​General Opinion:.

Thank you, Laura Vega, for gifting me this audiobook for being part of the Darkland campaign. ​

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​Characters and Plot

I like the magic system and world-building in this book. I don't think I've seen anything like this before. There are two realms for Gods, where the humans are slaves to the Gods, and anyone who commits a crime would be sent to the Darkland, to death, or a second chance. The theme of Darkland surrounding the crystal was amazing, along with the amnesia trope, as every player loses their memories when joining the games. I found it to symbolize the Gods dehumanizing the humans, losing themselves. The concept that Gods need to feed on humans' souls and were supposed to release them, but ended up imprisoning them instead, of dark and interesting. 

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Khaos... omg, listening to him through the audiobook was something else. That one moment when he chuckles, that did something to me. At first, seeing how he instantly went from mocking Cassie to being concerned about her, I was a bit bewildered because it seemed like instant love. Yet after listening to their backstories, I was swoon, like I changed my mind, it's properly the most slow-burning romance ever, the patient Khaos had waiting for Cassie. The banter, the tension between them, along with the tender moments, just melt my heart. This book had the perfect balance of plot and romance, it is definitely romance heavy, but it doesn't get in the way of the journey at hand, but push it forward, most other fantasy books I read that are romance heavy tends to stray from the plot, but this doesn't. 

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The trials were fun and decent, though I think they could have been more intense and deadly. I do love how we went back and forth between the current time and the memories that Cassie lost; it just fills a lot of questions about her life before and adds a lot of depth to the story, especially the romance between her and Khaos. The ending is like hello??? I need book 2 RIGHT NOW, I need to know what's going to happen. 

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Though I notice that there were a lot of repetition of a few words, such as Khaos's "golden eyes", unless his eyes had magical power, there is no need to mention it every single moment, it just become annoying, also the words "infuriating", "intrigue"... But others than that, I had no other critques. 

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​​​​​​​​​​​​Conclusion

Please support Laura Vega as she is an indie author, and if you love fantasy with deadly trials, a perfect balance between plot and romance, than Darkland is for you. ​

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