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Dark Skies Review

by T.L. Branson
Dark Skies Review

I just finished Dark Skies by Danielle L. Jensen and oh my gosh.

But first, a quick question…

What do milkshakes, Slurpees, and smoothies have in common?

Besides being drinks, they’re all mixes.

I’ve already confessed to being a milkshake connoisseur, but I’m also a Slurpee addict. The perfect Slurpee is a blend between Cherry and Coke, mixed to the perfect texture that’s not too thick and not too watery.

Similarly, Dark Skies is an absolutely perfect blend of Magic, Action, Politics, Deception, and Romance.

Nearly every page is dripping with awesomeness that sucked me in and pulled me along a fantastic journey.

Dark Skies Review

Dark Skies Review Danielle L JensenLet’s get the not so great stuff out of the way so I can resume gushing about this book.

It’s rare that I get the perfect Slurpee every single time. Usually, I get a thin layer of liquid at the bottom of the cup. This is either because it’s hot and it’s started to melt, or it wasn’t properly mixed before I dispensed it.

Either way, the beginning of my drink is a little disappointing until all the liquid is gone.

Similar to my review of Dark Shores, I felt that the beginning dragged a bit.

A point of clarification, because I didn’t know this going in, but Dark Skies takes place at the exact same time as Dark Shores, but features two different characters.

The characters from Dark Shores, Teriana and Marcus, are shown briefly in Dark Skies. You’ll see the exact opening scenes you remember from Dark Shores happening here in Dark Skies, but from Lydia’s perspective.

But you also get Killian, a new character who I immediately fell in love with. Killian is marked by the gods and lives in northern continent of the Dark Shores.

After those same initial scenes that gave me pause in the first book, I was totally sucked in and couldn’t get enough of Dark Skies.

Answered Questions

One of my biggest questions from Dark Shores was “What happened to Lydia?”

I was left pretty disappointed with how that line ended in Dark Shores, but Jensen had a master plan all along. Dark Skies reveals exactly what happened to Lydia, and there’s no way it could have been answered in a single paragraph!

She told me that she had intended to release Dark Skies a lot closer to the publication of Dark Shores, but the best laid plans…

In either case, it’s easy to see how Dark Skies and Dark Shores would have made for one epic book if it featured all four POVs. Thankfully, that’s exactly what we’ll get with Book 3, and I can’t wait!

What is Dark Skies About?

After Lydia accidentally reveals the existence of the Dark Shores to Lucius via her frustrating cousin hellbent on destroying her, Lucius moves to have her killed.

Without revealing too much, she ends up on the Dark Shores and quickly meets Killian.

And that’s where things get interesting.

Lydia’s whole goal is to save Teriana, but she has no idea how to go about achieving this considering she doesn’t even know where she is.

Thanks to events that happen, Killian gets her a job as a guard to the royal princess. And that’s really where it gets interesting.

As Captain of the guard, it positions Killian and Lydia in just the right place to develop a flourishing romance.

The problem?

Killian is sworn to princess Malahi. And even if he doesn’t have a relationship with her, he is bound to protect her forever and his life is not his own.

The Plot Thickens

Within the first chapter of the book you’ll quickly come to realize that there is more at work here.

Aside from the threat of the Cel legions invading the Dark Shores we saw in Book 1, there is also the armies of Derin, those devoted to the seventh god, the Corruptor.

With a known enemy pressing in from the North, the people of Mudamora are oblivious to the looming threat to the South. Even Lydia is unaware that they’ve made it through.

All of this melds perfectly to provide you with excitement on every page. If it’s not the clanging swords or the singing arrows, it’s the internal struggles of forbidden love, or impossible situations that are forced upon our characters on more than a few occasions.

Final Thoughts

I can’t express my love for Dark Skies enough.

I’m so grateful to Danielle for sending me a copy. Especially with this epic art swag:


Dark Skies Art Swag

The top image is Killian and Lydia, while the bottom is Marcus and Teriana.

I really enjoyed Dark Shores, but I loved Dark Skies so much more.

And that cover is absolutely gorgeous, is it not?

The beginning dragged the book down a little bit, but since it was my second time with those scenes, and getting to see it from a different perspective, it was easier to digest than the first go around.

Oh, and did I mention there’s a medieval version of zombies?

You heard me right. Zombies!

I’ll let you see for yourself how Jensen pulls that one off.

I don’t have too many “auto-buy” authors, but Danielle L. Jensen is one of them. Another fantastic tale and one you won’t want to miss.


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Looking for more reviews?

Check out my review of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole.

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