Title: To Dream in Darkness
Author: Ann Liang
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.8 out of 5
China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.
Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.
Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia’s disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning…
I really enjoyed this read! The mythology was interesting, even if the culture of the gods was a bit like…high school. I liked Rujia and Death both together and separately, as they both grew and learned to trust and think beyond themselves. Bits of this were sad, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Ann Liang is from Beijing and lives in Melbourne. To Dream in Darkness is her newest novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
