I already knew it after I read A Prayer for Vengeance, but this book confirmed it: I'm a big fan of Leanne Schwartz's work. The author has a unique and imaginative way of mixing mythology with fantasy, creating worlds that feel both fresh and familiar.

To A Darker Shore is a lush book, with pacing and structure that don't always do what you expect them to do next, and I found this to be a very refreshing and immersive experience. I absolutely loved the autistic main characters, and the discussions of beauty standards, fat phobia, allonormativity and neurodivergence — for all its differences, the world of Soladisa is not so unlike ours, in the sense that people who look and behave differently will never be given the benefit of a doubt. This book does a great job of asking questions such as "who is the monster here" and actually giving succinct and unflinching answers.

But it's also a very fun and satisfying read (for all its dark and gory moments), and I would gladly return in this world for more. My only regret is that this book didn't exist when I was a fat, neurodivergent teenager — but I'm so happy that young readers today can have this kind of thoughtful and nuanced rep.

Note: there's a very satisfying amount of lesbians in this book, which only made it better in my eyes.

P.S. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Alesta doesn't quite fit in on her island home. There they value beauty, utility, and purity above all else and she is sturdily built, prone to curiosity that leads to "sins" and an inventor who's creations often need to fail before she can perfect them.

Her friendship with the assume heir of the kingdom, Kyr, causes even more confusion as he embodies all the traits most valued. At least until he takes them blame for one of her inventions failing and is chosen as the quarterly sacrifice their kingdom sends to the demonic realm across the poison sea.

Alesta doesn't learn of his being chosen until days later and he's already gone. She spends the next year working with his cousin and other peers to try to develop not only a plan to prevent others from being sacrifice but also a plan to kill the demon demanding them in the first place.

These plans require Alesta being chosen as sacrifice so she can enter the depths of hell and end the demon. But she finds and learns more than the bargained in hell with everything she's ever believed being turned on its head.

Huge fan of the body representation as so many female leads are just too tiny to do anything. Some parts of the story are a bit unnecessarily drawn out, but an enjoyable read.

Set in a world unkind to those deemed different, an autistic inventor embarks on a perilous journey to hell to save her best friend. Schwartz's gripping writing creates an immersive and darkly enchanting world, where heartfelt characters fight against authoritative structures. Filled with monsters, both human and otherwise, this novel is a twisty, romantic adventure that, despite its shadows, leaves readers hopeful and celebrates what makes us different.

When I heard To a Darker Shore be pitched as "Hadestown meets Dante's Inferno" with autistic MC's, I knew immediately that I needed to read this book. Hadestown is one of my favorite musicals, and most of you know I'm always searching for more autism rep, so this book was basically made for me. Having loved Leanne Schwartz's previous book, A Prayer for Vengeance, I was sure this book would not disappoint, and I'm happy to report that I was correct! From the moment I started reading, I was captivated by Alesta and Kyr, their dynamic, and the world they lived in.

Alesta and Kyr were two of the most compelling MCs I've read about in a while. Alesta was headstrong, intelligent, and full of vigor, while Kyr was more on the introverted side, but just as passionate. I don't want to say too much about him specially, because his character arc from beginning to end was truly excellent, and you should discover that for yourself. He went through so much in this story, and I felt every emotional up and down with him.

Because Alesta and Kyr both felt out of place in their lives, they were drawn to each other. Their strong friendship and close bond is the heart of this story, and watching them come to terms with their feelings and grow with each other was quite the roller coaster. I loved that we got both of their perspectives because it definitely enhanced the story. I don't think the book would've been as emotionally impactful if we didn't have both sides. But because we did, I was able to connect with both characters on a deeper level. And while allistic people may not realize this, it highlighted a lot of the struggles autistic people face when it comes to social cues and reading others. Alesta and Kyr were constantly misunderstanding the other's intentions when going off body language alone, and I thought this was a really subtle but impactful way of representing autism.

