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Awaken: Descend into Darkness
Descend Into Darkness
Forced into a world of violence and destruction, young Mika Plum's formative years are forged in a fire of trauma and battle. But what part of humanity must a young woman sacrifice to survive the horrors of war?
Living an idyllic life in the town of Yevera, Mika and Page Briarhart shared an innocent love. But her carefree life was shattered by the unprovoked brutality of a marauding necromancer army, leaving her once proud town a blood-soaked wasteland. Now a penniless refugee, Mika is burdened with the haunting memory of a mother's death, a childhood love now lost, and a home put to the torch.
What she doesn't know is that she also carries within her a secret smoldering ember poised to ignite a terrible destiny that will scorch the world. Haunted by the past, and unable to control her violent urges, Mika is coerced to commit unthinkable acts by Liranda, a deity obsessed with human depravity and corruption.
Manipulating Mika's broken mind to unleash her true desires and powers, the young woman will stop at nothing to unite the war-torn region of Celeste.
Forced into a world of violence and destruction, young Mika Plum's formative years are forged in a fire of trauma and battle. But what part of humanity must a young woman sacrifice to survive the horrors of war?
Living an idyllic life in the town of Yevera, Mika and Page Briarhart shared an innocent love. But her carefree life was shattered by the unprovoked brutality of a marauding necromancer army, leaving her once proud town a blood-soaked wasteland. Now a penniless refugee, Mika is burdened with the haunting memory of a mother's death, a childhood love now lost, and a home put to the torch.
What she doesn't know is that she also carries within her a secret smoldering ember poised to ignite a terrible destiny that will scorch the world. Haunted by the past, and unable to control her violent urges, Mika is coerced to commit unthinkable acts by Liranda, a deity obsessed with human depravity and corruption.
Manipulating Mika's broken mind to unleash her true desires and powers, the young woman will stop at nothing to unite the war-torn region of Celeste.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2022
7 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 21, 2023
The phrase I support women's rights but more importantly I support women's wrong has never shown brighter than in this book
This was a 4.75 stars easy⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have never both enjoyed and rooted for a badass morally grey/dark female lead while loving her at the same time since Aeline in Throne of Glass
and I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH MIKA PLUM OF YEVERA
and just a heads up, this review will contain Major spoilers
so I hope that you read this amazing book then come back to this review
This is a Dark Adult high fantasy novel detailing the life Journey of Mika and her ascend and acceptance of her Dark savior fate - which in a way is the anti-Chosen One.
We follow her life since she is a child in Yevera full of innocence, family, and love until life - with the interference of uncaring deities - give her blow after a blow until she comes to the realization that violence can only be conquered by an even severe violence.
and, although Mika has done some unthinkable atrocities, I never once questioned her decisions. As a matter of fact, I found myself cheering her own
I think at one point I shouted "You go girl"
she saw her mother slaughtered by necromancers
forced to live as an immigrant surrounded by people who looked down at her
saw her friends killed by the undead
held captive by a man in his basement for months
almost lost her eyesight
discovers that the evil necromancers who slaughtered her family are just average people like her but just following orders, and that the deaths of her loved ones were for nothing
saw her life companion, best-friend, and baby - her dog Addie cut in half
her flower hope crushed by a women who did not show kindness to her
all this on her journey to reunite with the love of her life only to find him married to another with a baby and simply disregarding her
at this point she loses her mind and in her fury, incinerates a whole city with her ex-lover and his family
and this was the moment Mika loses every ounce of her innocence and empathy. She accepts that the only way to save her realm is to Ascend into Darkness.
