The Lightstruck

Seventeen-year-old Vesper Vale wakes up to an unfamiliar world after becoming the Great Queen's human vessel and ending the Storm that tormented her city in this sequel to The Darkening (2022). In the three years that passed while she was unconscious, Vesper became a hero, revered by all who previously lived in the shadow of the Storm. A council replaced the Regia as the city's governing body; the council's members include Casvian, Vesper's former ikonomancy teacher, and Izamal, the Storm-cursed Wardana protector who immediately takes charge of Vesper's safety. Discomfited by the implications of Izamal's security measures and overwhelmed by the public's expectations, Vesper decides to see the rest of the city for herself--only to discover that the central rings have been taken over by a blinding light from the Great King who was released after a near-fatal attempt by Prince Dalca to take the Regia's mark. Those who are exposed to the Great King's light fall under his control and lure others to join them, though for what purpose no one knows. Picking up where the last volume concluded, this sequel swiftly establishes tension and mystery through Vesper's limited perspective as she faces a powerful new enemy and her own self-doubt in a world that would prefer her to remain a silent figurehead. Vivid worldbuilding, tense action sequences, and a climactic showdown will keep readers at the edges of their seats. A twisty, well-developed story that builds to a dramatic finale. (Fantasy. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.