A lot of times in media, autistic traits are exaggerated, mostly for the benefit of neurotypical people, but I didn't feel that was the case at all for this book, and I loved that. Alesta and Kyr were both autistic, but many of their traits and mannerisms were very different from the other's, and in fact, in many cases, their traits were the exact opposite. This was fantastic, because it showed just how varied the spectrum can be and why it's called a spectrum in the first place. Personally, I related a lot with Kyr, but I also sometimes found myself reflected in Alesta, too. The fact that I'm seeing myself represented more and more these days is something I still can't quite believe, and I'm just so thankful these books exist.

Not only were Alesta and Kyr well-rounded characters, but all of the side characters were too. They stood out and added to the plot while still being their own people, which I always love to see. And speaking of plot, I loved it!! There were a few plot twists I figured out, which I was super proud of, but others took me by total surprise. The last twenty percent of the book was impossible to put down because of all the tension.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read To a Darker Shore. I hope lots of people will pick this book up, because it deserves to be read.

Right and wrong. Sin or virtue. Monstrous and holy.


This book was incredibly flawed and often read like fanfiction… but I ATE IT UP! The vibes were Battle of the Labyrinth meets The Hunger Games , with a sprinkle of yearning, a dash of religious critique, and a cast of autistic characters.

☀ The story was A LOT. The pacing might throw you off because the story starts out really simple with a clear goal and a clear way to get to said goal, then suddenly, towards the end, there are a bunch of "twists" (I'm putting this in quotes because personally, I wasn't too surprised by any of it) that do get kind of crazy. By that point I was already invested in the book enough that the sudden bombardment of events didn't dampen my enjoyment of the book.

☀ The setting? The monsters? Yes yes yes. When I started reading this book, I was picturing the bright sun over a quaint hill where the heroine was, well, fighting a fish-man-monster, then a couple of chapters later, we're literally thrust into hell and I was ALL for it. The atmosphere was dark and gritty, and I had such a blast reading about all of the deadly creatures (should I be saying this?) our MCs encountered.

☀ The characters truly made me love the book despite all of its flaws. I loved being in both Alesta's and Kyr's heads. While they (mostly Alesta) were difficult to like at some points, they were both realistic and relatable characters. Both of them were both weak yet strong, unsure yet determined, selfish yet righteous. It was empowering to see them battle with their own thoughts (and, well, monsters that were physically there) and try to come to terms with who they are.

☀ The romance was 😭😭😭 (yup, this is me being eloquent). The angst was angsting and I was all for it. There was mutual respect and admiration between the characters that was lovely and wholesome. Did I want to bash their heads together so that they would kiss? Yes.

☀ I appreciated the religious commentary here. Coming from someone who is no longer religious, I understand how devotion can really inspire someone's life, but also that belief shouldn't be offered up blindly. Not everything is black and white. Devotion should still come hand in hand with critical thinking and trust in oneself. I love how this book explored this pretty deeply, though Alesta's and Kyr's completely different ways of dealing with religion.

☀ The writing and the storytelling weren't groundbreaking, but I didn't really mind. Like I said, this did read like fanfiction sometimes — the set-ups were a little predictable, and there were some scenes that felt a little bit like fanservice — which might take you out of the story, but personally, I wasn't that bothered by it.

TLDR: If you're interested in angst-y Monster Love™, crazy character development, dangerous adventures, religious commentary... do give this a try!

3.5, rounded up. :)

To a Darker Shore by Leanne Schwartz is a fantasy novel with a ton of things I like wrapped up in an expectation breaking bundle.

What worked for me
1. Multi Point of view utilized to fully flesh out the characters motivations and progress the plot fluidly
2. Excellent representation across the board
3. Lovely use of the friends to lovers trope
4. premise includes the idea of a deal with a monster and sacrifice for safety.
What didn't work as well for me
1.The Pacing was wildly uneven due to some odd story structure decisions
2. the prose and character development felt weirdly over written in the first fourth of the novel.

Who I would recommend this title for

Fans of friends to lovers young adult fantasy with a writing style similar to Scott westerfield.

Thank you to Page Street for the arc!

