“A novel of court intrigue and action-packed military adventure,”* Joanna Hathaway’s Dark of the West, is a breathtaking YA fantasy debut–first in the Glass Alliance series. A pilot raised in revolution. A princess raised in a palace. A world on the brink of war. Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother … shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania–Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.
Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it–a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.
“Heart-pounding . . . will leave the reader wanting more.”–*#1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
more
In this reimagining of Europe’s world wars, Joanna Hathaway delivers a novel of court intrigue and action-packed military adventure. Heart-pounding… will leave the reader wanting more.
Captivating… The prose is elegant, the characters intricate, and the worldbuilding enrapturing.
Smart, stunning, and completely swoonworthy, Dark of the West swept me off my feet. Fans of forbidden love, high stakes, and intrigue ― don’t miss this triumph of a book!
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. This review MAY contain spoilers.
This book really impressed me. I admit that it took me longer to get into the story that I would have liked, but once I dug my feet in I was hooked. Hathaway’s writing style is so fluent and beautiful that it is hard to walk away from. I enjoyed her writing voice. If I am being honest, the writing felt like it fell somewhere between young adult and adult. Her storytelling is marvelous!
This book felt very unique to me as far as fantasy books go. This book had a feel of World War Two in a fictional world with various royalty and militaries. It is certainly unlike anything that I’ve ever read. It really stands out. The world building took me a while to get straight in my head where all the countries and nations are concerned, but it was really phenomenal overall.
The plot is clever and engaging. I loved all the espionage, rebellion, political intrigue, and overall mystery surrounding many of the characters and their loyalties. The way that the plot points are woven into the story is amazing.
The characters in this book are intriguing and they grow on you quickly. Once you get inside their heads you will want to know more and more. I personally felt more connected to Athan’s character than Aurelia’s. I adored them both in their own ways, but I loved Athan’s voice the most. I also enjoyed the romance between Aurelia and Athan. It is a very loose enemies-to-lovers trope.
This book has a little bit of everything to love. There is family, friendship, war, love, royalty, military, politics, fighter pilots, military boys that don’t know how to dance and princesses that teach them, and an original world with multiple nations. It is a book that will blow you away page after page.
In the end, getting the nations and countries straight was a little difficult at first and caused a bit of confusion, but not enough to ruin the reading experience. I understood the characters and their motives and desires, but I did not feel overly connected to them. Everything else was pretty much golden.
If you are looking for a different kind of fantasy read, something wholly unique, then this is the book for you. Hop on into the cockpit and give this one a try because it will get your engine roaring!
WHAT DID I JUST READ? I freakin’ loved this book!
I was in love with this novel by the end of the prologue. (It’s a very powerful prologue.)
It was a 5-star read by the end of chapter 1.
By page 150, I was ready to start leaving 5-star reviews everywhere.
Needless to say, this is going on my list of top YA novels ever. And I don’t say that lightly; there are only two other mainstream book series on there. (Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle series and Laine Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, in case you’re wondering.)
This isn’t a fantasy novel in the truest sense of the word. There’s no magic, no monsters, no mythical creatures. It’s a historical WWII-themed military adventure set in an alternate universe that’s full of wonderful characters, court intrigue, and politics. You’ll be sucked in by the end of chapter one (because that’s where you meet Athan and Athan is the best!). And I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read a better prologue.
There isn’t a word for how much I loved this book. It was spectacular. Everything worked so well: the characters, the plot, the secrets, the world-building. I’m so excited for the second book, whenever that’s scheduled for release, but I do fear for my favourite character’s life. (Because my favourite character always gets killed in YA. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME, YA AUTHORS?!?!?! I’m still not over Jude’s death from The Darkest Mind series.)
The plot was intriguing, although I will admit that some of the political stuff went right over my head. Not because it was badly explained, but because politics goes right over my head in real life…in fiction too, apparently. *shrugs* The world-building was expertly woven in. The main characters (Athan and Aurelia) were interesting, complex, flawed, sympathetic. They make bad decisions, they don’t question things enough, but at their cores, they’re good people just trying to do the right thing the best way they know how. And that best way, right now, doesn’t have them on the same side.
Five million stars for this brilliantly complex story with so many layers, the beautiful prose and fresh writing, and the characters I couldn’t help falling in love with.
This soaring, gorgeously written, high-stakes adventure stole my breath from the very first page. Dark of the West’s forbidden romance unfolds with devastating beauty against the backdrop of an incipient world war.
At first i had an impression about this book. As i read its sypnosis, & it said action packed, heavy military pack action etc etc which made me think that maybe the characters wouldnt be funny & the book would be too strict & blood thirsty. After reading the book only then did I realize that I was entirely wrong, characters werent as I thought would be, instead they were far more emotional & at times witty. Dark of the West was definitely a heavy read, the one character I found most twisted was Athan’s eldest brother. All the while, while reading the book i kept second guessing myself that maybe he’s tender by heart, but I was wronged. He was handsome, smart & most annoyingly manupulative just like his father. In conclusion i loved this book, but I am pretty sure that this book will have a sad end, as it was quite evident from its prologu, which I gladly read only after I finished reading, but I hope to the stars noo atleast end it on a bitter sweet note. Thats all!
Airplane battles, revolutions, palace intrigue, star-crossed love, feuds spanning generations. This story’s scope is ambitious, a world unto itself, yet Hathaway wields the narrative with powerful precision. Dark of the West is a debut to be reckoned with.
The kind of book you can sink your teeth into, full of rich worldbuilding, complex characters, and intricate plots with a healthy dose of backstabbing… Fans of high stakes political intrigue will love Dark of the West. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I was considering giving this 4 stars instead of 5, because it could use more worldbuilding (most notably, the only real folklore we get is a dragon and a unicorn from a story being friends, and we hear almost nothing about them). However, I enjoyed this book too much not to give it 5 stars.
The world is a unique one that I loved spending time in, and the relationship between the 2 main characters is one that I was fully expecting not to believe (they are so different from each other, and I was fully expecting that I wouldn’t buy that they loved each other), but I ended up loving the relationship between them, and being sad every time it seemed like they couldn’t be together.