Author: Katy Rose Pool

Synopsis:

The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it... or unleash it?

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer? Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and An Ember in the Ashes.

Hassan had crouched down to Azizi’s level, putting a hand on the boy’s bony shoulder. “You are helping. This–getting on this ship with your mother and sister to sail to an unfamiliar land–it’s just as important as what I’m doing. Just be brave. To keep out home inside your heart, right beside your hope, even when you’re far away–it’s one of the bravest things there is. I’m going to make Herat safe for you, Azizi.”

I am LOVING the fact that the newest fad in YA fantasy seems to feature the rag-tag group of characters from all walks of life, destined to come together to *do* something important. In this case, it’s stopping the apocalypse. There’s a secret prophecy, three harbingers of death, and of course, an evil zealot that wants to wipe all of the Gifted people out.

The cast of characters was super unique and memorable. I can’t wait to dig deeper into each of their personalities and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists that popped up towards the end. I don’t want to get too far into them because a few of them might not be who you expect and it was fun watching all the chaos unfold and destinies change.

I really liked the premise, too, even though I have a few thoughts on how it was presented. I feel like in fantasy series’ there is always that one point of impending doom that the books work toward until the end of the series where the hero is successful and good wins. In this book, the secret final prophecy foretold a time of darkness and what sounded like the end of times. A bunch of things unfold towards the end of this book and that is set in motion. To me, it almost seemed like too much happened already in the first book. I loved the world building and I felt like the characters were fleshed out enough, I just would have like a little more preparation I guess? I don’t know how many books are planned for this series so maybe Pool wanted to condense more into this to really ratchet up the danger level immediately for book two. Either way, it all unfolded in a very believable, and INCREDIBLY gripping way (!!!) I just would have liked there to be a tiny bit more build up before the start of the apocalypse lol. I was biting my nails the entire last half of this book as more and more unfolded and I cannot wait for the rest of the series! I think a lot of people will love this and will be dying for more.

Once, as the rest of Jude’s world had crashed down around him, his gave had been drawn to the warm, dark eyes of a strange boy, hunched over the side of a scrying pool.
Now, their eyes met again.
And Jude’s true north was found.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt Books for Young Readers for giving me a change to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Also, since the quotes above came from an unfinished copy, they are subject to change.♥