The Lightstruck Book Review

The Lightstruck by Sunya Mara

  Release Date: Aug. 29, 2023

 Genre: Fantasy

 Age Range: Young Adult

Proceeded By: The Darkening

 Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.49 stars 

From the conclusion of the first novel (The Darkening) we knew that there would be a follow-up. When it was announced that it would be a duology it seemed like the right amount of space to give Vesper's story. From the beginning of the book, it looked to be handling the story in a different fashion which worked well.

From the way we left her I thought we would be opening up to a new POV in this book. No, we are still following only Vesper in the events that happened after she stopped the storm. She has fully learned how to use the queens powers; just in a different setting than was expected. Vespa is in a between place, the land of the dead somewhat. This is but a stopping point until souls move on to the beyond. This place allows souls to come to wait for loved ones or come to terms with unresolved issues. Her father was still there and they were given the chance to bond more than they had in life. I really enjoyed this inclusion as it gave Vespa all the sides of herself, an ikonamancer and a wardana. She was comfortable in her place there and what she had done. However, her peace doesn't last as Dalca arrives in a state of near-death to inform Vesper that she is not in fact dead.

 

Once all of our characters are back together again though things do change. Vesper is not confident most of the time but feels like an imposter. This is due in large part to the hero myths that have sprung up around her actions. While she was sleeping the people began to call her the Storm Mender. The room she actually wakes up in is covered in a mosaic of her story; as well as filled with gifts and notes. We quickly find out that three years have passed since she ended the storm. In that time everyone has changed. Isamal has returned to himself and is even a leader of sorts. Caspian is still by Dalca's side but is much more approachable. Meanwhile, Dalca can't seem to be in the same room with Vesper. He is injured and doesn't help in ruling his people.

This book centers around what happens after you have saved the world. I liked the take on this. As most stories end at the saving the world part we instead look into consequences. One big consequence is of course that the Great King is free of a vessel and crazy at this point. The king has decided that he knows what is best for everyone and thus is spreading his influence across the city. The high rings have fallen and people are now living out in the ruins of the sixth ring. Those who used to be wealthy and did not care for the problems of the lower ringers are now suffering instead. Many people do not feel pity for them in this. The book did a decent job of showing the shift in power and Vesper's reactions to this.

 

The other though is the chaos that just having the storm gone would bring to people. While of course, everyone was thankful the danger of the storm was gone there were still so many that were frightened by the new scope of the world as well. People were finally able to see lands beyond the horizon, full of some beasts still to be sure, but more to the world than they ever knew existed. In the ruins of the seventh ring, Vesper would find documents showing that people centuries ago knew of other cities and peoples.

 

For the story to resolve Vesper needed to set things right with the two powerful beings. This also involved saving the city again. However, most of the story I feel was about coming to grips with who she is and what she wants for her life. As I said she felt like an imposter. Vesper strove to be what people saw her as by taking on challenges she felt were her duty to do. Then when she failed to save someone in her mission it led to her seeing she couldn't be their savior. This went into a whole thing. Thinking back it seems a bit similar to Dalca's ark through the first book of learning that he didn't have to shoulder all the responsibility alone.

From a conversation early on in the book it seemed like there would be a new romance happening. This book had an even less romantic plot than the first one. Which for a YA series these days is very refreshing. I believe we get to see more interactions between Cas and Vesper in this book similar to the way she bonded with Ismal in the first book. By the end, we are only left with hopes of new beginnings. There are no actual on-page revelations more than forgiveness.

Now the end of the book. The pace of the story was a tad mixed. We would have scenes of conversation and investigations that felt slow. While also getting action events that could feel fast except that there would be chapters dedicated to this one mission. For all this, the ending of the book just happened. The revelation of how to fix things and them doing it was maybe two chapters. I was on the audiobook and wondering how it was going to wrap up with only 17 minutes left.

 

Overall I think the series was a good one. We have an interesting magic system that has shown evolution through the years. There were characters that had different internal struggles even if we were only seeing from one perspective. Vespa didn't need to be saved or have to be the one saving but found balance together. The epilogue that we got was so hopeful I'm glad it was included.

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