Published: August 4th, 2022
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology,
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook
Today is the last day of the blog tour for Daughter of Darkness and I’m thrilled to be sharing my review for this enthralling start to a new series. Thank you to Vic at Insta Book Tours for the invitation to take part and to Hot Key Books for the gifted copy of the book
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SYNOPSIS:
DISCOVER THE EPIC NEW FANTASY INSPIRED BY ANCIENT GREEK MYTH . . .
The Underworld awaits . . .
Deina is trapped. As one of the Soul Severers serving the god Hades on earth, her future is tied to the task of shepherding the dying on from the mortal world – unless she can earn or steal enough to buy her way out.
Then the tyrant ruler Orpheus offers both fortune and freedom to whoever can retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Deina jumps at the chance. But to win, she must enter an uneasy alliance with a group of fellow Severers she neither likes nor trusts.
So begins their perilous journey into the realm of Hades. . . The prize of freedom is before her – but what will it take to reach it?
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MY REVIEW:
“All you have to do is succeed and survive.”
Deina, one of the Soul Severers of Hades, is trapped and desperate to escape. But it’s years before she can buy her freedom and there are many Soul Severers who don’t live long enough to be free, losing their minds as a result of what it takes for them to escort souls from the mortal world and into the next.
Then Orpheus comes to town. The tyrant ruler offers Soul Severers who volunteer to take part in a special crusade the chance of both fortune and freedom. It is an opportunity too good for Deina to resist and she becomes one of a group of severers chosen to embark on the quest. But can they survive long enough to gain their freedom?
A fantasy series inspired by Greek Mythology with a breathtakingly beautiful cover is a book I was always going to read and I couldn’t wait to start this book. Imbued with mythology, suspense and beauty, this spellbinding tale had me hooked from the first pages. Beautifully written, the world building is magnificent and the authors’ vivid imagery makes it feel like you are watching a movie in brilliant technicolour. It is a complex world with an intricate and layered plot full of serpentine twists you won’t see coming. Overflowing with tension, the creepy notes began to play in earnest as the group of Soul Severers stepped into the underworld. There is danger in every step and a savage fight to survive that is alluring.
I listened to the story on audiobook as I was unwell in the time leading up to my stop on the blog tour and while I know I’d have still enjoyed the book however I read it, I am glad I experienced the audiobook. The narrator was superb, capturing the atmosphere and every emotion perfectly, transporting me from my sickbed into the world the author had created. I didn’t just listen to this story, I lived it, my heart actually pounding and the terror creeping through my bones.
The book is filled with a fantastic cast of characters, some of whom will be familiar because of the myths. But our narrator, Deina, and the Soul Servers she journeys with, are creations of the authors’ imaginations. Deina is a fierce young woman, full of fire and determination. She and the other Soul Severers band together for the quest but it is forced and they are still filled with the competitiveness and distrust that’s been bred in them for years. This makes their journey through the underworld all the more perilous and I enjoyed trying to guess who Deina could trust and what might happen next. Spoiler: I was usually wrong.
Atmospheric, enthralling and utterly breathtaking, Daughter of Darkness is a magnificent start to a new series that you will get lost in. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book and can’t wait for book two so I can find out what happens next.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHORS:
From their website: We are sisters and best friends (try writing a book with someone else and you’ll see why that last bit is kind of important). After spending our childhood in Essex, we now live ten minutes away from each other in Surrey. We both studied history at university and went to work in London for a bit. When we both decided to write novels – on account of fictional people being much easier to deal with than real ones – it was obvious we should do it together.
We are authors of The Witch’s Kiss Trilogy (HarperCollins) and the Solanum Duology (Hot Key Books), including A Throne Of Swans (which topped the Amazon chart as the best seller in fantasy romance for young adults) and A Crown Of Talons. Our new duology is House Of Shadows, also with Hot Key. Book 1 (Daughter of Darkness) will be out in August 2022 and book 2 in August 2023.
Stuff Katharine likes: playing instruments badly; dead languages; LOTR; loud pop concerts; Jane Austen; Neil Gaiman; Loki; the Surrey Hills. Killing off characters.
Stuff Elizabeth likes: sketching, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cinema, long baths, kitchen discos, Terry Pratchett, Thor, London. Saving characters.
Stuff we both like: YA / non-YA fantasy and science fiction, Star Wars, Star Trek, each other (most of the time).
Katherine:
Elizabeth:
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BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones | Amazon | Bookshop.org
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles😊 Emma xxxx
Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in this tour.
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