I love a good magic system and a quest! A delightful read and I am looking forward to seeing how this duology rounds outs.

I really enjoyed this book! It was immediately an engaging story with an intriguing world building/magic system. My complaint is that I want more! Still a lot of unknowns about the world as we get thrust right into the plot. I instantly felt immersed in the story and the issues the characters had when at times it could take chapters for me to feel a pull to a book.

I think where this book lost some stars from me is that it was too YA at times for my taste. WHICH for its genre and that it is a YA book, I think it’s really good. Characters are lovable, the romantic relationship isn’t the forefront and feels rushed at times but it made sense based off everything going on in the story. I think having this be a standalone was ambitious, where at times it felt a lot was going on that if it had been spread out in a longer book or in a second book, we could have gotten more world building / information.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the first half of 2025, and I am so lucky that I was able to read it early. I am really having a good 2025-release year so far because this was GREAT. The world was vivid and compelling, the magic was so cool and I loved reading about it, the characters were wonderful, and the relationships were great, too. I just loved this story, it was so well done. I did have a few wishes, though. Like, while I can appreciate that this was a stand alone in a world where most things are trilogies, I would have loved this as a duology just to let the world breathe and the relationships develop a little more--the romance was good but it could have been a lot stronger if it just had the pages to grow. Overall, though, I still really loved this and I'm so excited to get our physical copies in at the branch. I know my YA readers are going to love this!

3.5 stars

I think this book was fairly good for a debut! I think the magic system while occasionally odd was really unique and fascinating. I’d love for Hawk to write more set in this world just so I can learn more about the magic and the setting.

Speaking of setting, Serratura was so interesting. I honestly wish we spent more time with our characters in that realm.

I feel like this is a reoccurring theme in my review, as a whole I just wanted more. I wanted more background, more time learning the magic, more adventuring, further characterizations. Maybe I’m greedy, but I just want more because I did like what I got.

I loved Elia and Trys, they were down bad for each other almost to the point of being instalove but it was quite endearing. I loved Elia’s deep loyalty and devotion to her family and how far she was willing to sacrifice for them. But things just weren’t perfect.

The pacing and plotting of the second half was borderline jarring. It really stunted the plot and I had a hard time pushing through until the last ten chapters or so.

Overall, a good debut and I hope to see more from Sasa Hawk. Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

✒️📖ARC REVIEW📖🖋️

4.5 rounded up

Lovely layered storylines and world building! I was happy with the ending as the last of Elia’s major regrets in her short life seem as if it will be remedied, but there was the common troupe that sitting royalty doles out harsh sentences. This part aggravated me a bit at the end…

The worlds-building and magic system (or at least the different magically classes and non-magics) is painted beautifully and clearly in the short stretch of the book. There was lots of found family and years long friendships throughout the book that spoke volumes of how important the main character was to her community and how much she sacrificed for her family.

The main characters were given deep enough backgrounds to explain their choices and actions for the main conflict of the story. The plot was well developed with side characters, and challenges at every corner. All of the characters were pretty likable…including the overground hound of darkness.

Would recommend for anyone in the mood for a fantastic standalone filled with lush descriptions of the worlds and magic centered society on the backdrop of a wagging war.

I was provided a free advanced reader copy courtesy of Harper Collins and Sasa Hawk via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

#arc #advancedreadercopy #NetGalley #UnlocktheDark #SasaHawk #HarperCollins

Now playing:

Carry You Home - Alex Warren
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Characters:

Elia: I liked her remorse, and she was super funny in the first chapter, her need to protect her family was super motivating. I did get frustrated with her at times, and she didn't have the deepest character arc, but on the surface she was a just fine main character.

Trys: He was a such a breath of fresh air, normally the princes in books are cocky and stuck up and daddy issues, you catch me? But he was just a sweet, scholar boy who was purehearted and had the best intentions in mind and who genuinely cared for Elia and her family and he was just an overall cutie patootie :)

The siblings: I liked their dynamic, while I wish I could have gotten to see more from them, the little we got I was happy with! They're all very dedicated to keeping their family safe and doing everything in their power to do so, my favorite was definitely Orin, he was such a sassy king and I loved him

Solbane & Cuddles: Iykyk, but these two were easily THE BEST CHARACTERS. I loved Cuddles and he's my baby, and Solbane just made me chuckle, I love him as well.

