Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always intrigued by the creativity and imagination of a Marisha Pessl book and Darkly is no different. Darkly has some of the same noir and paranoia vibes as Night Film did, but since it's a young adult book it was dialed back with a much softer ending.

I loved the whole story being built around the legacy of a woman who built board games and the way they were valued as highly as art. With lots of mysteries happening at once, the pages flipped quickly to figure out what was going on. I enjoyed how the reader was pulled into the game itself that the characters were playing. My only grump is that the ending went on a little too long and a random twist was tossed in at the last moment that seemed slightly predictable and almost too neat.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and one I would highly recommend!

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Darkly by Marisha Pessl from Random House Children's Delacorte Press via NetGalley.

Don't be fooled by the young adult categorization of Darkly by Marisha Pessl. This book can certainly be enjoyed by adults because I loved it! Maybe I am biased because I have read every one of Marisha's books and enjoyed them all. I was so excited to get this one because it promised to be what I love about her work: dark, spooky, and intellectually stimulating. I love a good puzzle and a good board game. Combine the two and I am in heaven. Escape rooms, murder mystery parties, all of that stuff, yes please. When a group of teenagers are selected to solve a mystery related to a lost board game by their favorite game-maker, they find themselves in a real life version of the game. It is fantastic! It will have you guessing about whodunnit and who can be trusted. You might be surprised. Highly recommend it to anyone who wants a spooky puzzle to solve without a bunch of gore.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics was cerebral, Night Film is still one of only a handful of books that truly scared me, and Neverworld Wake was a wild time loop ride that I was unable to put down. Darkly is a masterclass in gothic atmospheric writing. The storyline is intelligent, captivating, and a perfect homage to both tabletop and roleplaying gaming. The characters hold enough mystery that everyone is a suspect and Arcardia, the main character is smart and quick witted, which is refreshing as I didn't have to question everything she did as being idiotic. The mystery surrounding Louisiana Veda and her gaming company is the gameboard and the reader is the pawn tasked with collecting bits of knowledge to piece together what happened and be ultimately rewarded. I absolutely loved this latest novel and have already been recommending it to everyone I know who enjoys dark, cerebral works of art. I cannot wait to see what Pessl comes out with next and I will be the first in line to read whatever it is.

For fans of Marisha Pessl, gothic mysteries, and tabletop board games and mysteries where the player is the detective tasked with solving a crime.

Thank you to NetGalley, Marisha Pessl, and Delacorte Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dia wins a contest to become an intern for a foundation of late board game designer Louisiana Veda. 7 interns from around the world are assigned the task of figuring out the mystery behind one of the Darkly games.

Just like Night Film, this book captivated me from the start. The Darkly game franchise is so unique and imaginative. There are a lot of characters and plot twists to keep track of but otherwise it's a fun read!

“What would you kill for?”
That line right there made me want to read this book. I was intrigued in the beginning and then found myself rather bored. I forced myself to read 50% of it and then had to just do a quick skim to come to the end. The writing style just didn’t flow well for me, but that is only my opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of Darkly by Marisha Pessl.

I became a fan of Marisha Pessl after reading her "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered her new book. "Darkly" is a dark YA thriller that dives into the mysterious world of a reclusive game designer, old-school board games, and obsessive players caught up in the enigmatic Darkly games.

The story centers on Arcadia "Dia" Gannon, an outsider and loner who helps her mother run their antique shop. Her only friends are two elderly employees at the shop. With her anachronistic mannerisms, she’s the odd one out at school, often the target of ridicule. When the Louisiana Veda Foundation, based in England, announces an international contest for a summer internship, Dia, a self-professed game addict, applies with little hope of success.

To her great surprise, Dia is chosen, along with six other teenagers: Poe from France, Franz from Germany, Cooper from the USA, Torin from Ireland, Everleigh from Iceland, and Mouse from Nigeria. Upon arriving in England, the interns are thrust into a real-life board game filled with tricks, hidden symbols, secrets, and danger. What follows is a grand adventure that puts their lives at risk.

This is a complex story packed with adventure, mystery, suspense, and plenty of twists. I devoured it and found myself wanting to live in its world forever. The plot races from the beginning, constantly picking up pace and growing darker as it immerses the reader into its richly imagined world. There are countless adventures and mishaps, all underscored by a fascinating array of games.