And the Symbolism in this book! I could write essays on them
I do not know if this was the writer's intention but they made me savior my reading more and more until my pages started looking colorful from the annotation
Page represents young love and dreams. Mika's journey to find him is her clinging to these dreams
The dragon flower are the memories and beauty that condolence her in her times of distress
Addie is her innocence and compassion
Stacy is her ability to make unconditional friendship
Vivvian is her motherly abilities
so, it was essential that she loses them in order to become the Empress of Celeste
I was a bit confused about Ron and his part in the story, and why did she spare him. Maybe he was just a stop in her journey where she meets her chosen sister Ash and learns from his strategy books which helped her negotiate with the deity Nessa
but to me, Ron probably represents Domestic Marital Abuse. it's like if Mika got married, she would be trapped and would not reach her potential
I loved how the book was not so heavy in the description of the worlds like other fantasy books are. it gives you enough to form the image in your mind, in addition to the map of course
I loved the ending that made the book either be a standalone where it is left to the reader to figure out what happened, or the potential for a sequel
I loved how Mika was not apologetic for what she did. she accepted her flaws and knew that it is with them she could rise up not down
having said that
there were some things that I wished the writer dwelt on more
1- Why were the deities set on failing Mika? why most of them did not want to support her? what was their involvement in the war?
2- Why did Page easily forget Mika? was it really because of the years? did he really love Amira?
3- but most importantly, what was the reason of war? why were the necromancies set on it?
finally, and as a FYI, there is a FF scene in the book
and I cannot wait for the sequal
This was a 4.75 stars easy⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have never both enjoyed and rooted for a badass morally grey/dark female lead while loving her at the same time since Aeline in Throne of Glass
and I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH MIKA PLUM OF YEVERA
and just a heads up, this review will contain Major spoilers
so I hope that you read this amazing book then come back to this review
This is a Dark Adult high fantasy novel detailing the life Journey of Mika and her ascend and acceptance of her Dark savior fate - which in a way is the anti-Chosen One.
We follow her life since she is a child in Yevera full of innocence, family, and love until life - with the interference of uncaring deities - give her blow after a blow until she comes to the realization that violence can only be conquered by an even severe violence.
and, although Mika has done some unthinkable atrocities, I never once questioned her decisions. As a matter of fact, I found myself cheering her own
I think at one point I shouted "You go girl"
she saw her mother slaughtered by necromancers
forced to live as an immigrant surrounded by people who looked down at her
saw her friends killed by the undead
held captive by a man in his basement for months
almost lost her eyesight
discovers that the evil necromancers who slaughtered her family are just average people like her but just following orders, and that the deaths of her loved ones were for nothing
saw her life companion, best-friend, and baby - her dog Addie cut in half
her flower hope crushed by a women who did not show kindness to her
all this on her journey to reunite with the love of her life only to find him married to another with a baby and simply disregarding her
at this point she loses her mind and in her fury, incinerates a whole city with her ex-lover and his family
and this was the moment Mika loses every ounce of her innocence and empathy. She accepts that the only way to save her realm is to Ascend into Darkness.
And the Symbolism in this book! I could write essays on them
I do not know if this was the writer's intention but they made me savior my reading more and more until my pages started looking colorful from the annotation
Page represents young love and dreams. Mika's journey to find him is her clinging to these dreams
The dragon flower are the memories and beauty that condolence her in her times of distress
Addie is her innocence and compassion
Stacy is her ability to make unconditional friendship
Vivvian is her motherly abilities
so, it was essential that she loses them in order to become the Empress of Celeste
I was a bit confused about Ron and his part in the story, and why did she spare him. Maybe he was just a stop in her journey where she meets her chosen sister Ash and learns from his strategy books which helped her negotiate with the deity Nessa
but to me, Ron probably represents Domestic Marital Abuse. it's like if Mika got married, she would be trapped and would not reach her potential
I loved how the book was not so heavy in the description of the worlds like other fantasy books are. it gives you enough to form the image in your mind, in addition to the map of course
I loved the ending that made the book either be a standalone where it is left to the reader to figure out what happened, or the potential for a sequel
I loved how Mika was not apologetic for what she did. she accepted her flaws and knew that it is with them she could rise up not down
having said that
there were some things that I wished the writer dwelt on more
1- Why were the deities set on failing Mika? why most of them did not want to support her? what was their involvement in the war?
2- Why did Page easily forget Mika? was it really because of the years? did he really love Amira?
3- but most importantly, what was the reason of war? why were the necromancies set on it?
finally, and as a FYI, there is a FF scene in the book
and I cannot wait for the sequal
April 20, 2023
I love that there is a map of the region! Really great to visualize and follow Mika's movements. However, the format of the book blocks the middlemost map content, which is upsetting. Thankfully, I was able to get a screenshot of the full map from the author’s social media.
