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He was raised in revolution. She was raised in a palace. Can their love stop a war? Code Name Verity meets The Winner's Cursein Joanna Hathaway's Dark of the West, a breathtaking YA fantasy debut.
Aurelia Isendare is a princess of a small kingdom in the North, raised in privilege but shielded from politics as her brother prepares to step up to the throne. Halfway around the world, Athan Dakar, the youngest son of a ruthless general, is a fighter pilot longing for a life away from the front lines. When Athan’s mother is shot and killed, his father is convinced it’s the work of his old rival, the Queen of Etania—Aurelia’s mother. Determined to avenge his wife’s murder, he devises a plot to overthrow the Queen, a plot which sends Athan undercover to Etania to gain intel from her children.
Athan’s mission becomes complicated when he finds himself falling for the girl he’s been tasked with spying upon. Aurelia feels the same attraction, all the while desperately seeking to stop the war threatening to break between the Southern territory and the old Northern kingdoms that control it—a war in which Athan’s father is determined to play a role. As diplomatic ties manage to just barely hold, the two teens struggle to remain loyal to their families and each other as they learn that war is not as black and white as they’ve been raised to believe.

Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1)
by Joanna Hathaway
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: February 5th 2019
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Review:

Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway is a very vividly written book. I really enjoyed the characters. Altan Dakar, is the youngest son of General Dakar. General Dakar was the ruler of Savient for the past ten years. Altan is such an interesting character. His internal conflict is one of my favorite things about this book. I loved how complex of a character he is. I felt like he had so much dimension to him.

No Aurelia on the other hand, I am still not totally sure how I feel about her. She is a super naive character without a lot of depth. I found myself feeling disappointed with her. Then the love between these characters developed so fast that it did not come across as being something that I could believe in.

Dark of the West is quite engaging and it is very well written. I found myself really enjoying the story. This book has something for everyone in it. You have politics, scheming, military, romance, friendships, internal struggle, and enemies to lovers. I think this book is way more than just a fantasy novel. I think anyone would enjoy this Political Fantasy novel.

Favorite Quotes:

"Nothing's gained without sacrifice"

"Loyalty...is what you die for. Loyalty is deeper than blood."

"Somewhere, the forest is burning, my father is raging, and the kingdom staggers"
"There was me and there was him and now there's only me. The loneliness of that startles me"