Kyon Ensin finally has what he’s always wanted: possession of Kricket Hollowell, the priestess who foresees the future. Together, their combined power will be unrivaled. Kricket, however, doesn’t crave the crown of Ethar—she has an unbreakable desire to live life on her own terms, a life that she desperately wants to share with her love, Trey Allairis.
As conspiracies rage in the war for Ethar, Kricket’s so-called allies want to use her as a spy. Even those held closest cannot be trusted—including Astrid, her sister, and Giffen, a member of a mysterious order with a hidden agenda. But Kricket’s resolve will not allow her to be used as anyone’s pawn, even as the Brotherhood sharpens its plans to cut out her heart.
As the destiny prophesied by her mother approaches, Kricket will backtrack through her fiery future to reshape it. For she knows one thing above all else: the only person she can truly count on is herself.
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ABOUT THE BOOK AND LORNA’S REVIEW!
Darken the Stars
by Amy Bartol
Series
Kricket #3
Genre
Young Adult
Paranormal Romance
Publisher
47North
Publication Date
September 8, 2015
Darken the Stars is the third in this trilogy by Amy Bartol, that takes a young girl from Chicago to her roots on another planet, Ethar. How this happens, and everything that happens to her along the way, and while she is there, is the premise of this series. And what a wonderful series it is. However, and I never thought I would ever say this, I was a bit disappointed with this one. More about that later.
Kricket has been given(against her will) to Kyon, the evil man that has been hunting her since she was first found in Chicago by warriors from the House of Rafe, from the planet Ethar. Kyon is from the House of Alameeda, and wants to claim Kricket as his own. Why? Because she is half Rafe and half Alameeda, and was taken to Earth by her mother as a child to keep her safe from both these houses. Kricket is a priestess of the house of Alameeda by virtue of her birth, although Rafe also claims her. This is due to her gifts of prophecy and her gift of being able to tell who lies, and who is telling the truth. By being given to Kyon in trade for another, she is taken away from her love, Trey, a warrior from Rafe. Now she has to learn to live with Kyon, in unbelievable luxury. He plans to keep her, and he wants to rule over Ethar with her. But how can that happen when pretty much everyone wants her dead?
The first two books in this series, Under Different Stars and Sea of Stars, were not only non-stop action, but also the love story of Kricket and Trey. I enjoyed them both immensely and couldn’t wait to see how the author would end the story, and give them their happily ever after. With this book, Kricket is away from Trey for pretty much most of the book due to her now living with Kyon in what amounts to a fortress. And Trey has now joined the resistance against Almeeda, and in doing so, has joined with the very people that traded her to Kyon-and Kricket’s father, Pan-the same man that has written Kricket off as expendable. Great father material he isn’t!
This installment features it’s share of action, along with betrayals, and as with the others, lots of death. But the real downside to this story for me was the lack of Trey. We see him here and there, usually in one of Kricket’s visions-which means she doesn’t interact with him that much in real life. Yes, this is Kricket’s story, but to me Trey was a big part of it from the beginning. Most readers have hated Kyon throughout the first two books-Kricket even calls him a psychopath on many occasions. Kyon’s need for revenge against his father(for being his father? for being the leader of his people? For being evil?) causes him to kill anyone that displeases him or Kricket, in any way. When Kricket starts caring for him in a way, and they begin a relationship of sorts, all I could think of was Stockholm syndrome.
I am not going into how it ended, but after thinking on it for a few days, it ended the only way it could. Or maybe there could be followup book someday. The writing? Amy Bartol is a fantastic writer, pacing the story perfectly for a tightly written story. Haven’t read anything by this author yet? Well if science fiction isn’t your thing, her Premonition Series is a wonderful paranormal romance read. But you really must try her books, because they are just that good!
I am going to miss this series, and although I know it’s a trilogy, I think a fourth book would not be out of place.
Amazing series by an amazing author!
The review copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
About Amy Bartol
I live in Michigan with my husband and our two sons. My family is very supportive of my writing. When I’m writing, they often bring me the take-out menu so that I can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when I talk about my characters like they’re real. They rarely roll their eyes when I tell them I’ll only be a second while I finish writing a chapter…and then they take off their coats. They ask me how the story is going when I surface after living for hours in a world of my own making. They have learned to accept my “writing uniform” consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at my nerdy bookishness whenever I try to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get me, so they are perfect and I am blessed. Please visit me at my website: http://www.amyabartol.com
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