Review: The Lightstruck

The Lightstruck

Written by: Sunya Mara

Clarion Books

2023

The Lightstruck brings Vesper back to the kingdom she sacrificed so much to save and to the prince she loved and hated.

Sunya Mara brings readers back to her crumbling kingdom that was shrinking from the outside by a storm that encircled it, twisting everything it touched. While there are many differences, this book felt too similar to The Darkening.

Storytelling

I think The Darkening is still something very unique. It had an intricate world-building and a lot of detailing that made it stand out. However, The Lightstruck fell flat in some parts.

Instead of shrinking from the outside, the kingdom shrinks from the inside. It is a role reversal, with the God of Light, who once possessed the bodies of the royals, infecting people with his light, which is not unlike how the Goddess in the first book infected anyone touched by her storm.

The problem is that it was just the first novel retold. It felt too like the first novel, taking away from the uniqueness that made it stand out so much to me. From the intricate magic system and how Dalca and Vesper fall in love, The Darkening stands out so much more.

Now, that’s not to say the story is terrible; it was still a good story that took the time to focus more on the characterization and their dynamics. The characters were flushed out in the first novel, so it was nice to see them continue to grow. There were times when Vesper felt a little stagnant, especially when all the characters around her seemed to change with these new events.

Vesper sounded much like the girl she was in the first novel, and it took some time for her to grow into the power she holds and to grow into herself. She comes off as a very stoic character, very stiff at times, but given everything happening around her, it makes sense. Vesper is compartmentalizing; this is a part of her character, and considering she has been asleep for three years since the last book, it is whiplash for her to see everyone and the world so changed.

Final Thoughts

I did like The Lightstruck overall because it focused more on the characters and on building up the tension in the plot. However, I just wished the story had more differences instead of just feeling like the same exact story.

• 2023
• Clarion Books
• Sunya Mara
• The Lightstruck