The pacing of the book was slow in some parts, and way too quick in others. The story is lot of “telling” and very little “showing” details. I would love to see more details/worldbuilding, and really get into the characters’ heads/actions to try to follow their way of thinking.
There were times I was a bit taken back by some character’s actions or thoughts. For example, Mika at Ron’s house. Why would she wear the dragon flower if she knew it reflects her emotions, especially figuring out there is someone held captive and showing obvious distress to this notion? Or with the interaction with Andellia? Why did Andellia just take Mika’s beating and not report it to the guards? Why does Mika's dead father allow her to order him around? I felt that a lot of people would give way toward Mika’s anger way too easy, even without them knowing that she can control fire, which irked me several times throughout the book. I wanted to see that conflict really unfold. I would have loved to see someone who doesn’t back down from her anger or give in to her manipulation tactics.
The magic system is a mix between soft and hard magic. Though, it does lean more heavily toward a soft magic system. And it makes sense: we aren't given a lot of the deities in the world, so they have so much control on their domain: I loved this notion. Sometimes the magic system reads like a video game mechanic – and there is nothing wrong with that: the deities make their rules, and that's fine. It’s also interesting that mastering a certain system of magic can alter your physical appearance (e.g. hair color). It’s a very cool influence that magic in this world can do to the magic user.
Mika herself was a bit inconsistent in terms of belief – which kind of fits her. She doesn’t like rude or disrespectful actions like people interrupting her introduction, but she herself is rude/disrespectful toward Amirra. She hates the necromancers for killing her fellow country people, yet she sends the same citizens to fight for her personal war. She’s messy, and it’s great to see a very morally dubious character.
I think having more of Liranda as a recurring character after discovering the Sorceress would have made the idea that a deity is manipulating Mika to become more unhinged more believable. I felt as though Liranda was just giving her gifts to please her, but hardly directing her directly. I would have loved to see Mika struggle against Liranda’s offers of power and influence to be more aligned with Angelis before finally giving in.
I like that the necromancers are humanized, though I missed seeing their reasoning for doing their actions.
I loved the fighting scenes, especially the ones involving Celeste’s army and how they would re-position and move. Because the author most likely has had experience in battle, it’s interesting to see possible real experience placed in a book. Loved the use of military terms when appropriate. I loved that whatever happened during the battlefield, there were costs, which – adding to the fact that near the end, some of the armies were citizens with little battle experience – add much more impact after the battle. Move this unit, but this would cost us the other unit. Using the terrain as an advantage? Resurrecting dead soldiers to fight for you, thus costing less of your soldiers who are alive?! Lovely use of tactics.
I would love to see a (possible) sequel exploring the effects of Mika’s decisions. How would a city that now has a sudden population decline grow? How are other regions reacting to Celeste? How are the deities going to respond? Will Mika stay in Celeste or will we see her overreach and try to conquer all of Irstia? How will the people that care about Mika react upon seeing her become the Mad Empress, as written in the book? Or even a story that explores someone living under her reign. I want to explore the other regions and see how they were interacting with Celeste and Mika. As his debut novel, there are definite strengths and areas for improvement for this story: I’ll be definitely look forward to any more additions.
The pacing of the book was slow in some parts, and way too quick in others. The story is lot of “telling” and very little “showing” details. I would love to see more details/worldbuilding, and really get into the characters’ heads/actions to try to follow their way of thinking.
There were times I was a bit taken back by some character’s actions or thoughts. For example, Mika at Ron’s house. Why would she wear the dragon flower if she knew it reflects her emotions, especially figuring out there is someone held captive and showing obvious distress to this notion? Or with the interaction with Andellia? Why did Andellia just take Mika’s beating and not report it to the guards? Why does Mika's dead father allow her to order him around? I felt that a lot of people would give way toward Mika’s anger way too easy, even without them knowing that she can control fire, which irked me several times throughout the book. I wanted to see that conflict really unfold. I would have loved to see someone who doesn’t back down from her anger or give in to her manipulation tactics.
