Even the Darkest Stars was a beautifully atmospheric read. The Himalayan-inspired fantasy world it was set in was, by far, my favourite aspect of the story. The world truly came to life under Fawcett’s writing style. She truly has a knack for world-building with the way she was able to seamlessly blend Nepalese culture with her unique magic system. I adored that so many different magical races were present, especially how they tied in with the characters’ own folklore. The mini dragons were just so adorable and I always love stories with human-animal bonds. I did think that the fire demon and Familiar lore could have been developed more but I loved Fawcett’s spin on witches. Hopefully, they will play more of a role in the sequels!

I personally enjoyed the storyline. Looking back, I guess it was a little slow but it did not read like that. I was able to flip through this story incredibly quickly. The plot is a journey-plot at its heart though so there were a lot of walking, talking and making camp scenes. Did it bother me? No, not really. I really loved how it let us explore the world and it never became repetitive. There were lots of ‘action’ scenes to break the monotony of their expedition up. I also thought that it added an emotional element to the story: the danger of their journey was constantly present and kind of terrifying. I will say that one problem I had with the plot was how some scenes lacked the emotion they needed. I don’t quite know how to phrase it but there were a few times throughout the story where something happened and Kamzin’s reaction was so mild that it took the, I don’t know, the emphasis (??) out of the scene. I am mainly talking about

when Kamzin discovered River’s fire demon and when she was reunited with her sister on the mountain

. Both of those scenes should have caused Kamzin to react very strongly but she kind of accepted it and moved on without even blinking. I think that if Fawcett had tapped into the emotion of the story at these points, it would have helped to pull me into the story more. I felt too much like an outsider looking in, completely disengaged from the story happening before my eyes.

Unfortunately, the book did suffer from another fatal flaw: a love triangle. For the love of all things good and pure, I beg of you, authors please stop doing this to us! It is not realistic and by now, it is almost impossible to add anything unique to add to this trope. It is so tired, so worn out. It really disappointed me that it had to be included. It detracted from the main storyline and I had little patience for some of the petty drama it ignited. I could understand where the feelings between River and Kamzin might have started from: they had a lot of the same interests and had to spend a lot of time together. In fact, I would have been happy for River and Kamzin to develop a romantic relationship if it had been more appropriate. In the middle of a dangerous (read: deadly) mountain-trekking expedition was definitely not the place. Tem did also frustrate me. I understand you cannot help who you develop feelings for; becoming bitter about them remaining unrequited starts to toe the line of problematic, though. Yes, Kamzin did make a few dodgy decisions and he would not be a true friend if he did not try to stop her from pointing that out. I was just a little worried about his motivation doing so might not have been 100% pure.

Overall?

I really enjoyed Even the Darkest Stars but it was not a standout read. Fawcett definitely has a talent for world-building and atmospheric writing. I loved this world, particularly its mythology and creatures. The plotline was engaging but a lot of the key scenes failed to capture the emotion of the situation. It made me feel oddly detached from the characters and their journey, which really hurt my overall enjoyment. I also thought that the incorporation of a love triangle was unnecessary and led to petty drama. lacked emotion. The ending was intense, though, so I look forward to seeing where the sequel will take these characters.

Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.