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Plot: The plot is what got me, I don't mind the insta love so much (I hate insta lust on the other hand) but I just YEARNED for more world building, she had such an original magic system and I wanted to see so much more of it, to meet more characters, but we just didn't. It took awhile for the plot to get started, and the ending dragged on. The third act was not my favorite and I felt like we could have been doing much more important things. The middle was definitely the best, but it was bit a struggle to reach there!

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Writing: The writing could drag on sometimes, but I overall liked it for the most part, it wasn't my favorite nor was it my least favorite, sometimes I wish we could have had a little more, sometimes I wish we could have had a little less.

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Overall thoughts: I think she has a lot of room to grow! She had such a unique magic system and I saw potential in the writing, but I just wish for better character arcs and focusing more on the world building.

"I'll be right here across the hall. If you call, I'll come right away."
"If that's what you want, I won't argue, but it's a bit too far for my preference."
"Would you like me to sleep in the chair next to your bed?"
An adorable blush crept up his neck, "Still too far I think"
She would walk through any darkness for the chance to flirt with him just like this. "Perhaps I should curl up on the foot of your bed, like a favored dog. Outside the covers of course." He pulled her close and folded her in his arms, "Still too far."
"Next to you outside the covers?"
"Too far."
"You'll have to tell me what you want then."
"In my arms seems right."

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC.

This was a case of an intriguing opening chapter and the introduction of a potentially cool protagonist with an interesting power ... all to fizzle out in the second half. Flimsy worldbuilding doesn't necessarily bother me in a fantasy novel, and the different magical abilities that this world's residents could develop were an interesting enough concept. Aside from protag Elia's ability to unlock practically anything, we also learn there's a whole variety of possible powers—from being insanely good at math, researching, baking to even fashion designing. I'm oversimplifying these, but I do like the idea of taking seemingly everyday or even mundane skills to be literal magic.

What initially drew me to Elia was she's the quintessential eldest daughter who is also the primary breadwinner of her family of four younger siblings, since her parents are out of commission. From the start, we learn she's pretty much devoting the rest of her adolescence to earning an income just to be able to send her siblings to their dream schools so they can pursue their careers of choice. (And get fed with a roof over their heads, but that's a given.) She even plans to find herself a marriage of convenience to financially support her siblings. How could I not root for her!

Author Sasa Hawk also made sure that her main character had a terrible flaw: her hubris that led to devastating consequences for citizens of a neighboring kingdom, albeit unintentionally. Elia also develops a crush on Prince Trys, who wants to hire her magical unlocking/key-conjuring ability to open a portal door to said kingdom for his own quest. I've got no issue with the concept of an 18-year-old crushing fast on a prince solely because he's attractive; it actually didn't annoy me because Elia never lets her infatuation get in the way of putting her family first. Hot Prince might be hot, but that doesn't mean she was going to risk her life with his request. Her siblings need her more and she rightfully prioritizes them. It's much more enjoyable to read than an insta-love situation where the romance is the driving motivation for our heroine.

I feel like Hawk understood on not compromising on her protagonist's familial duties, but still wanted to focus on Elia & Trys' romance. Which led to Elia's financial struggles with supporting her siblings' future prospects pretty much being resolved at the start of the second half. Oh she needs money? Here you go. Now her siblings can focus on studying in their dream schools while the narrative flips over to the next big plotline: saving Trys from his curse and freeing her youngest brother from the death god. The latter was resolved rather anticlimactically, because we need that last sibling out of the way too. All to focus on a very rushed romantic plotline. Elia goes from having a harmless crush to a supposed ride-or-die love for Prince Trys with not enough development. NOW the romance annoys me.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide for this ARC for review. Elia has the power to unlock a path any world. Her father is dying and in order to save him and her little brother, Elia accepts a commission from a prince. What the prince knows of other worlds he has learned from his books, whereas Elia has learned from her travels. The prince is looking for a secret legendary scroll and Elia is tasked to help him find it and in exchange they will be wed and her brother and her father will be safe. But the scroll is cursed and Elia must push her powers further than ever before and bargain more than she wanted in order to save who she cares for. This book had fantastic world building and I would be interested in reading more about these worlds and the cursed scrolls

