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The Myrk Maiden Trilogy #1
Daughter Darkness
What if you were born to destroy the world...not save it?
15-year-old Twilight dreams of a better life away from her uncaring family, longing for purpose and adventure. When her humdrum existence is soon shattered forever, she is thrust into the wickedly enticing realm of the Shadows, a society of sorcerers who look to her as their living salvation from the light. As darkness seeps into Twilight's soul, she comes to live by three words - "maim and kill." In this brutal coming-of-age tale, young Twilight finds herself tangled in a twist of existential crises, divine dangers, and monstrous mishaps as she navigates the various bends and turns of her new life, always wondering whether she should obey her "true nature" and remain in the dark - or fight for a glimpse of light beyond the Shadows' compound walls.
Book 1 in The Myrk Maiden Trilogy.
"The Myrk Maiden is no lite fare, and Charpentier writes with a potency that is thrilling and smacks of a seasoned, accomplished author."
— Mark Justice, author of Gauge Hell's Revenge and Death's The Eye of Samedi “A captivating story that consistently teeters on the edges of light and darkness. Daughter Darkness is a perfect first entry into Alyssa’s Charpentier’s Myrk Maiden Trilogy that excited and invested me in Twilight’s story going forward. I fully recommend it to anyone craving a beautiful, dark epic fantasy.” — JC Minnaar from Readers’ Favorite
15-year-old Twilight dreams of a better life away from her uncaring family, longing for purpose and adventure. When her humdrum existence is soon shattered forever, she is thrust into the wickedly enticing realm of the Shadows, a society of sorcerers who look to her as their living salvation from the light. As darkness seeps into Twilight's soul, she comes to live by three words - "maim and kill." In this brutal coming-of-age tale, young Twilight finds herself tangled in a twist of existential crises, divine dangers, and monstrous mishaps as she navigates the various bends and turns of her new life, always wondering whether she should obey her "true nature" and remain in the dark - or fight for a glimpse of light beyond the Shadows' compound walls.
Book 1 in The Myrk Maiden Trilogy.
"The Myrk Maiden is no lite fare, and Charpentier writes with a potency that is thrilling and smacks of a seasoned, accomplished author."
— Mark Justice, author of Gauge Hell's Revenge and Death's The Eye of Samedi “A captivating story that consistently teeters on the edges of light and darkness. Daughter Darkness is a perfect first entry into Alyssa’s Charpentier’s Myrk Maiden Trilogy that excited and invested me in Twilight’s story going forward. I fully recommend it to anyone craving a beautiful, dark epic fantasy.” — JC Minnaar from Readers’ Favorite
- GenresFantasy
357 pages, Paperback
Published August 10, 2021
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Alyssa Charpentier
9 books7 followersAlyssa Charpentier is a fantasy writer, essayist, poet, and the author of the Myrk Maiden Trilogy and A Maiden's Wish. Her debut novel, Daughter Darkness (The Myrk Maiden #1), received a Silver Award from Literary Titan in November 2022. Alyssa has written for publications such as Film East, Today's Christian Living Magazine, Geeks Under Grace, and G-FAN Magazine.
When Alyssa isn't ravaging worlds or regaling her readers with twisted tales of light and dark and good and evil, she can be found enjoying Godzilla films and bowls of soggy cereal at uncertain hours of the early morning.
Stay informed about her writing ventures at charpaly.com or on Instagram.
When Alyssa isn't ravaging worlds or regaling her readers with twisted tales of light and dark and good and evil, she can be found enjoying Godzilla films and bowls of soggy cereal at uncertain hours of the early morning.
Stay informed about her writing ventures at charpaly.com or on Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 11, 2022
For a debut novel, this is one of the most comprehensive world creations that have ever happened. The world-building is momentous and there are worlds upon worlds here. A reader is in for an all-encompassing treat when they start this book. Twi is quite a complex character.
Twi starts out in what could pass as a modern approach to a Cinder-ell-a life. Nothing says C’ella like evil stepsister and step-mom. Throw in a butt wad of a dad and you got something.
At the core of this book is the question of who do you want to be. Twi is faced with quite a choice and her first inclination is to run in the opposite direction. That is a telling point for readers too. Many people are faced with tough decisions in life and running is always an option. You really get a feeling that there are different paths of courage.
Dark and compelling, this book will challenge a reader. A brilliant first book by an up-and-coming author. Fans of books about dark magic will love this book. Fans of a heroine who is multi-layered and very complex will love this book. Upon finishing this book there will be a growing clamor for book 2.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
Twi starts out in what could pass as a modern approach to a Cinder-ell-a life. Nothing says C’ella like evil stepsister and step-mom. Throw in a butt wad of a dad and you got something.
At the core of this book is the question of who do you want to be. Twi is faced with quite a choice and her first inclination is to run in the opposite direction. That is a telling point for readers too. Many people are faced with tough decisions in life and running is always an option. You really get a feeling that there are different paths of courage.