Leanne Schwartz neatly follows her debut with another gorgeously written fantasy adventure. I loved A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE and couldn't wait to get my hands on TO A DARKER SHORE. It delivers on all of its promises of friends-to-lovers, Hozier's Unreal Unearth, and autistic heroes. This book is SO fun and SO heartfelt, and as a fat person, seeing a fat protagonist literally means the world to me.

DNF @ 67%

I really wanted to love this one, and I struggled with how much I struggled with it. On paper, it's the kind of book I should be yelling from the rooftops about, but in practice, the technical execution fell too short for me to invest the way I wanted to.

The main issues I had were with the pacing and the prose. Structurally, the book felt very messy after the first 20%, with a lot of bloat and major beats landing at really weird times. For example, the reveal that felt like the midpoint twist landed at 65%, and while I'm not super prescriptive about this sort of thing, the preceding 30% FELT very draggy, and like even though a lot was *happening*, very little actually *changed*. I think it says a lot too that I DNFd shortly after this reveal--while I'd say the reveal itself was solid, the execution was for me still lacking enough, and my goodwill already worn thin enough, that I looked at the 'time remaining' on my Kindle and just couldn't do it any more. The prose only amplified the structural issues; there's something about Schwartz's sentence construction that made for a very inelegant reading experience, and prevented me from properly getting to experience the strengths of her writing. I also couldn't help noticing how overwritten the characters' inner monologue was in particular, which resulted in characters I otherwise liked a lot becoming irritatingly navel-gazy and wallowy.

I do wonder how much of what made this title fall short for me is potentially an extreme case of sophomore book syndrome. The release schedule between Schwartz's debut and this one is extremely tight, and the problems I'm having feel like the sorts of things that should have been resolved via thorough editing. There was enough that I did like about it (the characters had a lot of potential and I felt like they really could have sparkled with some closer editorial work, the worldbuilding was unique and fascinating, the story in principle really fun) that I'd like to check out her debut and will give her future work a try too. However, I really feel like this particular title simply isn't ready yet.

Many thanks to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

To a Darker Shore is full to the brim of what I love in a book! It has well-developed characters, angst, mutual pining, critiques of religion, monsters, and poignant themes.

In Soladisa, either you’re virtuous and useful or you end up food for a monster. What keeps the island country safe is a deal struck long ago: each tithing, a sinful teenager is sacrificed to a horrible monster across the poison sea in hell. Seventeen-year-old Alesta—plain, poor, plus-sized, and autistic—is desperate for one of her inventions to be deemed worthy enough to keep her from being tithed. When her latest invention goes awry, Kyr (her best friend and the kingdom’s heir) takes the blame, hoping for leniency, only to be tithed in her place. Angry and grieving, Alesta travels to hell to end the sacrifices forever, only to find her friend monstrously transformed. As their feelings for each other grow, Alesta and Kyr race to escape hell and find the truth behind the tithes.

I thoroughly enjoyed following Alesta and Kyr’s story. Both of their POVs are engaging, and their fierce determination to protect one another will have readers eager for them to confess their feelings to each other. Schwartz’s descriptions have so much imagery, she raises the stakes incredibly well, and they skillfully tackle themes like self-acceptance and that one’s worth is not determined by their utility. If you’re looking for a YA fantasy that’s full of heart, I highly recommend To a Darker Shore!

Content warnings: light gore and body horror, some bullying/seizist body talk, conflict with a parent over asking autism (internalized but ultimately rejected by the main characters), societal/parental homophobia (with happy outcomes), claustrophobic panic attacks, implied suicidal ideation, illness, loss, and grief

This book is absolutely the most fun you can have on a trip to hell. As an aspec reader myself I adored the swoony, devoted friends-to-lovers romance arc, the fantastic heroine who completely smashes the YA mold, and the it kind of made me want to join in a grotesque monster ball. I also loved A Prayer for Vengeance, and can't wait to see what Leanne Schwartz has for us next, and readers looking for more beautifully written, well-paced YA fantasy with rep and heart should look no further.