The magic system is a mix between soft and hard magic. Though, it does lean more heavily toward a soft magic system. And it makes sense: we aren't given a lot of the deities in the world, so they have so much control on their domain: I loved this notion. Sometimes the magic system reads like a video game mechanic – and there is nothing wrong with that: the deities make their rules, and that's fine. It’s also interesting that mastering a certain system of magic can alter your physical appearance (e.g. hair color). It’s a very cool influence that magic in this world can do to the magic user.
Mika herself was a bit inconsistent in terms of belief – which kind of fits her. She doesn’t like rude or disrespectful actions like people interrupting her introduction, but she herself is rude/disrespectful toward Amirra. She hates the necromancers for killing her fellow country people, yet she sends the same citizens to fight for her personal war. She’s messy, and it’s great to see a very morally dubious character.
I think having more of Liranda as a recurring character after discovering the Sorceress would have made the idea that a deity is manipulating Mika to become more unhinged more believable. I felt as though Liranda was just giving her gifts to please her, but hardly directing her directly. I would have loved to see Mika struggle against Liranda’s offers of power and influence to be more aligned with Angelis before finally giving in.
I like that the necromancers are humanized, though I missed seeing their reasoning for doing their actions.
I loved the fighting scenes, especially the ones involving Celeste’s army and how they would re-position and move. Because the author most likely has had experience in battle, it’s interesting to see possible real experience placed in a book. Loved the use of military terms when appropriate. I loved that whatever happened during the battlefield, there were costs, which – adding to the fact that near the end, some of the armies were citizens with little battle experience – add much more impact after the battle. Move this unit, but this would cost us the other unit. Using the terrain as an advantage? Resurrecting dead soldiers to fight for you, thus costing less of your soldiers who are alive?! Lovely use of tactics.
I would love to see a (possible) sequel exploring the effects of Mika’s decisions. How would a city that now has a sudden population decline grow? How are other regions reacting to Celeste? How are the deities going to respond? Will Mika stay in Celeste or will we see her overreach and try to conquer all of Irstia? How will the people that care about Mika react upon seeing her become the Mad Empress, as written in the book? Or even a story that explores someone living under her reign. I want to explore the other regions and see how they were interacting with Celeste and Mika. As his debut novel, there are definite strengths and areas for improvement for this story: I’ll be definitely look forward to any more additions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2023
Love her or hate her, Mika Plum is a character that will stay with you long after the story is finished. Her fractured mind constantly whispers to her whenever she is angry or stressed and when she starts listening to the voices in her head, will the land of Celeste ever be truly safe?
As in impressionable teen, her home and most of its residents were destroyed by evil forces known as the necromancers that have been wreaking havoc upon her land for most of her life. Having seen her mother and most of her small towns’ citizens killed in front of her and the love of her life called away to fight in the war against the same necromancers, Mika is forced to seek refuge in a town where she is looked down upon because of her refugee status.
After four years believing her love dead, she finds out that Page is alive and sets out on an adventure to find her hearts true mate and so begins her true destiny for both her and the country of Celeste as a whole.
For within that journey, Mika is forced to call upon herself, her friends that she makes along the way, and goes from a scared, lonely girl to a woman with immense power that commands thousands. The power of the human spirit is plainly shown in her tenacity to never give up no matter how high the stakes are staked up against her.
The Author weaves together a vivid world of imagination and a colorful world of characters that you both love and hate. At the same time, he addresses the real-world mental health issues such as PTSD and the cause/effect questions of war that some soldiers deal with on the warfront and at home.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other works that this author may write in the future and hope that they continue in this momentous path.
As in impressionable teen, her home and most of its residents were destroyed by evil forces known as the necromancers that have been wreaking havoc upon her land for most of her life. Having seen her mother and most of her small towns’ citizens killed in front of her and the love of her life called away to fight in the war against the same necromancers, Mika is forced to seek refuge in a town where she is looked down upon because of her refugee status.
After four years believing her love dead, she finds out that Page is alive and sets out on an adventure to find her hearts true mate and so begins her true destiny for both her and the country of Celeste as a whole.
