From Jade Fire Gold author June CL Tan, Darker by Four is the launch of an epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology that is the Shadowhunter Chronicles meets the Chinese underworld, drawing inspiration from diaspora folklore.

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god.

Rui has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death.

Yiran is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic.

Nikai is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble…and the human world will be next if the King is not found.

When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King.

As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally.

Perfect for fans of This Savage Song and Only a Monster, Darker by Four will pull readers into a world of love and desperation and revenge—a world where every deal has a catch, no secret stays buried, and no one is exactly who they say they are.

I had high hopes for this one and I’m happy to say that I was not disappointed! Again it’s a book that uses mythology as an inspiration, so it’s easy to know why I was hooked pretty much from the beginning. I loved the how Tan combined all of their inspirations into their worldbuilding and really gave the setting and world a great foundation. I was drawn in immediately not just by the setting but also by the characters, not all of them felt fully fleshed out or individual, but there were definitely some I really connected with. I did feel some of it was a little predictable, or standard, but that didn’t necessarily detract from how I felt about the story. I just really enjoyed my time with this book and felt like it was the same kind of feeling as a manga or anime and followed the journey.

Happy reading!