Series Review: Lightlark by Alex Aster

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Lightlark (from Goodreads):

Welcome to the Centennial.

Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. The invitation is a summons—a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. The Centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. To destroy the curses, one ruler must die.

Isla Crown is the young ruler of Wildling—a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. They are feared and despised, and are counting on Isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the Centennial.

To survive, Isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

Author: Alex Aster
Series: Lightlark
# of Books: 4 (Full Reading Order Here)

There is a novella: Grim and Oro

Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: No
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Heat Rating: Warm to Hot
Point of View: Third Person, Single
Publication Dates: August 2022 – ongoing
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

This is a popular series — I’ve seen it everywhere, so I thought I would give it a try. I thought the series was finished after 3 books when I started it (but it isn’t -.-) or else I probably would have waited to binge it like I did. Regardless, I thought the premise was intriguing and went in with an open mind.

The Concept / The World:

This was very Caraval meets Three Dark Crowns to me. It’s a cool, complex world with unique curses that throw these interesting spins on the plotlines and character dynamics. And each book in the series reveals something more to the world, which makes the world almost like another living character in this story. It’s been a while since I’ve read a story set in a world like this which was refreshing.

The Plot:

Lightlark (#1) was a solid 3 for me for the vast majority of the book. I had a lot of “this doesn’t make sense to me” or “this feels underdeveloped” moments along the way but, by the end, I got my answer. I love when a book blindsides me with things I should have seen all along. And while I certainly had some ideas, I was totally off base with others.

Which was why I was so disappointed in Nightbane (#2). I thought the story just lost the momentum that first book had built — but I also think part of my issue was listening to it as an audiobook versus the text. I definitely got lost in the past-and-present flipflopping. This is also when the novel shifts its plot’s focus on the love triangle (the primary focus of Skyshade [#3]) and I’ll explain later why that didn’t appeal to me as much.

The Characters:

Isla fits the mold of a perfect snowflake heroine where she seems to be extremely good at everything without little effort. But I think that goes hand in hand with her character’s story where she really doesn’t know her full potential because she has been molded by her kingdom to be a certain way. I did appreciate her tenacity to never give up and try things. She has a big heart and I appreciate that she hasn’t let events harden it. At the same time, I found myself loosing patience with her for this as the story progresses. I also think I had a hard time reconciling the Isla we get in Lightlark (#1) with the Isla we learn about in Nightbane (#2). She struggles to define boundaries and set limits for herself.

The rest of the cast is pretty meh and I think keeping their layers in the dark is an attempt to add suspense to some of the plot points — which is successful to a certain extent. But it also prevented me from getting invested in any side stories; which would have helped to drive the plot when things felt stale to me.

The Romance:

One thing I loved about Lightlark (#1) was that I didn’t really know who Isla’s romantic interest would be. It isn’t a huge focus either which I thought was refreshing until it seemingly morphed into the only focus in the subsequent novels.

Unfortunately, I was bored by the romance and found myself not being invested in it at all. Which kinda sucks when it is written as if it is this big thing, driving not only the plot but the world as well, forward at nearly every turn. It also made me hate Isla a bit for being so wish-washy on her feelings as well. I get that she hasn’t really had real love in her life but her inability to distinguish between Eros and Pathos makes it painful as the reader and she wasn’t gaining any sympathy from me.

My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:

I won’t be running out to get the next book as soon as it comes out but I am curious to see how everything will come together and be resolved. I’m really, truly hoping that Book #4 is the last one but I suspect that won’t be the case…