The book is interspersed with illustrations, letters, diagrams, news articles, maps, and photos, all of which enhance the narrative. It’s beautifully written, capturing the reader's imagination from the first chapter. Pessl’s unique style - her poetic language, creativity, wit, and humor -creates a distinctive reading experience. Yes, the prose may be a bit purple at times, but that’s part of its charm and doesn’t interfere with the story's flow.

Tension and drama are key to keeping readers hooked, and this book delivers in spades. While Dia is the most fully fleshed-out character, each of the interns has their own backstory and secret. Amidst the suspense and adventure, there’s also a gentle touch of youthful romance. The plot moved swiftly, keeping me fully engaged and anxious to know what would happen next. However, the ending felt a bit abrupt, leaving me with some questions, though most loose ends were tied up.

Pessl rises above clichés to craft an original story, with twists and turns that keep the reader alert and engaged. Sometimes the technique is not enough if the content is not revolutionary, but this is not the case here. In this case, the "how" is what makes the book, and the "what" is reasonable. I wasn't entirely pleased with the open ending, even though most loose ends were tied up; I would have preferred a more conclusive resolution.

In sum, "Darkly" is a mesmerizing book that I absolutely loved. Dysfunctional families, brilliant game scenes, puzzles, and intrigue are just some of the ingredients that take this book to the next level. The characters, setting, and dialogue feel real, even if the teenagers are far from average. The dark atmosphere is convincingly sketched, making for a gripping read. Marisha Pessl has crafted an extraordinary tale that I highly recommend.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

I’m not a huge fan of YA but this premise sounded very intriguing so I was excited to be gifted the arc.

From the first page I felt invested in this story! There was a sense of unease throughout the entire book and I never guessed the ending! It definitely kept me turning pages and I never lost interest in the story.

The games were fascinating and I’m impressed the author could come up with something so complex.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Book:
DARKLY by Marisha Pessl
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc (Nov)

Review:
4⭐
DARKLY is a thrilling tale that follows Dia, who applies for an internship working with Darkly. While interning, Dia is taken on a whirlwind adventure, uncovering secrets and lies.
I had a lot of expectations for this book since I've previously read Pessl's work and loved it. Though DARKLY didn't meet all of my expectations, it was still devorable, though not as easily as I would have liked, with a mystery that kept me guessing and reguessing. And then those last few chapters. Mind-blown+confusing all at the same time. As the mystery unraveled, I couldn't begin to understand how Dia figured it out. I was also left confused by the last few chapters, that revelation seemingly cut short---almost like an incomplete thought.
This may not have hit all of the marks, but it was still a great read.

I tried in every single way to get this file onto my Kindle but it is not working, so I will not be able to review it due to that. Which I am very sad about :( But I cannot penalize the book for it as they did not attach the kindle epub version.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl is a mesmerizing and intricately plotted thriller that grips from start to finish. Pessl’s masterful storytelling and atmospheric prose create a hauntingly immersive experience that is both captivating and unforgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for this ARC! "Darkly" by Marisha Pessl is a gripping YA psychological thriller that follows Arcadia "Dia" Gannon as she navigates a summer internship with the mysterious Louisiana Veda Foundation. Obsessed with the late game designer Louisiana Veda, Dia and six other teenagers are chosen to uncover the secrets behind Veda's enigmatic games and the foundation's dark legacy. The novel is filled with intricate clues and hidden connections, typical of Pessl's style, making it a chilling and addictive read. As the interns delve deeper into Veda's world, they must question their reality and their own motives, leading to a suspenseful and twisted narrative.

Astonishingly good. Marisha Pessl’s DARKLY captivated me from the first few pages, and, against all reason, managed to get more and more fascinating as I read. I am taken aback by how quickly the world around me fell away to nothingness after I began DARKLY. The mystery, the intrigue, the tension, the romance, the characters — this book has it all, and then some.

I had somehow never heard of Pessl before coming across this ARC, but now I feel compelled to go and read all of her other works. I’m calling it now: DARKLY might just be one of the best books of the year. And Pessl might just cinch best author.

Night Film is one of my favorite novels, and this feels like a fun spiritual successor to that book. Both stories are about a mysterious creator of art (films/board games) and a mystery surrounding them. This wasn't as deep or mysterious as Night Film for me, but it was still a fun mystery and adventure filled with cool ideas. The games are compelling, the characters are interesting, and I flew through the pages. Very fun read.

I'd read and loved "Night Film" by Pessl years ago, but most of her other offerings left me cold. I was eager to give this one a shot, however, as a girl who grew up on sprawling puzzle games like Myst. The strange premise and promise of eerie mystery lured me in.

