Of Darkness and Light by Ryan Cahill

Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and The Broken, #2)

by Ryan Cahill

Heroes will rise. Nations will fall.

Behind the towering walls of Belduar, Calen Bryer and his companions stand in defense of the city and its new king. In over a thousand years, Belduar has never fallen. It has stood as a bastion of hope. But the Lorian empire are at its walls once more, and the Dragonguard are coming.

In the North, with Faenir by her side, Calen’s sister Ella arrives at the port of Antiquar, her only compass, a letter addressed to her fallen love. But she holds no fear of the unknown. She will see this through, no matter what – or who – gets in her way.

Meanwhile, at the embassy of the Circle of Magii in Al’Nasla, Rist Havel hones his newfound powers in preparation for the trials of Faith and Will. Unbeknownst to Rist, he is being watched, measured, and judged. He was not taken into the Circle by chance. There is greatness in him. But great men can do terrible things.

As Lorian forces land on southern shores and Aeson Virandr’s letters of rebellion find their way to the right hands, only the Knights of Achyron see the true danger. The danger that stirs in the darkness. The coming shadow will not stop. It will consume all in its path. It wants for nothing but blood and fire.

Reviewed by Ashley on

5 of 5 stars

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I adored the first book and this second one did not let me down. You can really see the author continuing to grow and brilliantly flesh out this world and its characters.

Of Darkness and Light was pretty much nonstop action. It was a LONG book, but never felt dull or like it was dragging. I loved every second. It did switch between several characters (maybe more than book 1? Not sure) but there is a really helpful list of characters at the back of the book. That helped me remember who was who (particularly because there are like 4 characters with similar names starting with "D"!).

Props to the author for including a "the story so far" at the start. This helps you jump straight into Of Darkness and Light if it's been a few months since you read the first book.

I'm super excited for the rest of this series!!

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Reading updates

  • 3 February, 2022: Started reading
  • 3 February, 2022: on page 0 out of 708 0%
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  • 4 February, 2022: on page 150 out of 708 21%
  • 5 February, 2022: on page 276 out of 708 39%
  • 6 February, 2022: on page 453 out of 708 64%
  • 7 February, 2022: on page 496 out of 708 70%
  • 9 February, 2022: on page 609 out of 708 86%
  • 10 February, 2022: Finished reading
  • 15 February, 2022: Reviewed