I could not resist this book once I saw that awesome cover. And I am so glad that I read it. Because I really, really enjoying reading this story. It was not fully perfect for me, but a most excellent four star. And there was not a single thing that I hated, which is such a plus. It was such a sweet but also pretty depressing love story.
This book tells the story of Elia and Trys. She is a shopkeeper and he is a prince. He is looking to end a war and she is looking to keep her siblings alive and well. They end up mixed together and end up on sort of an adventure. Which was all kinds of bad and fun. The romance is so fast, but so cute. I loved them both.
There is so much going on in this book. I'm going to write a little about all of it. But not much about the plot. First it is about Elia and Trys searching for the scroll. About Elia looking for a way to save her little brother. Then it ends up being about Elia trying to save Trys. Which I very much liked. And I found the writing to be great. I found the story to be exciting and thrilling at times. It was a fast read, because I could not stop myself from reading more once I started it. Which is the best feeling. In a way this story is simple. Yet fully complicated too. But it was an easy story to follow. There was no drama, which brought me the most joy. The romance was sweet. A little too much, yet also so perfect the way it was. I adored them so. It was not a perfect story to me, and yet I loved lots of it a whole lot. As it was such a good story.
This book is about Trys ending up in Elia's shop, asking her to create a doorway for him to the island in the sky. But she does not want to. Because she has a history at this place. I liked getting to know why she did not want to go back. What she did was so wrong. It was painful to read about. Yet I loved it lots. And I loved reading about this special place. Elia needs the money Trys is offering. And then he offers marriage to him as well, if they make it back safely. And so Elia is not able to refuse. And she likes him right away.
They end up rushing to get there, not fully planned. But oh, I loved getting to read more about this place. But it did not end up being a good place for them. They are searching for a scroll of peace in the library. But it is hidden in a vault. Elia has to open all the locks. It drains her. But she manages it, and Trys reads the scroll, hoping for peace to the war. But it was not at all that easy. He changes. And Elia has to leave and it is such a mess. I liked it a whole lot, ha. It was exciting. I liked everything that happened after that.
It would be a little impossible to describe this world. Because we do not see that much about it or how it works. And yet there is enough. I liked that the story focused more on Elia and Trys, rather than the world around. There is magic in this place. Almost everyone gets magic once they are old enough. Trys is good at finding lore and is a scholar. Elia can open anything with a lock. Her father could make a magic door to anywhere. Her sister could heal. There were many other types of magic too. I liked learning about them.
There were so many things that I enjoyed about this book. One of those things was Elia and her siblings. She is taking care of her four younger siblings, after their mother died and their father got ill. It's not going so well for them. But they are trying their best and just want a good future. We do not see too much of the siblings, but I so adored getting to know them all. They were written well and I loved their different magic. I loved how close they all were, how they loved each other. And I loved how it all ended for each of them.
There is also a witch in this story. Rinna-Grivya. Whom was almost like a grandmother for Elia and her siblings. Well, somewhat. She could be all kinds of grumpy. But she did help them when they needed it. And I liked reading about her too. We get to see a few other witches too, and they were more weird, ha. Elia also had a best friend. She also helped her and her siblings whenever she could. And I loved that. I liked her type of magic. Elia and her siblings were not doing too well, but they had loving people around.
Much of the end of the book is about Elia being on a battlefield. Fully in the dark. And I loved those parts as they were all kinds of interesting and mysterious. She had to get help from a monster while there. And I loved this monster. He could talk and he wasn't all that scary. Though her deal with him did not seem so nice. But he made her a shadow house to be safe in, which I loved. Then she met another monster, which was creepy. Yet they turned out to be friends, in a way. I very much loved that, ha. It was all kinds of cute.
I am giving this book a four star because I found a few things a little weird. The romance was all kinds of rushed and happened so fast. Yet I did not mind too much, as they were the cutest together and I adored the romance. But yeah. It was a little too fast, especially with her thinking about how he looks every time she looks at him. I also found some of the god things a bit too much. Or not explained enough. I wish the ending had been longer, as I wanted to see if that one curse could be broken. And I just wanted more, ha.
Unlock the Dark ended up being such an incredible book to me. I really adored the romance and the main characters. I loved the different world and how it's magic worked. I really liked Elia's magic. How adorable Trys was. I loved reading about the island in the sky. I wanted more of that. I liked the ending as well, and the writing was so good. I cannot wait for more books by Sasa Hawk. You all really need to read this. Big thank you to HarperTeen for still having me auto-approved on Edelweiss. I'm so glad I read this one early.
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