3.75 stars

While as a whole I really enjoyed this book, something about the name Trystoferian Alexios Magnus Felipe Lightdragon was like nails on a chalkboard to me, and with the nickname Trys all I could think about was Divergent.
I know that this is not the authors fault or intention, but it did taint my perception of this book.
I also wasn't very found of the terms (title's?) for the different magical classes. i.e. Conjurista, Sartorialista, Floralista, etc
I feel like the author could have come up with something more creative and well., magical.
I do look forward to the author coming to our store, which is what motivated me to read this book in the first place.
It is definitely a good debut novel (series?) and would read more of this authors works without hesitation.

She has the ability to unlock any lock and create doors... but with her younger brother being held captive and the only way to free him is to enter into the forbidden kingdom she was banished from because set accidentally set loose a curse.... and now must traverse back to with a prince who wants to end the war and enter the same library as well? Her life just keeps getting more complicated. Elia has key conjuring abilities and with her father dying, she has siblings to look after and with barely any money... she is forced to take odd jobs. Yet when her youngest brother's ability of being chosen by the god of death is revealed and he is taken by the temple, Elia finds out that the only way to get her brother back is to break the godbond.... and the only way to find out that is by entering into the library on a hidden kingdom... that she has been banished from because she set loose a plague there. Then there is Trys, a kindhearted prince who is determined to end the war and find the scroll of peace... which coincidentally also happens to be in the same library Elia needs to go to. Trys offers protection for Elia's family, security for her siblings' livelihoods, and his own hand in marriage if she can get him in and out. Elia knows she shouldn't but with no choice, she accepts... and finds herself falling for a handsome but slightly naive prince, while also facing the consequences of her past and finding the strength to do whatever it takes for her loved ones. This was a fun standalone fantasy adventure with a dash of romance. I enjoyed the magic system created in this story and the romance felt sweet. Elia was a realistic and sympathetic character because of how much was put on her plate and how hard she strived to do what was best for her family despite it stretching herself far. Elia's love and strength was so well done and the romance between her and Trys was soft and sweet. It's a cute read and one I definitely think fantasy YA readers will have a fun time with.

Release Date: February 25, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

2.5 stars rounded up. This book was gripping until the midway point, then my interest waned. I skimmed through the last 30% to find the resolution was good, but unremarkable.

I could see this book being rewritten into a duology or a much longer book. The characters were a tad bit flat and then the middle portion just… I don’t know. It lost its spark and just became all over the place. The second half of the book had a completely different tone than the first half.

Spoiler below
I’m also super upset with how Trys was essentially forgotten until his uncle came in and was like where’s my nephew? I’m the King, go save him. And I’m still fuzzy on how she was paid- they said on the oathstone that only AFTER he would return would be paid. But still she was paid the commission for the door?

Either way- this book was unfortunately not for me. I can see others enjoying it and I hope that the author sees success.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC.

I think Sasa Hawk did a good job with creating this world and introducing the reader to the characters. For anyone who dislikes a lot of world building, then this may be an issue for you, but for others it will be enjoyable and really help you visualize this world the FMC and MMC dwell in. I liked the FMC and MMC and feel like the author did a good job of developing these two characters as well. They have a sweet romance. This is a standalone book and may be considered fast-paced for some people but, in my opinion, was set at a really good pace.

To be very honest, I only requested this book because it’s a standalone YA fantasy and the cover is absolutely stunning. The book. Is even better.

I was captivated right from the start. I loved seeing the bond between Elia and her siblings and how they all worked together to keep their lives running after their mother’s death and father’s illness. I easily became connected to Elia and her struggles and hoped for everything to work for her.

