in the rain that have me wanting to scream and never stop. The way tension built and paid off, ugh, so, so good.

SPEAKING OF SCREAMING LEMME SAY SOMETHING ABOUT MIKIRA, ARI, REID, AND DAMIEN. Every single one of them are under my protection and nothing bad can ever happen to them. The ROMANTIC ANGST (and romantic lines omg I wanted to faint) the BLOSSOMING FRIENDSHIP, THE CAT THERE’S A CAT, THE ENTIRE GROUP DYNAMIC. I love them all and they are my children.

This was everything I loved in a book. Impeccable characters, a fascinating world, and a little bit of darkness that tips over the edge into full blown terror at just the right moment. I love it so much I might burst.