I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a read (I won it in a giveaway).

... I ... am baffled. There is absolutely no nuance in this book. It as if the author wrote sentences with no descriptions / descriptive ideas on what the characters should be doing. In refraining from doing this the world building suffers too. The first 25% of this book has our prince / romantic interest trying to get her to open up a door into another dimension. Along with her brother being taken by a cult / group of people who worship death, I have no idea what is happening in this book.

This was fun! Unlock the Dark is a unique, magical debut YA romantic fantasy standalone.

We follow Elia Tallis, a conjurista who can open nearly any lock with her key-conjuring magic. By siphoning her dying father's door-conjuring magic and taking magical commissions, she is the sole provider for her younger siblings. The god of death, however, is displeased by this disruption in the natural order and takes her youngest brother as one of his servants. This concept of keeping her dying father alive to use his magic and provide for the family was quite interesting to me and unexpected for a YA book, but I thought it was handled well.

Prince Trys commissions Elia to help him find a magical scroll in the far off land of Serratura that would bring peace to their war-torn kingdom, in exchange for his hand in marriage and security for her siblings' futures.

The magic was unique, if not a little odd at times, and I really appreciated the whimsical and expansive world building. The two set off on their adventure to Serratura, and we're introduced to a different culture, language, and customs. On their journey, Elia is confronted with the choice to protect her family or her new friend/betrothed Trys.

One of my favorite themes in this was that of memory, as we learn some lore about Serratura and Elia's past which has caused individuals to forget their loved ones. I also appreciated how the author portrayed learning about a culture through a textbook versus actually experiencing culture while being in that place. This led to funny moments and blunders from the scholar prince, who had done extensive research on Serratura, when he was confronted with how Serraturans actually speak and dress and act.

The romance was very wholesome and cute (instalove), and I liked most of the characters. Elia acted her age, which is great, but unfortunately she frustrated me a bit. I would have appreciated her arc to be a bit more fleshed out. Some parts felt a bit rushed and there were a lot of different subplots happening at once, but overall I thought this was a great debut!

(Also, a plus: my favorite artist did the cover for this book!)

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins, for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I devoured it in a day! Such a great storyline, world building & unique magic system. A super sweet love story. Perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us.

I feel like there’s so many plot holes in this. Every single time I got really into it, there was a new subplot revealed and then boom the other plots were completely disregarded for the rest of the book. Just not for me unfortunately

I adored this book! The prose is amazing and the story feels very original in this landscape. I would recommend for any adventure loving teen. I will be on the lookout for more from this author for sure.

Rating-
3/5 stars

Genre-

Age Rating For It-
14+ because for one the age just fits for the book and there is also some violence but barely any other than mentions of the violence from the battle field in the war and then there is also some romance and kissing but nothing explicit.

Tropes-
One bed
Insta lust (pretty much)
Monster that needs to be stopped (iykyk)
Unique magic system
Magical curses
Warring Kingdoms


Quotes-

“To those who are lost in the dark. May you find the light that leads you home.” (dedication)

“He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, ‘I’ve wanted to do that since the first moment I saw you, Conjurista.’” (right after they kiss for the first time)

Thoughts/Would I Recommend This?-
I liked this book, but I didn’t really love it and I don’t even really know why to be honest I just didn’t really connect with this book at all, it was just kind of meh. For me, it was just one of those books that was neither amazing nor terrible, really. I just started it and then read it and then finished it and then moved on like there wasn’t any real sadness that I was done with it and moving on, I just moved on and that was that. Even though I say that, I think other people would definitely like this more than me, and so I would recommend people check it out because you may end up liking it way more than me because it was still a good book, just not the best one in my opinion.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Unlock the Dark is a YA fantasy novel with an inherited form of magic system, worlds within worlds, and very active gods and goddesses. Elia has a lot on her plate balancing financial issues, a dying father, caring for FOUR younger siblings, and just trying to survive when an idealistic Prince approaches her with a quest to create world peace, which is obviously not as easy as he believes it will be. A trillion complications ensure for virtually everyone involved. Elia delivers a master class on apologizing throughout because our girl is heavily flawed, but that's ok because we forgive her.
I would read more set within this realm from this author. There is a YA romance that is sweet, a strong female lead, libraries, and did I mention magic? I really loved this story. It was a fast read despite not being short. Unlock the Dark was my favorite YA fantasy so far this year, and I look forward to more from this new author!
Thanks to NetGalley and Storytide from HarperCollins Children's for this ARC!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

unfortunately dnf @40%

i felt that there were too many subplots introduced at once, and none of them held my attention.

