A Darkness at the Door

Review: A Darkness at the Door

Mei-Mei1 Comment

One of my last posts I wrote last spring was the cover reveal for A Darkness at the Door, and I am happy to present to you now the final product, in living color. Here’s the special Kickstarter edition that I just received in the mail!

Gilt foil! Blue pages!

A Darkness at the Door is the much-anticipated sequel and conclusion to 2021’s The Theft of Sunlight, both part of the Dauntless Path series by Intisar Khanani. It’s a YA fantasy series (with a touch of fairy tales) featuring the author’s signature “mighty girls and diverse worlds,” and it quickly made its way onto my bookshelf alongside my favorite YA fantasy books of all time.

Theft saw our main character Rae working with everyone from princess to street thief with the goal of uncovering a ring of slavers that had snatched a young friend. And now FINALLY its terrrrrrrible cliffhanger has been resolved in Darkness, which sees Rae traveling even further afield and becoming more bound up in the magical struggle going on among the leaders of Menaiya and the Fae.

In short, this book was sooooo satisfying. Rae is such a fantastic character, and the story has so many wonderful elements, including disability rep, slow burn romance, justice, magic, and thief lords on rooftops. I was so pleased with the clever way Rae was able to decisively take down the powerful group behind the slavers while staying true to her own ideals. And I really liked the way the ending alluded to the Pied Piper of Hamelin, echoing Thorn and its retelling of “The Goose Girl.”

Also, do yourself a favor and go watch the delightful Ms. Marvel on Disney+ so you can see Bren in real life:

Red Dagger from Ms. Marvel… AKA Bren in my headcanon

So, in short, I really cannot say enough good things about this book, and the Dauntless Path series in general. Khanani is definitely one of my auto-buy authors. I also recommend her Sunbolt series, and she has just been published in an anthology of grief-centered SFF called The Alchemy of Sorrow.

If you would like to learn a little more about the author and her writing, here is a charmingly rambling interview including such things as:

  • A story about rescuing a baby crow
  • Her career trajectory from indie author to a 2-book deal with HarperTeen
  • Working with sensitivity readers to write a disabled MC
  • Her difficulties in writing Darkness, including struggling with writing the romance sub-plot, writing during the pandemic, and getting stressed-induced shingles
  • Magical vasectomies
  • Dramatic ukelele strumming!

Some future works that we can look forward to from her include more Sunbolt installments (YAY), a story for Rae’s sister Niya to possibly wrap up the Fae Lady’s arc, maybe a Kirrana story, and a genderswapped post-apocalyptic Sleeping Beauty story.

Also check out her panel below discussing my favorite topic: writing fairy tale retellings! As well as a fun Instagram chat with fellow author Stephanie Burgis.

https://events.hubilo.com/booktalkevent/session/154781

A Darkness at the Door cover reveal!

Mei-Mei2 Comments

Here’s your first look at the upcoming YA fantasy release from Intisar Khanani, A Darkness at the Door.

This is one of my most anticipated releases this year! A Darkness at the Door is the third book in the Dauntless Path series, a direct sequel to The Theft of Sunlight. Which, may I remind you, ended in a horrrrrrrible cliffhanger! But it was so good I can’t even be mad! I still really need to know what happens next though.

The amazing cover art for all three Dauntless Path books was done by Jenny Zemanek. The final US version of ADatD will also have a special hand-lettered title to match the other covers, courtesy of a stretch goal from the Kickstarter that’s currently running.

I’m so excited to see where’s Rae’s story goes. This series has so much going for it: adventure, social justice, a bit of intrigue, major chemistry, diverse characters, magic, thief lords…


The truth I carry can’t be allowed to die . . .

Only Rae knows how deep the corruption at the heart of her kingdom runs. Imprisoned on a slave ship, she effects a harrowing escape – but her freedom comes with the weight of dangerous debts and terrifying magic. Now, to free her land from the growing darkness, Rae will need every ally she can find, including Bren, the thief who may have stolen her heart. But Bren is hiding his own bloody secrets, and the curses that encircle Rae have sunk their claws into her mind.

While the truth could save Rae’s kingdom, it might destroy her first.

A Darkness at the Door will be released July 21, 2022 by Snowy Wings Publishing in the US and Canada (reserve your copy through the Kickstarter) and Hot Key Books in the UK and beyond (pre-order here).

“A Darkness at the Door” Audiobook Kickstarter

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I’ve raved before about Intisar Khanani’s YA fantasy series, including indie Sunbolt series and the Dauntless Path series that starts with fairy tale retelling Thorn. The second book in that series, The Theft of Sunlight, was one of my favorite books last year.

Unfortunately, her US publisher did not pick up the next book in the series (which, after Theft‘s cliffhanger ending, is just cruel 😭). Thankfully A Darkness at the Door will still be published, but the author is asking for some support, in the form of a Kickstarter to allow her to hire the same audiobook reader that did the previous Dauntless Path books. There are several pledge levels, with rewards from a swag bag of bookish goodies to a copy of the audiobook (obviously) to a limited special edition hardcover copy of Darkness. (I definitely went for the limited special edition!) You can also purchase signed copies of her other books as add-ons.

Good news: the Kickstarter was fully funded in two days! And has already hit its first stretch goal as well. But I still encourage you to back it! Not only are there further stretch goals, but I really can’t say enough about how awesome this author and series are, and I am really rooting for her and it to succeed.

Back the Kickstarter for the Audiobook for A Darkness at the Door here.