For within that journey, Mika is forced to call upon herself, her friends that she makes along the way, and goes from a scared, lonely girl to a woman with immense power that commands thousands. The power of the human spirit is plainly shown in her tenacity to never give up no matter how high the stakes are staked up against her.
The Author weaves together a vivid world of imagination and a colorful world of characters that you both love and hate. At the same time, he addresses the real-world mental health issues such as PTSD and the cause/effect questions of war that some soldiers deal with on the warfront and at home.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other works that this author may write in the future and hope that they continue in this momentous path.
January 21, 2023
It took me a while to finish this book, but here I am. Overall the story is fascinating, with characters that are realistic, and their emotions are described in a way that you can almost feel what they are feeling. When you read certain parts it makes you feel like you are reading the script of a videogame. Like playing a RPG inside your head without actually controlling the character. It's an easy book to understand when it comes to the actions and emotions of the characters.
But, there were some things that made reading Awaken a bit of a task. One of them being the world building. Sometimes it was hard to place the character in a particular scene because of the lack of description. Then there was the magic that occasionally was just common sense, but in other instances it was either hard to understand what just happened or it made no sense.
As for the narrative, there were parts in the story were it felt a bit repetitive or it was taking to many turns to get to the point.
Great job, L.G. Benito! Hope to see more of your work in the future.
But, there were some things that made reading Awaken a bit of a task. One of them being the world building. Sometimes it was hard to place the character in a particular scene because of the lack of description. Then there was the magic that occasionally was just common sense, but in other instances it was either hard to understand what just happened or it made no sense.
As for the narrative, there were parts in the story were it felt a bit repetitive or it was taking to many turns to get to the point.
Great job, L.G. Benito! Hope to see more of your work in the future.
October 11, 2022
This book is an epic dark fantasy with beautiful imagery, wonderful supporting characters, surprising plot twists, and the loss of innocence I did not see coming. The author does a great job creating the world, the characters within it, and even the main character, whom I did not care for initially. Still, as the story progressed, I understood her personality better, and when the end came, I understood her and how she ended up where she did.
As a debut author L.G Benito has room for development in his writing style in the future, and just my personal opinion, make climax scenes such as the moment between Mika and Paige at the end more. I felt such hype about it, but when it happened, it felt rushed. That was a critical moment that could have had more impact.
Otherwise, fantastic job!
Author of the Memoirs of Elikai Series
As a debut author L.G Benito has room for development in his writing style in the future, and just my personal opinion, make climax scenes such as the moment between Mika and Paige at the end more. I felt such hype about it, but when it happened, it felt rushed. That was a critical moment that could have had more impact.
Otherwise, fantastic job!
Author of the Memoirs of Elikai Series
April 24, 2022
“I am Mika Plum of Yevera.”
I had the biggest smile and the giddiest feeling in my chest while reading the prologue of L.G. Benito’s young adult fantasy novel, Awaken . The beautiful meet-cute, the innocence of young love… It reminded me of the belief in happy-ever-afters I have always held close to my heart and it was such a wonderful feeling to have, especially in these hard times.
But if this makes you think Mika and Page’s story is a romantic fairy tale, you’ll be in for a shocking eye-opener, as I was. There is a perfect visual of just how the story escalates from cutesy to frightsy on the author’s Instagram, and I just had to laugh when I saw it.
I was blindsided, that’s for sure. Curiously though, I didn’t feel betrayed. Because the way the story was laid out made the earth-shattering culmination of Mika and Page’s love story completely unavoidable. And it did not just break my heart, but also broke my soul: on the one hand, I felt horrible, but on the other, I also felt oddly satisfied.
And I believe that was the real highlight of this story. Mika has a kind heart, but she is far from perfect. Although she is always able to choose to do the right thing, she is not immune from the evil thoughts that often seep into the human mind (especially with who she really is). She has always chosen to do right by people. She may have thought about it, but she would never intentionally hurt anyone.
So when she finally broke, I too, broke with her. So much so that I had to take a break from it all to pull myself back together.
I could scream myself blue in the face at the author for being so mean, but I won’t. Because isn’t this what a good story is all about? It makes you feel good, then tosses you into darker tides, breaking you apart while also teasing your mind with questions of whether or not the hero you are rooting for will ever be able to redeem themselves.
Add to this a fully developed world with its varying cultures and histories, a complex magic system that is not at all hard to follow, and the threat of opposing forces—humans and deities alike—vying for dominance, and we’ve got an epic young adult fantasy series that every fan of the genre should definitely watch out for.
There’s also an undeniable Sapphic tone to this story that’s sure to pique the rainbow community’s interest.
At the end of the novel, the author pens a dedication to Mika with a note of how he almost did not write this story. I sure am glad he never gave up. The next book is already on my watch list.
I received an advance reader's copy of this book to review from Reedsy Discovery. Thank you very much~!♥
November 2, 2022
3.5/5
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not for the story, but for the characters and the depth of human emotion and the human psyche. The story itself could have been about 200 pages shorter and it would have been even more impactful. Mika as a character was so human. And usually that means weak and unlikable. While she was weak and unlikable in some aspects, she was strong and grew as a person. She had her faults, accepted them, and kept going. Evil is something that we, as humans, are all capable of. And watching Mika fight against herself and the voices around her, was insightful. We never know what will tip us over the edge. The author didn't shy away from that. This story, while not strong in its storytelling or plot, the characters itself made it worthwhile.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not for the story, but for the characters and the depth of human emotion and the human psyche. The story itself could have been about 200 pages shorter and it would have been even more impactful. Mika as a character was so human. And usually that means weak and unlikable. While she was weak and unlikable in some aspects, she was strong and grew as a person. She had her faults, accepted them, and kept going. Evil is something that we, as humans, are all capable of. And watching Mika fight against herself and the voices around her, was insightful. We never know what will tip us over the edge. The author didn't shy away from that. This story, while not strong in its storytelling or plot, the characters itself made it worthwhile.
February 13, 2024
There is an audio book now.
yes descend into darkness
Reviewed in Australia on 22 October 2022
⚔️Epic dark fantasy - it is emotive, evocative, passionate, savage and had an overall dark feeling of immiment peril pulling you along. So great suspense, twists and turns. As reader you crave that feeling the need to seek what will happen next.
⚔️MC journey innocence to tactical battle strategist - a real strengthening of character story.Duty first read.
⚔️Magic Systems
⚔️ book world building with detail.
⚔️the pace into the action is seamless.
⚔️Im so intrigued at the end how the Author commented on how he felt compelled to write this. The dream connection to Mika sure fascinated me. I love to know more about that too.
cheers
Jasmin E Reads
yes descend into darkness
Reviewed in Australia on 22 October 2022
⚔️Epic dark fantasy - it is emotive, evocative, passionate, savage and had an overall dark feeling of immiment peril pulling you along. So great suspense, twists and turns. As reader you crave that feeling the need to seek what will happen next.
⚔️MC journey innocence to tactical battle strategist - a real strengthening of character story.Duty first read.
⚔️Magic Systems
⚔️ book world building with detail.
⚔️the pace into the action is seamless.
⚔️Im so intrigued at the end how the Author commented on how he felt compelled to write this. The dream connection to Mika sure fascinated me. I love to know more about that too.
cheers
Jasmin E Reads
September 13, 2022
100% GREAT READ... for the young and older audiences for sure. I would have liked this to have been a series, but either way... once you get into the meat of the story you can't put it down. I even let the dishes go and made myself go to bed, so I didn't read non-stop! Mika has an early innocence and a childhood sweetheart that is swept away and the trauma she faces through the next several years drowns her in darkness... but like all strong BA chicks, by the end... Well, does she survive? You'll have to read to find out... Dang awesome Fantasy for strong hearts!!!
January 20, 2023
The author effortlessly creates and takes you to a different and magical world 🌎
The book is easy to read and fast paced with great character development.
The MC is caught in a war between good and evil.
The third part of the book slows in pace, and the ending is fast paced and engaging.
The book is easy to read and fast paced with great character development.
The MC is caught in a war between good and evil.
The third part of the book slows in pace, and the ending is fast paced and engaging.
January 3, 2023
Addictively readable. Probably should have been split into two books or a whole series; so much happens in it. Author has a strong way with words that keeps you engaged.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews