What do you think?
Rate this book
Chronicles of the Secret Prince #2
Once Upon a Darker Time (Chronicles of the Secret Prince) (Volume 2) by MJ Bell
The adventure continues in Book II of the highly anticipated, award-winning fantasy trilogy the Chronicles of the Secret Prince from author, MJ Bell. Deston Lespérance assumed that after he defied the odds and bested Grossard, the malicious Solitary Faerie who had imprisoned his parents, he and his family would live ‘happily-ever-after.’ That’s how it always ends in the movies, so it should be that way for him too, right? Unfortunately, he discovers all too quickly that it doesn’t work that way in real life. Fitting in with the Fae and learning to access his new found powers is not as automatic as he thought it would be, and to make matters worse, he finds out Grossard managed to survive the collapse of the abbey and is now more resolved than ever to destroy his family and the Fae. Only this time Grossard has joined forces with Mordred and together they intend to uncover the Shard of Erebus and unleash its ultimate darkness onto the earth. Though Deston isn’t sure he’s ready to take on Grossard again, destiny waits for no one, not even the secret Prince of Tir na-nÓg. Ready or not, he’s drawn into a new challenge of locating and destroying the Shard of Erebus before Grossard and Mordred can find it, and with Margaux at his side, he heads out on another epic adventure, fully aware the stakes are even higher this time. Never in his wildest dreams, however, could he have imagined the sacrifices he’d be required to make. As his world crumbles around him and his friends fall, the one glimmer of hope he hangs onto is that the Fae power and strength truly does reside within him and that he can actually become the hero the Fae claim him to be.
- GenresFantasy
Mass Market Paperback
First published February 17, 2014
12 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 8, 2014
Another really interesting story. I loved how the author gave you what happened in Book One (in case you hadn’t read it) that was interesting and intriguing but wasn’t an information dump. Very well done connecting the two stories. The story was also very visual for me, easy to see the setting – Deston chasing a fox down a hole under a tree, the forest, walking through the waterfall – some very interesting scenes that really lent to the story but again was woven into the story so you never felt like you were being overloaded. The characters were very real and believable – even the ogres.
I really enjoyed book one but I have to say I enjoyed this book even more. This book and series is a great read for any age – young to old. It’s one of those stories that has a really good story to it but it also has a really good underlying message – overcoming our fears, it’s all about the stories we tell ourselves. Deston is really in a place of feeling like he doesn’t fit in and things don’t seem to be coming easy to him like they do for others. He really is challenged to figure out who he is and fast as there are people depending on him to save their kingdom. I loved that it was about unlearning what he’d learned and believed, so that he could step into his destiny.
It’s one of those stories that you will think about even when you’re not reading it. I definitely recommend this book and this series. I am looking forward to book #3. Well done Ms. Bell. 4.5/5 I was given a copy as part of a tour.
I really enjoyed book one but I have to say I enjoyed this book even more. This book and series is a great read for any age – young to old. It’s one of those stories that has a really good story to it but it also has a really good underlying message – overcoming our fears, it’s all about the stories we tell ourselves. Deston is really in a place of feeling like he doesn’t fit in and things don’t seem to be coming easy to him like they do for others. He really is challenged to figure out who he is and fast as there are people depending on him to save their kingdom. I loved that it was about unlearning what he’d learned and believed, so that he could step into his destiny.
It’s one of those stories that you will think about even when you’re not reading it. I definitely recommend this book and this series. I am looking forward to book #3. Well done Ms. Bell. 4.5/5 I was given a copy as part of a tour.
April 5, 2014
Originally posted on Girls *Heart* Books
Once Upon a Darker Time is the second book in the Chronicles of the Secret Prince series, which I raved about the other day (you can see that review here). We are a spoiler free blog so I am going to refrain from telling you about how many times I screamed "WHAT THE F***" while reading all the twists and flips and attacks on my feels and continue ranting on and on about how awesome this author is.
Deston continues to be a completely relatable and realistic character, and even though she doesn't rant on it, Bell shows all the ups and downs of being a young adult. How she manages to explain this properly, plus stay in the realm of AWESOME when it comes to faeries, and keep a little bit of romance blooming without boring me. This series is fantastic. I just ordered the paperbacks this morning and as soon as I get them I am going to re-read these. Again. One of the best series' about faeries and young adults I have ever read.
Once Upon a Darker Time is the second book in the Chronicles of the Secret Prince series, which I raved about the other day (you can see that review here). We are a spoiler free blog so I am going to refrain from telling you about how many times I screamed "WHAT THE F***" while reading all the twists and flips and attacks on my feels and continue ranting on and on about how awesome this author is.
Deston continues to be a completely relatable and realistic character, and even though she doesn't rant on it, Bell shows all the ups and downs of being a young adult. How she manages to explain this properly, plus stay in the realm of AWESOME when it comes to faeries, and keep a little bit of romance blooming without boring me. This series is fantastic. I just ordered the paperbacks this morning and as soon as I get them I am going to re-read these. Again. One of the best series' about faeries and young adults I have ever read.
April 28, 2014
So, we find that Deston is struggling with his human half to reach his fae powers, he still just cannot believe in himself. His grandmother sends him off for special training and he finds that he indeed has powers if only his pesky human side would let him relax enough to realize it. Grossard is still alive and teamed with another great evil one and to tackle saving the world Deston must find that belief. Will he find himself in time?
I will leave it at that as to discover all the magic you MUST read this book. I am just as entranced with this book as I was the first, MJ Bell is a master at her craft. I fall into her books and I do not want to come back out. Even more fantastical things happen in this book, I swear you could have knocked me over with a feather a couple of times. The places they go, the things they discover, the people they meet, all utterly fascinating. You can call it fantasy magic but I know that magic is real and lives in these books. Many thanks to MJ bell for another wonderful book to read and treasure over and over again.
A complimentary copy given for an honest review.
I will leave it at that as to discover all the magic you MUST read this book. I am just as entranced with this book as I was the first, MJ Bell is a master at her craft. I fall into her books and I do not want to come back out. Even more fantastical things happen in this book, I swear you could have knocked me over with a feather a couple of times. The places they go, the things they discover, the people they meet, all utterly fascinating. You can call it fantasy magic but I know that magic is real and lives in these books. Many thanks to MJ bell for another wonderful book to read and treasure over and over again.
A complimentary copy given for an honest review.
April 4, 2015
Plot – good kid's story
Characters – interesting and relateable
Movie Potential - ★★★☆☆ (not sure how they'd do it. It would be very intricate)
Ease of reading – very easy to read
Cover - ✔
Suitable Title - ✔
Would I read it again – Not sure.
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Plot
This book moves at a much faster pace than book 1, because there's no need to introduce the characters or their circumstances. However, I do think that there are far too many 'incidences' and 'close calls' in this book. It feels like something dramatic is happening every chapter and it's a little exhausting for me – I can't imagine how exhausted the characters must be. To be realistic – Fae or not – they need a rest every once in a while.
I also think there are most spelling/grammar mistakes in this one, which I can overlook. I can't, however, overlook the continuity issues at the beginning of the book. Example:
“Four months had passed in the lower realm since the battle” - Yet, just later in the same paragraph it says “He'd performed this same task every day for months”. But as I understood it from book 1, “Each day here is equivalent to approximately four months in our realm, give or take a few weeks.” As I calculate it, it should be either 9 years or 9 months, depending on how the author uses the calculation.
Then again, later on, it says “Three weeks' time in the high realm that is, but in the lower realm it had been over seven years since his arrival.” That doesn't fit the time line either. Unless I'm misunderstanding the equation here. And I got really confused by this point. Why is Deston claiming he's only been in Tir-na-nÓg for 3 weeks, when Grossard has been in it for 4 months? That makes no sense.
Then, we find out that it's even more confusing.
Deston kept talking about why NiNi left Tir-na-nÓg. Yet, as far as we know, she'd never left. It's only LATER....and I mean about a chapter and a half later, that we discover this -
“When Oseron and Joliet came to her shortly thereafter to take her to Tir-na-nÓg, she confessed what she'd done and told them her fears.” This would have been nice to know before the whole confusion of not knowing where she'd gone, why or how we didn't know about it.
Also, a niggle I noticed and overlooked in book 1 has cropped up again so I feel it's worth mentioning. There is a constant shift between present and future tense, outside of the dialogue that really jars the reading. Example:
“the day he'd been waiting for his entire life will finally be within his grasp.” It may seem small, but when it's constant, it becomes frustrating and confusing.
Characters
The characters are mostly the same. There's an addition of Tiff, which is kind of comical but a little pathetic at times. Deston has grown stronger, but progressing nicely through all the right stages of grief, disbelief and doubt, that are typical of a 14-year-old. Zumwald is as quirky and interesting as ever.
Again, all the 'big reveal' moments and surprises were a little predictable, so I didn't see many surprises in the book at all.
I don't like the weird feud story between Lilika and Keir. It doesn't feel relevant, it has no bearing on Deston's journey and feels like a filler for time and an attempt to garner a connection with the characters. It didn't happen. I liked both characters in book 1, UNTIL they became a couple. Lilika became a little like Margaux – pathetic, sappy and scatter-brained because of a man, while Keir got kind of crazy, dominant and overbearing, which wasn't nice to read, because he'd been such a nice guy, before. Again, I feel this was an attempt at romance that didn't quite come through for me. But maybe I'm alone in that, who knows.
The romance between Deston and Margaux picked up and did work. The hesitations, the realistic uncertainties, the way we see into both their minds and see that they each doubt themselves and think the worst – they're all great additions to the tension.
I don't, however, like how Margaux has never once spared a thought for the parents she left behind in the Lower Realm. She doesn't mention them, she doesn't think about them and it's like Mark from book 1 – he disappeared off the planet. Yet they raised her and took care of her, but still no mention.
The inclusion of Mark – for a whole five seconds – also didn't sit well with me. I get that it was weird and awkward when Deston met him again, never having aged a day, while Mark was seven years older (apparently). But he was his best friend and it's only been a few months since Deston saw him. I expected a hug or a fist bump at least.
Overall
This one was a definite 4 for me. I had no hesitations over giving it that mark, but there are some issues that I'd like to see dealt with, if this were ever to be re-edited. I think you can still enjoy the story as it is, but it would be a lot better without these niggles. Personally, I think all these books need are a few beta readers to go through them, before publication. They, as readers, would notice things the author might have missed during the editing stage.
My biggest problem with this book is that it's not a book. To me, a book – even when it's part of a series – has a beginning, middle and end. Not here. Book 1 was well rounded, in that it had a really solid ending, while leading you into another book. This doesn't have that. There is no nice clean ending, while knowing there's more to come. It stops abruptly, with a lot of questions unanswered – also something book 1 didn't do.
There is no mention of when book 3 will be available, at the end of the book. There is also no hint of it on Amazon, which is kind of annoying. If this had ended like book 1, I wouldn't see a problem. But because we're left in limbo, the wait is going to be frustrating and I'm probably going to lose touch with what happened at the end of this book, by the time it comes out. I hate that.
Overall, the story was good, but could be better. The plot was full to the brim with too much information and too many action scenes, though I guess kids might love that aspect. Mainly, I read this book most looking forward to Deston's journey. He's all I care about in this series, though I have a fondness for Rellick and Oseron. I did have a fondness for Keir and Lilika until they became snot-nosed kids, trying to battle everything out, that could easily have been talked over with some sense.
Saying that, I think teens will eat this series up and overlook the small problems I've pointed out. A good fantasy story with lots of action, a little romance and lots of confusion...
Characters – interesting and relateable
Movie Potential - ★★★☆☆ (not sure how they'd do it. It would be very intricate)
Ease of reading – very easy to read
Cover - ✔
Suitable Title - ✔
Would I read it again – Not sure.
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Plot
This book moves at a much faster pace than book 1, because there's no need to introduce the characters or their circumstances. However, I do think that there are far too many 'incidences' and 'close calls' in this book. It feels like something dramatic is happening every chapter and it's a little exhausting for me – I can't imagine how exhausted the characters must be. To be realistic – Fae or not – they need a rest every once in a while.
I also think there are most spelling/grammar mistakes in this one, which I can overlook. I can't, however, overlook the continuity issues at the beginning of the book. Example:
“Four months had passed in the lower realm since the battle” - Yet, just later in the same paragraph it says “He'd performed this same task every day for months”. But as I understood it from book 1, “Each day here is equivalent to approximately four months in our realm, give or take a few weeks.” As I calculate it, it should be either 9 years or 9 months, depending on how the author uses the calculation.
Then again, later on, it says “Three weeks' time in the high realm that is, but in the lower realm it had been over seven years since his arrival.” That doesn't fit the time line either. Unless I'm misunderstanding the equation here. And I got really confused by this point. Why is Deston claiming he's only been in Tir-na-nÓg for 3 weeks, when Grossard has been in it for 4 months? That makes no sense.
Then, we find out that it's even more confusing.
Deston kept talking about why NiNi left Tir-na-nÓg. Yet, as far as we know, she'd never left. It's only LATER....and I mean about a chapter and a half later, that we discover this -
“When Oseron and Joliet came to her shortly thereafter to take her to Tir-na-nÓg, she confessed what she'd done and told them her fears.” This would have been nice to know before the whole confusion of not knowing where she'd gone, why or how we didn't know about it.
Also, a niggle I noticed and overlooked in book 1 has cropped up again so I feel it's worth mentioning. There is a constant shift between present and future tense, outside of the dialogue that really jars the reading. Example:
“the day he'd been waiting for his entire life will finally be within his grasp.” It may seem small, but when it's constant, it becomes frustrating and confusing.
Characters
The characters are mostly the same. There's an addition of Tiff, which is kind of comical but a little pathetic at times. Deston has grown stronger, but progressing nicely through all the right stages of grief, disbelief and doubt, that are typical of a 14-year-old. Zumwald is as quirky and interesting as ever.
Again, all the 'big reveal' moments and surprises were a little predictable, so I didn't see many surprises in the book at all.
I don't like the weird feud story between Lilika and Keir. It doesn't feel relevant, it has no bearing on Deston's journey and feels like a filler for time and an attempt to garner a connection with the characters. It didn't happen. I liked both characters in book 1, UNTIL they became a couple. Lilika became a little like Margaux – pathetic, sappy and scatter-brained because of a man, while Keir got kind of crazy, dominant and overbearing, which wasn't nice to read, because he'd been such a nice guy, before. Again, I feel this was an attempt at romance that didn't quite come through for me. But maybe I'm alone in that, who knows.
The romance between Deston and Margaux picked up and did work. The hesitations, the realistic uncertainties, the way we see into both their minds and see that they each doubt themselves and think the worst – they're all great additions to the tension.
I don't, however, like how Margaux has never once spared a thought for the parents she left behind in the Lower Realm. She doesn't mention them, she doesn't think about them and it's like Mark from book 1 – he disappeared off the planet. Yet they raised her and took care of her, but still no mention.
The inclusion of Mark – for a whole five seconds – also didn't sit well with me. I get that it was weird and awkward when Deston met him again, never having aged a day, while Mark was seven years older (apparently). But he was his best friend and it's only been a few months since Deston saw him. I expected a hug or a fist bump at least.
Overall
This one was a definite 4 for me. I had no hesitations over giving it that mark, but there are some issues that I'd like to see dealt with, if this were ever to be re-edited. I think you can still enjoy the story as it is, but it would be a lot better without these niggles. Personally, I think all these books need are a few beta readers to go through them, before publication. They, as readers, would notice things the author might have missed during the editing stage.
My biggest problem with this book is that it's not a book. To me, a book – even when it's part of a series – has a beginning, middle and end. Not here. Book 1 was well rounded, in that it had a really solid ending, while leading you into another book. This doesn't have that. There is no nice clean ending, while knowing there's more to come. It stops abruptly, with a lot of questions unanswered – also something book 1 didn't do.
There is no mention of when book 3 will be available, at the end of the book. There is also no hint of it on Amazon, which is kind of annoying. If this had ended like book 1, I wouldn't see a problem. But because we're left in limbo, the wait is going to be frustrating and I'm probably going to lose touch with what happened at the end of this book, by the time it comes out. I hate that.
Overall, the story was good, but could be better. The plot was full to the brim with too much information and too many action scenes, though I guess kids might love that aspect. Mainly, I read this book most looking forward to Deston's journey. He's all I care about in this series, though I have a fondness for Rellick and Oseron. I did have a fondness for Keir and Lilika until they became snot-nosed kids, trying to battle everything out, that could easily have been talked over with some sense.
Saying that, I think teens will eat this series up and overlook the small problems I've pointed out. A good fantasy story with lots of action, a little romance and lots of confusion...
February 27, 2014
The end of this book reminds me of the true insecurity of being a teenager--this isn't a spoiler, it is about capturing the completeness of what it means to have everything at your fingertips and then nothing. This story brings moments of real loss together with equally delightful moments full of adventure and page turning excitement.
Bell does an outstanding job of showing the ups and downs of a young adult mind into her hero, Deston. Deston is trying to come to terms with everything that happened in volume one: Before the Full Moon Rises. On top of those huge life changes, he is faced with challenges that took me beyond my dreams... from amazing insights about fear to ice covered mountains and on to Italy, this book is full of surprises. I couldn't put it down.
Bell does an outstanding job of showing the ups and downs of a young adult mind into her hero, Deston. Deston is trying to come to terms with everything that happened in volume one: Before the Full Moon Rises. On top of those huge life changes, he is faced with challenges that took me beyond my dreams... from amazing insights about fear to ice covered mountains and on to Italy, this book is full of surprises. I couldn't put it down.
May 13, 2014
I loved the first book so much, and I have to admit, I love the second book even more! The author is so good at grabbing you at the start and keeping you interested the whole way through. I love learning more about my favorite characters, and I love all the new ones too. The world MJ Bell has created is so wonderful and beautiful, I wish it was a real place I could visit. I anxiously await the next book!
July 30, 2016
Great YA fantasy fiction. Love the whole Deston/Margaux story as it blossoms. Lots of exciting twists and shockers. Loved to see some of the legendary characters from Arthurian legend brought in. Can't wait for book #3.
July 11, 2020
A good book. I enjoyed it very much and will definitely be reading the next one to find out what happens next. I loved how there are references to characters in different legends, or they're straight up in the story. It doesn't make it feel weird at all, only adds more depth and interest in the story.
March 9, 2021
I brought the book on my birthday last year,because I owns and had read the first book. I had enjoyed the first book very much. I ended up getting the sequel to continue on with the series.
I thought the story was really cute. 🥰 I love the family dynamics in this series.
I highly recommend this series.
I thought the story was really cute. 🥰 I love the family dynamics in this series.
I highly recommend this series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews