Twilight Kingdom

Twilight Kingdom, Book 1

By: HJ Tolson

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

On the eve of her 16th birthday, Candle Enys discovers her brother has sold her soul to a demon.

Scared for her life, Candle runs away. But the mountains of Hanternos are dangerous, especially for soft-hearted girls who have never learned to fight.

At dawn and at dusk spirits crawl from the shadows, searching for bodies to steal. Evil stirs in the deep caves, and the wind smells of black powder.

A chance meeting with an ancient being sets her on the path to power she never knew she possessed. It also places a target on her back.

If she is to survive, Candle must defeat her monsters, or risk becoming one herself.

Twilight Kingdom is a dark fantasy series with steampunk and horror elements. Trigger warnings for emotional abuse and gore.

©2022 HJ Tolson (P)2022 Podium Audio

Wights and Demons and Dragons, oh my!

Beautiful, emotional story of family lost and family found, with multiple magic systems and thoughtful world building. I loved hearing Candle brought to life! Just wish Saskia would slow down and pause a beat between paragraphs. She lost some of the nuance and drama by reading too fast.

Loved it!

It is always such a joy to find a well written story that transports you into another realm! With its own unique lore, endearing characters and moments that continue to surprise, I couldn't wait to start the next audiobook in this series! Well done on the polished performance too! 👏

All-around excellent

Honestly even better than her other series. just different though as Candle is very different from Maud. The book grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. It's no tome but I felt a lot happened since the story moves at a fast pace. The worldbuilding and characters were on point. Even the narrator did a good job.

Just all around excellent fantasy.

Wonderful!

I am a huge fan of the author's Liches Get Stitches series so trying this new series was a no-brainer. I wasn't disappointed. Both the story and the narrator were excellent. If I had a complaint, it was just that I had not realized that this was a series so I started getting concerned when new obstacles were introduced late in the book, but now I realize that they will serve as the focus of the next book and it isn't a concern. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Excellent Characters and World Building

This book hooked me from the start with its gritty fairytale feel. Immediately, I was drawn into Candle and her story. The situation she is in with her family and the magic system is very unique. This is a land where the people have to deal with zombies and demons. Magic is also the norm. Where Candle is an outcast within her family and her community is that she can't use magic and her eyes are blue, which is connected to demonic association. So Candle grows up isolated and shunned to the point where many don't even know she exists.

Once she escapes, readers get to explore more of the world along with her and learn more about the magic systems. As her brother pursues her for his own gain, she gains allies who become like found family even as has to keep secrets from them. They also have their own secrets as well as dark pasts.

I will say that some elements of the world building shares commonalities with ASOIAF. For instance, the land they're in is called the Seven Kingdoms and they're fighting variations of zombies/wights. I would also say that the Ancestor's Own as a group is very similar to the Night's Watch, but without the ice Wall. But the characters and story are so different that it didn't feel derivative.

For instance, there seems to be gender equality within this universe, so the Ancestor's Own are made up of both men and women, all of whom learn to fight and have responsibilities as well as leadership roles.

This book is excellent. Definitely recommend!