The incredible, all consuming, sequel and finale in the debut duology from author Sunya Mara will leave readers fulfilled, enchanted and completely, utterly, captivated.
From the blurb;
'Vesper Vale sacrificed everything to save her city from the cursed storm. But when she awakens from three years of slumber as a vessel of The Great Queen, she finds her home beset by sinister forces.
'The Great King and his army of lightstruck - once regular citizens who are controlled by the ominous light - have besieged the city. And the people are looking to Vesper, not revered as a goddess after her sacrifice, as their only hope.
'As she fights to rescue them, Vesper faces a growing chasm between her and Dalca, the prince she swore never to love. Haunted by the guilt of their choices and faces with the pressures of a city near ruin, Vesper and Dalca find themselves torn between the growing factions within the city and the royal court.
'But in order to save her city from the light, Vesper must confront the power most outside of her control - the goddess within.'
As we return to Vesper's world we are faced with a new playing field. This time the battle is not against gods weakened and hidden, but against gods forthright and bold, and the people who do and do not follow them.
Unlike in The Darkening Vesper does not enjoy the anonymity of being no-one when she awakens. Instead revered as a god among men herself Vesper must find the balance between the legend she has become during her three years of sleep and the person she truly is at her core.
Fighting against what others want from her, and what they think is best for her, Vesper must first find her strength to be the woman who defeated the storm once more as she dives into a new, and all to dangerous, battle.
Keeping her cards close to her chest Sunya Mara teases the reader with seemingly easy solutions, which are equally easily shattered, against rising odds and convoluted plots. As we cling to an ever waning hope that the lightstruck can be saved, and begin to question which of the characters we can truly trust, Mara gifts us with new and enticing glimpses into this world, thrown open by the fall of the storm, and it's long lost history.
Torn between a drive to explore and the desire to save what has always been home, Vesper is faced with a question only she can answer, and everyone's life hinges on it.
We could not put down The Lightstruck and were exceptionally pleased with how Mara tied up loose ends and concluded each characters arc. If you're waiting to read The Darkening and to fall in love with Mara's writing wait no longer and run to get this marvelous duology.
We give The Lightstruck Five Stars
ISBN - 98-1-529-35550-5
Hardback Cover Price - £18.99 First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Hodder & Stoughton.