Review for Darkness Kindled by Samantha Young

A Captivating Conclusion to a Wonderful Series

4.5 Stars. I have loved this series from the very beginning and this book did a nice job of wrapping it up in a satisfying way. I could also tell that Samantha’s writing has grown in some wonderful ways which made the experience of reading this book all the better.

As usual Samantha Young does a wonderful job of including twists and turns. There were more than a few unexpected moments that kept the story moving for me. I also loved the way she described the fight scenes in this book.

One thing that I wished this book had gone deeper into were the relationships between the characters. The first three novels in this series sucked me in to Ari, Charlie and Jai’s lives, but I felt this book didn’t pull me in as deep as the first three. For example, the sexual tension between Ari and Jai was great in the beginning. I loved that this book started out with them in a fight, but it felt like both their fight and the sexual tension between them got resolved too quickly.

Also, in the first book in this series, Smokeless Fire, I was captivated by the love triangle between Ari, Charlie, and Jai. By this book it was pretty obvious that Ari and Jai were going to end up together, and for some reason that made me want Ari to have more time with Charlie all that much more. His story has been heartbreaking from the very beginning and there are some great moments between him and Ari in this book. I really loved all the little flashbacks where Ari remembered life with Charlie when she was young, but I couldn’t help want a few more.

For me, it felt like this book had the best writing out of the series, and it really did wrap up all the loose ends.

I did feel a little like Ari was a little too impulsive when it came to cashing in her deal with Azazil. I wished she would have taken more time to think about what the consequences could have been, even though I do believe she would have made the deal regardless. However, I loved the direction that this story took after the consequences of that choice were revealed. I also loved the ending with Asmodeous, and the moment Ari gets with the White King. By the end of this book you truly understand exactly who all of the characters are and all of the battles they’ve been fighting in their lives come to a conclusion.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this series and will be looking into more works by Samantha Young.

To read my reviews of the first two books of this series Smokeless Fire, Scorched Skies or Borrowed Ember click here.