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A Golden Darkness
Can hope be found in even the darkest of places?
Orla has just become a hances, a healer dedicated to preserving life. But for all the new skills she's learning, she still can't find what she wants most: a cure for her dying grandmother. When a mysterious woman comes to her village and offers to teach her magic, Orla accepts--even though doing so is against the law.
Piran has settled into the quiet life of a librarian's apprentice by day and a spy by night. Given the task of finding a rumored magic-wielder near his village, he stumbles across a cottage in the woods, where he finds the beginnings of a dark and dangerous plot--one that centers on his best friend, Orla.
As darkness grows and right and wrong are twisted together, can Orla find the hope she's desperate for? Or will her efforts to fix things only break them beyond repair?
Orla has just become a hances, a healer dedicated to preserving life. But for all the new skills she's learning, she still can't find what she wants most: a cure for her dying grandmother. When a mysterious woman comes to her village and offers to teach her magic, Orla accepts--even though doing so is against the law.
Piran has settled into the quiet life of a librarian's apprentice by day and a spy by night. Given the task of finding a rumored magic-wielder near his village, he stumbles across a cottage in the woods, where he finds the beginnings of a dark and dangerous plot--one that centers on his best friend, Orla.
As darkness grows and right and wrong are twisted together, can Orla find the hope she's desperate for? Or will her efforts to fix things only break them beyond repair?
340 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 2024
9 people want to read
About the author
M.C. Kennedy
5 books45 followersM. C. Kennedy fell in love with fantasy at nine years old after reading The Lord of the Rings. She now strives to reflect her Creator by dreaming up fictional realms that point readers to His truths in the real world. When she’s not roaming through fanciful forests, struggling to understand Greek and Hebrew, or geeking out over one of her many fandoms, she loves to connect with readers on her website or her various social media platforms.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 19, 2024
It's hard to know where to start with this one...poigantly beautiful and truthful as it touches on the realities of grief.
Characters:
Orla was well crafted, and I felt for her. Bad decisions were made, but all her intentions were good. The thought and reality of losing those we love is never easy.
Piran was such a sweetie! Honestly loved him... and wanted more! Always more...lol...
Braich cracked me up! Love that gnome!
It was cool and nice to see some of Roshein and Ean!
Fiona... I actually felt bad for her. *hugs*
Themes:
That the power of life and death is God's and God's alone. That we can't do things on our own and that God is always there for us, even when we think He's not. All the fact that when people die, we need to be able to let them go. To enjoy the memories we have but not to live in the past.
Beautiful and painful reminders as I recently lost my great-grandmother...
Language:
N/A
Romance:
One short, not detailed kiss. Adorable friends to more!
Violence/Gore:
Some mild injuries, two deaths, both sad because the patients were struggling before they died.
Magic:
There is quite a bit of magic...though none of the spells are on page. There is a pretty distinct line between bad and good magic...though Fiona does make that blurry for a bit before it all evens back out with a beautiful ending.
Overall:
This was a really good read... I think I would have enjoyed it more had my own grief not been so fresh. I was crying with Orla at a couple of points because losing someone you love or care about is so hard.
But this is still a great book!
Recommend for ages 16+ because of the heavy grief and magic content.
Characters:
Orla was well crafted, and I felt for her. Bad decisions were made, but all her intentions were good. The thought and reality of losing those we love is never easy.
Piran was such a sweetie! Honestly loved him... and wanted more! Always more...lol...
Braich cracked me up! Love that gnome!
It was cool and nice to see some of Roshein and Ean!
Fiona... I actually felt bad for her. *hugs*
Themes:
That the power of life and death is God's and God's alone. That we can't do things on our own and that God is always there for us, even when we think He's not. All the fact that when people die, we need to be able to let them go. To enjoy the memories we have but not to live in the past.
Beautiful and painful reminders as I recently lost my great-grandmother...
Language:
N/A
Romance:
One short, not detailed kiss. Adorable friends to more!
Violence/Gore:
Some mild injuries, two deaths, both sad because the patients were struggling before they died.
Magic:
There is quite a bit of magic...though none of the spells are on page. There is a pretty distinct line between bad and good magic...though Fiona does make that blurry for a bit before it all evens back out with a beautiful ending.
Overall:
This was a really good read... I think I would have enjoyed it more had my own grief not been so fresh. I was crying with Orla at a couple of points because losing someone you love or care about is so hard.
But this is still a great book!
Recommend for ages 16+ because of the heavy grief and magic content.
November 17, 2024
A timely story about the realities of grief...
Now that I've read and enjoyed all three stories, I can see what Kennedy was trying to accomplish. Even though each book in this series can be read independently, I think the story is fuller now that I've read all of them. They each feature a different sibling, and of the three, Orla (the main character) reminded me the most of myself. I, too, have tried to control circumstances in order to save someone I loved. I, too, have wondered why God allows good, faithful people to suffer. So while I read Orla's story, I emotionally had a hard time because I could sympathize so deeply with her. The fact that Kennedy was able to do this is incredible. She created extremely relatable characters and circumstances. More than this, she created a fast paced, tense plot that keeps you reading until the very end. The ending makes you hopeful, despite the theme of dealing with grief. A well executed, fantastic story!
Content Warnings: Discussion of dark v. light magic and using magic to resurrect a loved one from the dead. Several descriptive deaths that were hard to read, even if they weren't gross.
Now that I've read and enjoyed all three stories, I can see what Kennedy was trying to accomplish. Even though each book in this series can be read independently, I think the story is fuller now that I've read all of them. They each feature a different sibling, and of the three, Orla (the main character) reminded me the most of myself. I, too, have tried to control circumstances in order to save someone I loved. I, too, have wondered why God allows good, faithful people to suffer. So while I read Orla's story, I emotionally had a hard time because I could sympathize so deeply with her. The fact that Kennedy was able to do this is incredible. She created extremely relatable characters and circumstances. More than this, she created a fast paced, tense plot that keeps you reading until the very end. The ending makes you hopeful, despite the theme of dealing with grief. A well executed, fantastic story!
Content Warnings: Discussion of dark v. light magic and using magic to resurrect a loved one from the dead. Several descriptive deaths that were hard to read, even if they weren't gross.
December 30, 2025
“Even the best of motives can easily be corrupted by evil, but that evil can be undone when the wrongdoer chooses to let go of it.”
This final book was so so sweet. And action packed at the end! Orla could be a biiiit naive, but overall probably the most relatable character of the series. And Piran is adorable 😭
I don’t usually enjoy when a trilogy switches up main characters, but this one did a great job of really tying all the storylines together so I always cared about the fate of each character.
I think if I had to rate the series it would be:
1. A Bird in the Snow
2. A Golden Darkness
3. A Wolf’s Rose
Love this series. A great one to read around Christmas for the snowy vibes and for the Christian themes.
This final book was so so sweet. And action packed at the end! Orla could be a biiiit naive, but overall probably the most relatable character of the series. And Piran is adorable 😭
I don’t usually enjoy when a trilogy switches up main characters, but this one did a great job of really tying all the storylines together so I always cared about the fate of each character.
I think if I had to rate the series it would be:
1. A Bird in the Snow
2. A Golden Darkness
3. A Wolf’s Rose
Love this series. A great one to read around Christmas for the snowy vibes and for the Christian themes.
January 28, 2025
I give this 4 1/2 Stars!!
I want to start by saying I received an ARC of this book. This is a Christian fantasy book. It is about Piran and Orla. Piran is a librarian’s apprentice as well as a spy. Orla is learning to become a healer. Orla’s grandmother is very sick and there is no way to cure her. She hears of magic that could possibly cure her grandmother. Magic is illegal and forbidden. Will Orla go against it and learn anyways? Will she be able to help her grandmother and others? Will Piran be able to help her? Will Orla put those she loves in danger? This book has a great message in it. God has plans for your life. When it is your time to die nothing can change the outcome. Pray and give your all to God instead of trying to do things on your own. Good will always overcome evil. This is one of the few fantasy books I have read and I was not disappointed. I would’ve loved a little bit more romance or more into the future but this book was still great. Now I need to go read the books that came before this one.
I want to start by saying I received an ARC of this book. This is a Christian fantasy book. It is about Piran and Orla. Piran is a librarian’s apprentice as well as a spy. Orla is learning to become a healer. Orla’s grandmother is very sick and there is no way to cure her. She hears of magic that could possibly cure her grandmother. Magic is illegal and forbidden. Will Orla go against it and learn anyways? Will she be able to help her grandmother and others? Will Piran be able to help her? Will Orla put those she loves in danger? This book has a great message in it. God has plans for your life. When it is your time to die nothing can change the outcome. Pray and give your all to God instead of trying to do things on your own. Good will always overcome evil. This is one of the few fantasy books I have read and I was not disappointed. I would’ve loved a little bit more romance or more into the future but this book was still great. Now I need to go read the books that came before this one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews