Book Review: “The Beauty of Darkness” by Mary E. Pearson

A fugitive from her own country, a fugitive from Venda, Lia has no choice but to follow Rafe and his friends to Dalbreck. Still, she knows that she must eventually make her way back to Morrighan and warn them of the war that is coming.

Mary E. Pearson’s thrilling Remnant Chronicles series comes to a conclusion in The Beauty of Darkness. I have been in love with Pearson’s world-building since I read the first book in the series, The Kiss of Deception, in 2014. It was one of my favorite books of the year, and last year’s The Heart of Betrayal only made me fall more in love with the world and the characters.

Now comes the major conflict that has been building through two books of political machinations and secret identities. The last book ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger, with Rafe and Lia on the run from Vendan assassins and Lia falling into a river after being shot with three arrows. The Beauty of Darkness picks up where we left off as Rafe and his friends nurse Lia back to health on their way back to Dalbreck.

The Beauty of Darkness is jam-packed. In addition to the massive, three-country war that is the climax of the book, we learn a lot of things that were alluded to earlier in the series. We discover the identity of Kaden’s father, the Morrighanese lord who beat him and sold him off when he was a child. We learn more about Lia’s mother, the conspiracy with the scholars, and the ancient texts that Lia stole.

I was on the edge of my seat for much of this book. This is the part where everything comes to a head, where it seems like only Lia, Rafe, and Kaden know what the true danger is and no one else will listen to them. There is turmoil everywhere – even in the relative safety of Dalbreck – but none of that compares to the massive army the Vendans are leading against Morrighan. It seems like the stakes were higher in this book than ever before. There are a lot of near misses, and not everyone makes it to the end.

If you enjoyed the first two books, then you will love The Beauty of Darkness. It is thrilling and heart-wrenching and truly satisfying.

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The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is published by Henry Holt and Co. and is currently available wherever books are sold.

Start reading the Remnant Chronicles from the beginning! For a limited time, the Kindle version of The Kiss of Deception is only $2.99!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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