Do you want a sapphic portal fantasy that'll make you google pictures of sinkholes and recoil in horror? Here it is! This delightful debut novel has made me so excited to see what else Kate Hazel Hall will create. It has such a unique take on fantasy elements incorporated into the real world. With sensitively handled themes such as grief and forgiveness, and a heartwarming romance, I'm so glad I picked this one up.
Ari Wyndham blames herself for the death of her best friend, Alex, when she was nine. Now sixteen, she's bitten by a deadly tiger snake and a summoner is sent to collect her soul. The summoner is Alex. Recognising each other, Alex refuses to let Ari die, but the consequences of this transgression are worse than they could have imagined. Savage dog packs, sinkhole portals, and a trip to the underworld await you in this sapphic fantasy.
One of the highlights of this book was the uniqueness of the storyline and plot elements. I'll admit I don't often read portal fantasies so maybe I'm just blown away by how cool they are! Incorporating the Greek underworld, with Australian wildlife, a sapphic romance, and feral dog packs so wonderfully in quite a small book demonstrates the author's talent for creating an original story.
The writing style was perfect for the book. It was simultaneous an easy, fast-paced read, while also having a strong focus on building a magical atmosphere. It was set partially in reality, but it felt like anything could happen. I adored the fairy-tale feel.
I've not read many books set in Australia, and it's mostly reinforced my idea that I would definitely get bitten by a snake and die on my first day. There's a big focus on nature, from the old forests to the untameable oceans; it makes the perfect setting for the unnatural disturbances that arise.
With a little trip into the underworld, we see the atmospheric writing come to life. It's a creepy idea of the afterlife, but it's also so intriguing. I'm not going to say too much so this can remain spoiler-free, but I loved the characters and conflict introduced down there. It's a harsh world, but it remains full of unlikely allies and friends.
The one issue I had with the book was the pacing. The ending slowed down considerably, and it loses some of the strength it had earlier in the novel. It began to feel a bit lacklustre when I was expecting a bright climax. To be fair to the author, I find these small issues common in debut novels, so it didn't negatively impact my thoughts too much.
The romance was so heartwarming and cute. I could see people who love slow-burns grumbling about how quickly things fall into place, but I loved it. Intense childhood friendship leading into 'wow she's hot' is something I'm always here for. I often find sapphic romances in fantasy don't get the page time they deserve, so I'm happy to announce that From Darkness has a brilliant amount of adorable scenes.
Childhood friends to lovers is a trope I adore in queer romance because it's so common for us to look back on intense friendships and go 'oh, maybe that was gayer than I originally realised'.Just imagine the romantic potential of 'I blame myself for my best friends death, and now she's appeared to take my spirit to the underworld, but she remembers me and will face any punishment to keep me safe,' that's what we're dealing with here, it's so good. It's so good.
Another thing I enjoyed was this isn't a book about figuring out your identity. I completely understand why those stories are so often told, especially in YA, but it was a nice change to have characters who actually know who they are, and what they want. It was also lovely to have a book with no homophobia; there are conflicts and challenges, but it's not related to our duos sexuality.
Finally, there's such a strong focus on grief and forgiveness. This book shows how difficult it is to forgive yourself for terrible accidents. Ari struggles heavily all her life because she wholeheartedly blames herself for Alex's death. I love that Ari slowly learnt that sometimes horrible things happen, and could set herself on the path to healing.
(Thanks to NetGallery and Interlude Press for providing an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review)