First of all - good news, this one is weird. It follows the story of a handful of teenagers selected for a strange sort of internship in the name of a long-dead video game designer.

The bad news is that the dialogue is trying so hard to be deep that no one sounds like teenagers, even pretentious ones, and the prose itself has never met a simile it didn't adore. If you have a higher tolerance for purple than I do, you might be able to get past it, but I struggled to care about this group of SO unique and SO quirky teens from the get-go. They were insufferable.

Enter another spiraling rabbit hole from the mind of Marisha Pessl.

In Darkly, we are introduced to the world of Darkly games, a strange and mysterious gaming company created by the equally illusive Louisiana Veda. This summer, Arcadia "Dia" Gannon, known mostly for her vintage interests and grandmotherly tendencies, along with seven teenagers from around the global are offered an opportunity of a lifetime--an internship with the Louisiana Veda Foundation. But this internship is far from a stuffy office in London, it will send Dia down a twisty rabbit hole and into the world of Darly, where nothing at all is what it seems.

Once again, Pessl creates fictional media I desperately wish existed in the real world. Her puzzles are so intricately plotted, I was holding my breath until the last page for the final piece to be revealed. Marisha Pessl, much like her Louisiana Veda creation, always sends readers into the dark before shining a light on the path. I only wish she would write it for an adult audience.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I DEVOURED this. Usually I don't love mysteries, but the combination of setting and the hook of a mysterious board game creator on a semi haunted island? I'm HOOKED. The only thing I didn't love was the romance! Fabulously well done story.

I’ve been chasing the dark euphoria that Marisha Pessl’s Night Film enveloped me in when I first read it years ago, never quite finding it, never quite believing it could be found. But here, in her latest novel Darkly, I’ve rediscovered it. Exciting, dangerous, puzzling, obsessive, murderous, lonely, beautiful, hopeful, and yes dark, this book is a thrill ride that left me reeling. Plan on not being able to put it down for the last 100 pages or so. What a creeping wonder. What a shadowy delight.

I had yet to read a Marisha Pessl book before Darkly and I was really pleased I had the chance to read this! It was a good YA book and kept me interested the entire time.

The writing here really didn't work for me (which is interesting, because I loved 'Neverworld Wake' years ago, but that's probably a sign of my changing taste rather than anything about Pessl's voice). However, the plot and world are fairly fun and weird, so it kept my interest enough to finish the novel. If that sounds like damning with faint praise, it kinda is, but I know tons of people--teens and older adults alike--will go absolutely nuts for this book.

Pessl’s NIGHT FILM is one of my all-time favorites. I did not like her previous foray into YA, NEVERWORLD WAKE, anywhere near as much, but this sounded so very good….I was hopeful.

This book is somewhere in the middle, good, but not great. However, since it is YA, but I enjoyed it as an adult, even “good” is high praise.

Arcadia “Dia” Gannon has been obsessed with the late game maker Louisiana Veda for years. Now her foundation is running an easy contest to select seven young interns from around the world for a summer internship. Dia figures she’s got no chance, but it’s also the dream of a lifetime, so she enters.

She is shocked when she is selected, along with six other seventeen year olds, Poe, Franz, Cooper, Torin, Everleigh and Mouse.

Louisiana is a cult figure even in death. Her company, Darkly, was famous for its, well, dark, complicated, sublime board games filled with tricks and secret symbols. After Louisiana’s death the company went bankrupt and no more games were produced. Those that exist are now collector’s items and sell for immense sums.

So the interns are involved in a mystery. Why were they chosen? Why aren’t they staying in London as they were told they would? Is someone still playing games?

OK, so, the perfection part of this book? These games. I would love to get my hot little hands on any one of them; I don’t even need one of the special prototypes, just a regular one would be fine. Because they sound INCREDIBLE. They are “the secret club at the end of the alley you can reach only by following the faint footsteps in a locked graveyard yesterday.” Gimme, gimme, gimme!

The game within the story is pretty good too. Some of the other aspects of the book were maybe a bit more typical in terms of what I expect from YA, but it’s all well written and nicely done. I hope this finds a wide audience. And I hope Pessl has more adult books on the horizon as well.

***Edited to add…Small quibble with the ending, mostly because I’m a lawyer, and yes, lawyers suck, I totally agree, but this has been on my mind! I don’t know all the differences between U.S. law and U.K. law on this issue, but they usually hew pretty closely. I don’t know that the conclusion reached is correct. There’s something pretty big that Dia is missing here. Her lawyer would see it right away. OK. I’m going to try to let this go now.