While the Dark Remains by Joanna Ruth Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I wasn’t quite sure what to think about this one. The twists and turns under the mountain of Daeros took me on quite the adventure.
We meet Brynja at the beginning, a young 10-year-old acrobat who is sold to King Kallias as the newest piece of his “Collection,” a troupe of young children who have various abilities (some magical) that he enjoys trotting out for his guests to see.
This is one of those books that jumps back and forth (in each chapter no less) in time…but it makes sense and helps the reader understand the story.
We then see Brynja in the present, at the royal palace in Skaanda, where we find that she has escaped Kallias’ collection and the mountain a year or so prior with Saga, the crown princess of Skaanda. But they’re now planning to return, with Saga’s brother, Vil, to kill Kallias and take over Daeros for the Skaandans.
The majority of the novel is the build-up to the penultimate moment, learning exactly how Brynja escaped, her friendship with Ballast, one of Kallias’ sons, and just exactly what it is that is hiding deep in the mountain.
While the Dark Remains introduces the reader to a whole new world of intrigue, magic, and characters who don’t really…evolve…I guess one could say. There is not truly that much character growth through the book, and as the story goes on, the faults of each character seem to become ALL they are.
If I were 10 (or even 15) years younger, I would have absolutely dug into this novel, read it quickly, and gotten invested in all the characters…unlikeable-ness and all. This is absolutely the sort of book young adult Lettie would have loved. For “in her 40s Lettie,” this book is just….MEH.



View all my reviews