Once Trys was introduced, the conflict and dangers became more obvious. There were quite a few mysteries and twists. But everything connected together seamlessly, and nothing felt out of place.

The romance was soooo cute. It’s prevalent throughout the story, but I don’t think it’s enough to call it a romantasy?? I’m not too sure, but I loved Elia and Trys’s relationship so much. There’s some really cute moments and lots of banter and bickering. I especially enjoyed how the romance progressed and connected to the plot.

If this looks interesting to you, I suggest reading it without the blurb. Just know it's a YA fantasy with romance, a cool magic system, and dangerous quests. I only read the first part of the blurb but am now realizing that part of the story I felt shocked by is actually told in the blurb.

When I read YA, I love to think about whether I would have liked the book in middle or high school. This one, I would have completely adored, no doubt.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

Unlock the Dark is an action packed and magical story.

Elia is a Conjurista, one who is skilled with the magic of making keys and unlocking even the most difficult of enchantments. When a mysterious stranger asked her to craft a door to a forbidden and secluded kingdom, she immediately refuses. But she has 4 younger siblings to consider, and the price is too great to pass up. The stranger turns out to be a Prince, Trys, who is seeking a way to end the war that is destroying the kingdom. The pair decide to go through with it, but the consequences are greater than they could have ever imagined.

This was a fun and fast paced read. It took me a bit to get into the story as there is a lot of world building and set up. The latter half of the book picks up the pace and there is a lot of action. I enjoyed the romance between Elia and Trys - it was was sweet, and though it seemed a bit quick, it made sense given that this is a standalone story. The writing is fairly straightforward, easy to get into, and suitable for a YA novel. Overall I enjoyed the story and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s Storytide for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for granting me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable and well-crafted fantasy, especially coming from someone who typically does not engage with the genre. To begin this review, I want to clarify that while I usually read young adult literature, fantasy is not my usual choice, which made me apprehensive about whether I would connect with this narrative. However, my concerns were unfounded. Additionally, I must commend the cover illustrations, which are truly beautiful and perfectly represent my vision of the characters. That said, I do wish the characters had a bit more distinction from the background colors. Regarding the narrative, I genuinely appreciated the world-building and character development throughout the story. However, I felt that some sections could have benefited from more depth, while others might have been more effective if they were more concise. Overall, I was impressed by the author's ability to create a richly developed world that readers can vividly imagine. Excellent work!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I admit that the cover is what originally drew me to this book, but the writing made me stay. I loved the world-building, the light romance was solid (even though it's a case of insta-love), but it was just solid and enjoyable. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads for release.

Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for Feb 15th
Blog link goes live March 7th
Amazon and B&N reviews will be up after release
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube wrapup


**TL;DR**: This has some great ideas but not-so-great execution.
**Source**: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher!

**Plot**: Elia is desperate to take care of her family, and ends up doing a favor to a prince that has huge ramifications.
**Characters**: I wasn’t a huge fan of anyone here to be honest. I felt for the Prince most of all.
**Setting**: The only place I felt grounded in the story was at Elia’s home but we didn’t spend much time there.
**Fantasy/Romance:** The fantasy parts of this were great. If this had been expanded to a longer series that would have been great. I didn’t buy this romance at all though.

**Thoughts**:

Unlock the Dark is an incredibly fast paced story about a young woman with a niche and handy power trying to take care of her family. Through some unfortunate decisions Elia ends up in a bad spot. Caught between bills piling up and the Death God’s temple she needs to make some money to save her family. So she makes an incredibly unwise decision to help a foolish prince and unleashes a beast.

There is a LOT packed into this book. And a lot of it can be traced back to our main character’s bad decisions. From her ‘history’ with the country she needs to take her prince too, to her use of her poor father as fuel for her lifestyle. That lead me as the reader to be very frustrated with her and consequently the whole book. This gal unleashed a horrible plague once by breaking and entering somewhere she should not. So what does she do? She does it again, TWICE.

I also really didn’t like the ‘take the glasses off and the girl is hot’ vibe I got from the prince. Elia has nothing but scorn for him till she sees him dressed up and all the sudden now he’s hot? I’ll pass. In fact the Prince, the more I think on it, bothers me as he has little to no personality besides his desire to stop a war. He felt very two dimensional which is likely why the romance fell flat as a rug for me.

