Review: This Dark Descent is brilliant and riveting

Title: This Dark Descent (This Dark Descent #1)
Author: Kalyn Josephson
Genre/s and tags: Young adult, fantasy, mythology, romance, queer, Jewish
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Publication date: September 26, 2023
Content warnings: violence, gore, injury details, blood, murder, war, bullying
Goodreads synopsis:

The Shadows Between Us meets Six of Crows in this spellbinding new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, and pulse-pounding action, where the eldest daughter of a renowned family on the verge of ruin joins forces with a mysterious, rogue enchanter and a handsome, ambitious heir to win a deadly race.

Mikira Rusel’s family has long been famous for breeding enchanted horses, but their prestige is no match for their rising debts. To save her ranch, Mikira has only one option: she must win the Illinir, a treacherous horserace whose riders either finish maimed or murdered. Yet each year, competitors return, tempted by its alluring prize money and unparalleled prestige.

Mikira’s mission soon unites her with Arielle Kadar, an impressive yet illicit enchanter just beginning to come into her true power, and Damien Adair, a dashing young lord in the midst of a fierce succession battle. Both have hidden reasons of their own to help Mikira — as well as their own blood feuds to avenge…

Steeped in Jewish folklore, This Dark Descent is a pulse-pounding new fantasy full of forbidden magic, sizzling romance, and epic stakes. In a world as dangerous as this, will the need for vengeance butcher Mikira’s chances of winning the Illinir … or will another rider’s dagger?

A big thank you to the author for sending an e-ARC my way in exchange for an honest review!
(This, of course, did not affect my overall opinion of the book.)

Hello book nerds! Back again for another review this week, and this one is definitely one of my favorites for the year!

I have to admit, This Dark Descent is quite a surprise. I’ve only read middle-grade fantasy from author Kalyn Josephson (it’s Ravenfall, which I enjoyed!), so I wasn’t sure what to expect with her YA work. However, I can tell you now that this one blew me away.

Filled with magic, political intrigue, romance, and high stakes, This Dark Descent is a brilliant YA fantasy novel that will take your breath away and have you on the edge of your seat.

My thoughts on This Dark Descent

This was just absolutely brilliant! At first, I was actually a little afraid I wouldn’t connect to this book because it’s about horse racing. But damn, how wrong was I. All throughout the book, I was rooting for the characters, I was getting swept up by the romance, I was so interested in the magic and the world-building, and I kept getting hit unexpectedly by plot twists. In other words, this captured my attention, and I was invested from start to finish!

The world-building was complex and enchanting. From the whole fictional world to the magic system, the royal houses and the elites, I loved it! It was also steeped in Jewish folklore/mythology and I loved reading all about the little details. I just hoped it had a glossary or dramatis personae (I’m hoping the final copy has some). It could get a little confusing (especially in the first few chapters) just trying to keep up with all the characters, the names, the countries, and more. That said, this was truly a complex world-building and it was easy to get lost in it.

The characters were all compelling, too. I know I love good world-building. But if the story has characters with good chemistry, characters that move and make you root for them? That’s even better. This Dark Descent delivered on this part. I loved Mikira and Arielle as the main characters. Reading the story from their dual POVs was just thrilling and captivating. Their backstories were written so well, and they just continually developed throughout the book. Seeing them grow with confidence in their own ways was just amazing. And though some of Mikira’s decisions didn’t sit right with me, I couldn’t really hate her because I understood her character and motivations.

I also have to point out that I loved the ace and bi rep in this story! Arielle felt like a demisexual/demiromantic character to me, and in my head, Mikira was pan, before I got the confirmation that she is, in fact, bi. I always love seeing queer characters in fantasy novels, and this book was no exception.

Apart from Mikira and Arielle, we also have Damien and Reid. I loved that the author also focused on them. They have their own backstories, and I just loved getting to know more about them on every page.

The plot was carefully woven and definitely stress-inducing as well! And I mean that in a good way. I was holding my breath all throughout the book, and I just loved that the plot twists always managed to surprise me. Like I never really knew what was going to happen next (despite my thinking that I had a good grasp of the plot). The political intrigue was suspenseful, too. The addition of it into the story made everything even more dangerous and high stakes. All the bargains, secrets, threats, and attacks showed how intricate and risky their whole situation was. And yes, the dangerous horse racing competition was intriguing for me. Despite my initial doubts, I ended up enjoying watching Mikira in the competition.

At the end of the book, I can say that This Dark Descent was more than just the horse racing. It was about the bad and ugly sides of humanity, the immense power that the elites hold, about your own desires, about growing in confidence, and coming to terms with your own power. I have nothing else to say except that this was just brilliant, riveting, and breathtaking.

I think anyone looking for pulse-pounding action and adventure, as well as compelling characters, will really love this book. As for me? I can’t wait for the sequel.