i’m sure this book will find its audience but it’s not me

4.5 Rating.

Elia Tallis is a conjurista who uses her father’s magic to open portals, but keeping him alive angers the god of death, who takes her youngest brother as payment. Desperate to save him, she agrees to help Prince Trys find a legendary scroll in exchange for marriage, securing her family's future. But when the scroll turns Trys into a monstrous being, Elia must embrace her power and face unimaginable darkness to bring him back.

From the first chapter, I was completely hooked. It was fast-paced, engaging, and incredibly easy to digest for a fantasy novel.

The magic system was well-crafted, especially the way she had to unlock the doors, which was borderline insane in the best way. The main and side characters were so well-developed, and I loved how the story centered around family and the lengths you’d go to for them. I was rooting for these characters the entire time, and the FMC was such a standout. She was fierce yet soft in all the best ways. The world-building was stunning, and I was obsessed with the floating islands.

I really think this could have been a duology. There was so much packed into this standalone that while it was entertaining, the ending started to drag. It felt like too much was trying to fit into one book. And the epilogueeee my gosh. That long of a separation was a bit much, and I need to know what happens next. Selfishly, we need another book.

For anyone interested in fantasy, this is an excellent starting point with compelling world-building, easy-to-follow politics, and a story that keeps you invested.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and HarperCollins Children's Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Unlock the Dark on February 25, 2025.

This book has so much potential with an intriguing magic system, fascinating plot setup, and relatable main character. Unfortunately, my mood kept fluctuating while I tried to read this and I couldn't quite dig into it the way I wanted. This is definitely more of a me thing than a book thing, but I will also admit that learning the main love interest's name was TRYSTOFERIAN (trys for short) absolutely took me out of the story. I cannot take this man seriously, and I fear I was too distracted by his name to take note of anything else important happening.

But that doesn't mean you won't love this magic system! Weaving literal magic into thread and doorways and keys, with princes and scholars and warriors. It's a YA fantasy lover's dream.

I went into this book blind, as I requested it based on the cover alone, and I was definitely pleasantly surprised on how much I loved it. This book was such a delight.

I feel like YA romantasy is such a hard genre to write, especially in response to how to to include the romance, but I think the author was able to accomplish this in a very reasonable way. Plus, I absolutely loved Elia (the FMC) and her conjuring magic.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, Sansa Stark, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s fine, but it’s not perfect. There’s a serious tone mismatch between the weird and less weird things that happen. I don’t love how the romance develops— I personally would find Trys pretty irritating in the beginning, and I find it unbelievable that Elia would think so highly of him. It really stunts the development of the story and the parallels between them. The author has potential but there’s also some craft issues that need to be hammered out.

This book started strong with a fast pace and plenty of intrigue, drawing me in from the beginning. However, about halfway through, the story lost some momentum, and the tension faded. While I enjoyed the main characters, I felt they lacked depth, which made it harder to stay fully invested in their journey. Despite this, the world-building was impressive, and the sibling dynamic was a standout element that kept the book engaging. Overall, it's a solid read, but I believe the characters could have been developed further to make the story even more compelling.

This was entirely unique. I was immediately captured by the magic systems and the characters. 

Elia was determined, smart, caring, family oriented, and persistent. I admired how she took care of her family and not only accepted her mistakes but continued to try her best to fix them. Her power was interesting and working alongside her father, I could see why their business was very sought after. The idea of creating keys to any door in the world was very exciting. I admired her relationship with her brother and sisters. Their interactions were wholesome and you could tell they really cared for each other and knew how to pull their own weight to contribute to the family. They each had massive respect for their sister and it was expressed beautifully. 

