Publishers Weekly
★ 04/24/2023
Pool (the Age of Darkness trilogy) fuses fantasy, mystery, and romance in this transfixing duology opener set in Caraza City, where spellcraft knowledge is regulated by the politically powerful Five Families. Because of her mother’s station as the right hand of a Five Families patriarch, Marlow Briggs leads a privileged life learning spellcraft alongside the families’ young elites. After her mother vanishes, Marlow, now 17, dwells in the gang-run Marshes and works as a cursebreaker, seeking out and destroying the sources of hexes. When Five Families scion Adrius Falcrest, 18, asks Marlow for help with breaking a dangerous curse, she hesitates. Though Adrius and Marlow were once friends bordering on more, he publicly rebuffed her, breaking Marlow’s heart. But regaining access to the Five Families would allow Marlow to investigate her mother’s disappearance. Posing as Adrius’s girlfriend to keep their agreement—and her snooping—discreet, Marlow swallows her pride and dives back in to the affluent world that once rejected her. High-stakes action and bureaucratic intrigue abound, but it’s Marlow and Adrius’s charged relationship that keep tensions elevated, continuously knocking confident Marlow off-kilter. Sumptuous worldbuilding and fully realized, intersectionally diverse characters further enhance this enticing tale. Ages 14–up. Agents: Alexandra Machinist and Hillary Jacobson, ICM Partners. (June)
From the Publisher
A Cosmopolitan Best YA Book of 2023!
A Teen Readers' Choice Award Semi-Finalist
A 2024 Texas Library Association TAYSHAS Selection
“Mystery, fantasy, romance—this book has it all, and every page is more compulsively readable than the last. Gasp-inducing, heart-rending, and beautifully crafted, Garden of the Cursed is nothing short of genius.” —Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Inheritance Games series
"A delicious read full of swoony romance (fake-dating trope!), dangerous gangsters, wondrous magic, and an elaborate mystery that will keep the pages flying." —Tricia Levenseller, New York Times–bestselling author of Blade of Secrets
"Katy Rose Pool kicks off a brand new duology with a badass lead and a very fascinating mystery that you definitely won't be able to put down. Sprinkle in some magic and an enemies-to-lovers romance and we officially have a new favorite series." —Cosmopolitan
"One of the most original fantasy novels I've read in years." —C. L. Herman, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the All of Us Villains duology
"A fresh, fascinating magic system, an intricate blend of fantasy meets mystery, and a riveting fake dating romance—I devoured this in a single day." —Amanda Foody, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the All of Us Villains duology
* "High-stakes action and bureaucratic intrigue abound, but it’s Marlow and Adrius’s charged relationship that keep tensions elevated. Sumptuous worldbuilding and fully realized, intersectionally diverse characters further enhance this enticing tale." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The story blends creative worldbuilding elements with beloved tropes. Delightfully intriguing." —Kirkus
"Recommended for any library." —Booklist
"An exciting start to a duology that will leave readers eager for the next installment." —BookPage
Praise for the Age of Darkness trilogy
A Morris Award Finalist for There Will Come a Darkness
* "A successful ending to a brilliant trilogy about human hope and connection . . . set in a diverse world that celebrates and affirms all kinds of love." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Into the Dying Light
* "Mind-blowing twists, budding love, and terrible betrayals feature in this...study of power, agency, and identity." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review for As the Shadow Rises
"Solidifies Katy Rose Pool as one of the best fantasy writers of the 21st century." —Popsugar on As the Shadow Rises
* "Masterful." —BCCB, starred review for There Will Come a Darkness
"You get the feeling Katy Rose Pool’s plot is always seven steps ahead of you. You’ll want to catch up as quickly as possible." —Refinery 29 on There Will Come a Darkness
School Library Journal
12/15/2023
Gr 9 Up—A romantic high fantasy for fans of Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights and Shelby Mahurin's Serpent & Dove. In Caraza, spellcraft is controlled by an oligarchy called the Five Families. Once, Marlow had access to the rich and powerful, learning spellcraft alongside the children of the Five Families. When her mother disappeared, so did Marlow's easy life. When her ex-friend Adrius Falcrest, an heir of the Five Families, comes to her years later for help breaking a curse, Marlow finds herself on his arm, pretending to be his girlfriend to keep the investigation discreet. Adrius is her ticket back into the Five Families' sphere of influence where she can find out what happened to her mother, but now she's playing at the life she might have had if Adrius hadn't rejected her all those years ago. Pool has crafted complex, intersectionally diverse characters who propel the plot and worldbuilding to higher and higher stakes. Curses are cast through cards, which are powered by sacrificing memories (among other things), and Marlow's detective work invites readers to examine the layers of social, economic, and magical worldbuilding at play. The romantic tension between Marlow and Adrius is top-tier, as Marlow puts aside her pride and pursues her goals with ambition. VERDICT Romantic and adrenaline-inducing, with a mystery that will have readers back for the sequel. Recommended for general purchase.—Emmy Neal
Kirkus Reviews
2023-05-09
A resourceful cursebreaker sets out to investigate a curse placed on an old friend and encounters clues to her mother’s disappearance.
In the city of Caraza, the Five Families hold the power and the spellcrafting knowledge that turns the wheels of their gilded society. Seventeen-year-old Marlow Briggs used to be in the midst of it all in the exclusive Evergarden neighborhood, but since her mother’s mysterious disappearance the year before, she has turned her skills in cursebreaking into a job in order to survive. When Adrius, an old estranged friend and the heir and scion of the Falcrest family, seeks Marlow’s help to break the curse he is under—a Compulsion curse from a spell book that was supposedly destroyed centuries ago—she finds herself back in high society, pretending to be in a romantic relationship with Adrius in order to carry out her investigation from within. Marlow eventually learns that her mother’s disappearance, Adrius’ curse, and the very foundation of magic in their world are connected—with unexpected consequences. This first entry in a duology sees its main character navigate the deadly confluence of magic and power. The story blends creative worldbuilding elements, such as its magic system based on spellcards, with beloved tropes, like the charming fake dating between Adrius and Marlow, within a dystopian world of haves and have-nots. A range of interesting secondary characters are a bonus. Main characters are assumed White.
Delightfully intriguing. (Fantasy mystery. 14-18)