This one was not my favorite. There was a lot of potential in the world and the ideas but the execution didn’t do anything for me. I can see this working for some readers, I just wasn’t that reader.

Unlock the Dark is a debut with a brilliant concept, but not so great execution. The bits that were good, were really good but some areas were quite lacking. Let’s get the negatives out of the way first.

I was expecting this book to be a much quicker read than it was. I’m now learning to not trust the number of pages on the NetGalley reader (which I don’t actually read with, I use it just to get an idea of how long a book is) as it claimed Unlock the Dark was less than 300 pages long–it was not. Unfortunately, the fact that it took me way longer than expected to finish Unlock the Dark did affect my feelings towards the book. The start of the book took way too long to get going, the ‘deadly commission’ Elia accepted from Trys is over too quickly and the ending also dragged quite a bit.

This brings me to my next point. I actually think Unlock the Dark would have worked better as duology. That way, there would have been more time to learn about the magic of this world, which seemed quite interesting, and relationships would have had more time to develop. (Slight spoiler ahead) I do think there is a spark between Elia and Trys but they confessed their love to each other way too quickly–technically this happens near the end of the book but I think it was too soon.

The quest they go on to find the scroll, which is the ‘deadly commission’ mentioned above, takes place over just a small chunk of chapters. The world building for Serratura is the best in the entire book, but you don’t get to spend a lot of time there. It’s an isolated island in the sky that has great advancements in technology and an interesting culture. I would have loved to spend more time there instead of the ‘the scroll is in the library, let’s go get it, we’ve got it’ plot we did get.

Ok, that’s enough of the negatives. Here are the parts of the story I actually did enjoy.

Elia was a wonderfully stubborn main character. It’s refreshing to not get a ‘I’m not like the other girls’ character in a romantasy (using that genre name very lightly). She has a fierce love for her family and will do literally anything to keep them safe, including defying the orders of a god of death. She definitely had her flaws and she made a few stupid decisions but her determination and love for her family more than made up for them.

Speaking of Elia’s family, I loved them. They all had different types of ‘magic’, which I would love to see explored more in future books. I’m particularly interested in Orin’s threadlore magic where he creates tales of action, love and adventure in garments. I think each sibling has enough potential to have a book of their own, exploring the different types of magic in this world.

Which is probably the best part of this book for me. The lore of this world is fascinating. I want to know more about the different types of magic and how they play a part in the everyday lives of the characters (one of them is a baker that uses magic to make the best confections in the city, so cool!). The different Gods were also really interesting. Sadly, you don’t get to learn a lot about them.

Overall, I would recommend Unlock the Dark despite the areas I think it is lacking in. The world building you do get is really well done and the plot is unique and interesting–the execution was lacking just a little bit in my opinion.

4.5/5
Very different from main stream fantasy. Elia is the care taker of 4 younger siblings and it's a book where the main character isn't violent. This book was a breath of fresh air. The world building was pretty solid and I could follow the what was going on enough for what I needed to know for the story. The magic is where I took off points because it's not really explained you are just kind of thrown terms and are expected to just go along with it (in the arc there isn't anything to help with it not sure if the printed book will have something). Also the gods are just named randomly I'm not sure what kind of polytheistic world this is but I just went with it because I absolutely loved the story line. It's low violence just a street smart girl trying to make it for her family. The relationship between Elia and her her siblings is strong and I absolutely loved the connection that they had. Elia and the MMC was a little quick as for how the timeline went. But their little quirky jabs and angst was such fun to read. I am so happy I went into this book blind it was such a fun read! And I can't wait for more from the author!

Thank you NetGalley and Storytide for the opportunity to read this e-arc.

I do think this could have been developed a little more, maybe even written to have another book or two.

The world building was perfect for me, not too much but not too little.

I don’t like the insta-love aspect, but they are great together. I just wish there was more of a buildup.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, but I think that’s just because I wanted a little more.