I would’ve liked more relationship development between Prince Trys and Elia. It was almost instant love. They worked well with each other. They were very supportive and loyal. But I wanted to dive deeper into his character. I did like his character. He was kind, respectful and committed to bringing peace among the warring kingdoms. The banter between the two was hilarious and showed a bit of chemistry. 

Overall, this story was an adventure. I love that this was a fantasy standalone, even though I would’ve been excited for part two, just to see more of the other kingdoms. They were so intriguing I felt like I needed more. But also, I feel like everything is wrapped up perfectly. I would love to read more books from this author in the future! Especially spinoffs.

elia tallis can open a path to any location thanks to her key conjuring abilities and her papa’s magic. but as her papa is dying, she has painfully tethered him to life to siphon his magic and provide for her siblings. angered by this, the god of death takes elia’s youngest brother as a servant. desperate to save him, elia accepts a deadly commission from prince trys, who wants elia to help him find a scroll. if she’s successful, he’ll wed her and provide for her family. as they search for the scroll, the two begin to fall for each other…but trys transforms into a monster and they realize they may have bit off more than they could chew.

this book sounded so cool, and i do enjoy a good romantasy, so i was very excited to read this! i really liked learning about elia’s key magic, which isn’t something i’ve seen much of in other books. i loved the buildup between elia and trys and thought their relationship was done well. overall, this was a pretty unique and interesting book. i’d recommend it to people who enjoy YA romantasy, and i’m looking forward to reading more from sasa hawk.

This story is a bit rushed. It takes away from the characters and plot. It would have been better suited broken up. The magic and setting of the story is fun and whimsical. The character development, again shows promise but it's rushed-- taking away from the romance and relationship and not giving more background into what brought them together.

Oh my goodness, this book was an absolute delight!! From the whimsical and totally fun world building, to the enchanting magic system and the endearing characters, each time I sat down to read, it felt like a warm hug.

There is a magical library filled with trained lemurs, a conjurista who creates keys to doorways by...licking the locks, and a terrifying monster named Cuddles. I mean...what more could you need?

If you loved a curse so dark and lonely, you will love this book! The world building and the magic system was amazing! I could not put this book down.

This book was delightful. It’s a standalone YA fantasy with one of the most intriguing magic systems I’ve encountered. Everyone is born with a different type of magic, and it can do a wide variety of things. There are also gods and goddesses, witches, and fantastical creatures. The world is immersive, whimsical, and a little dangerous. It’s a fun fantasy book with magic, strong family bonds, and a cute romantic subplot. I do think it would’ve been better as a duology, but I still enjoyed it.
🗝️
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Spice level: 🌶️
🗝️
Read if you like:
▫️YA fantasy
▫️unique magic
▫️gods and goddesses
▫️strong heroine
▫️marriage of convenience
▫️strong family bonds
🗝️
Thank you to Epic Reads, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Sasa Hawk, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.25 Stars
I loved this. Unlock the Dark was such a refreshing and magical read with a unique magic system, lush world-building and a sweet romance. I was immediately drawn into the story and did not want to put it down.

Elia is a fantastic MC and I loved the bond she has with her siblings. There’s no limit to what she'll sacrifice for her family and with their father on deaths doorstep, she has to make some impossible decisions.
Her youngest brother Myron was so precious and I just wanted to give him the biggest hug.

I adored Elia and Trys, they were so cute together! The romance was more of a subplot though which I was okay with.
The magic system was incredibly interesting but I would’ve liked to see Elia test the limits of her magic a bit more.

I think we can all agree that Cuddles is the best monster!

I really hope we get to see more of this world in the future! Maybe a novella or companion novel? 🤞🏻

Overall, this was a great debut and I’m looking forward to reading whatever Sasa Hawk releases next! If you enjoy YA fantasy with a dash of romance you should definitely pick this up!