Dark and compelling, this book will challenge a reader. A brilliant first book by an up-and-coming author. Fans of books about dark magic will love this book. Fans of a heroine who is multi-layered and very complex will love this book. Upon finishing this book there will be a growing clamor for book 2.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mr. N
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
January 28, 2022
Purchased a physical copy of this book when it was released. As I am very busy with work and family whenever I get a chance, I’ll pick up this book and read a few chapters. (Currently on ch.17). Charpentier does awesome work in introducing the characters and as you keep on reading you feel like you personally know the character(s). Every chapter gets better and better, a good read you won’t regret.
November 24, 2022
Twilight is a 15yr old girl who doesn’t quite fit in with her family. She is mistreated by her parents and siblings and is forced to do chores all day. She doesn’t understand why she is treated different and why her mother despises her. She realizes that she looks different from her sibling, but she does look like her father. She learns that she is part of the Sharavaks, who are also known as the shadows. They want to exterminate normal people and establish their own civilization, but they need Twilight’s help since she is the most powerful. As her powers awaken she has an internal battle between good and evil. Will Twilight help the Sharavaks carry out their dark purpose?
The Myrk Maiden: Daughter Darkness by Alyssa Charpentier is a riveting coming-of-age fantasy novel that immerses readers in an alluring world of magic and the tense fight between a hope for good and an inherent evil.
Twilight’s character starts off innocent, and the reader wonders why she is hated by her family. As the story progresses she unravels the mystery of who she really is and her powers begin to grow and we get to see the dark side of her. I was enthralled with this meticulous development of her character and the intriguing realization of who she actually is. I was shocked when Twilight turns ferocious and savage. This is the moment readers get to see her internal struggle where she yearns to be good, but the darkness is always pushing itself on her.
Tension is high throughout the story, especially when Twilight is on the run. While I enjoyed the story I felt that it could have benefited by being shorted just a bit to make Twilight's struggle feel more linear rather than recycled. Don’t let this deter you from reading this impressive gothic fantasy novel though as the author creatively incorporates magic into the story, like having Twilight’s mother visit her in visions or how the Sharavaks were able to infiltrate Twilight’s thoughts and shapeshift. All of this helps make this story an unpredictable adventure.
I recommend The Myrk Maiden: Daughter Darkness to readers who are looking for a dramatic and thoughtful fantasy adventure novel.
The Myrk Maiden: Daughter Darkness by Alyssa Charpentier is a riveting coming-of-age fantasy novel that immerses readers in an alluring world of magic and the tense fight between a hope for good and an inherent evil.
Twilight’s character starts off innocent, and the reader wonders why she is hated by her family. As the story progresses she unravels the mystery of who she really is and her powers begin to grow and we get to see the dark side of her. I was enthralled with this meticulous development of her character and the intriguing realization of who she actually is. I was shocked when Twilight turns ferocious and savage. This is the moment readers get to see her internal struggle where she yearns to be good, but the darkness is always pushing itself on her.
Tension is high throughout the story, especially when Twilight is on the run. While I enjoyed the story I felt that it could have benefited by being shorted just a bit to make Twilight's struggle feel more linear rather than recycled. Don’t let this deter you from reading this impressive gothic fantasy novel though as the author creatively incorporates magic into the story, like having Twilight’s mother visit her in visions or how the Sharavaks were able to infiltrate Twilight’s thoughts and shapeshift. All of this helps make this story an unpredictable adventure.
I recommend The Myrk Maiden: Daughter Darkness to readers who are looking for a dramatic and thoughtful fantasy adventure novel.
November 15, 2022
Review of The Myrk Maiden, Daughter Darkness by Alyssa Charpentier
Ms. Alyssa Charpentier’s ability to conjure up a story of this magnitude and with such detail is amazing. She left nothing to the reader’s imagination. Alyssa’s description of Twilight’s journey and coming of age within a new world was captivating and left me wanting to know more.
The way she describes Twilight’s abuse and neglect by her family was reminiscent of Cinderella and had me praying it wasn’t from personal experience. Despite the cruelty, Twilight never stopped caring for her parents and siblings.
Alyssa is a talented writer; however, I found the amount of detail she used to be overpowering, extending the storyline with extraneous descriptions. This made Daughter Darkness a very difficult read and had me yearning for her to get to the point. While expanding on many aspects of the environment, characters, animals, etc.…, I felt she left out defining points, such as, how could such a smart, talented, and aggressive young girl not find a way to educate herself?
Cutting down or eliminating details that have little or nothing to do with the plot would make this a much easier and enjoyable read. For this reason alone, I’m giving Daughter Darkness a 4-Star review.
Ms. Alyssa Charpentier’s ability to conjure up a story of this magnitude and with such detail is amazing. She left nothing to the reader’s imagination. Alyssa’s description of Twilight’s journey and coming of age within a new world was captivating and left me wanting to know more.
The way she describes Twilight’s abuse and neglect by her family was reminiscent of Cinderella and had me praying it wasn’t from personal experience. Despite the cruelty, Twilight never stopped caring for her parents and siblings.
Alyssa is a talented writer; however, I found the amount of detail she used to be overpowering, extending the storyline with extraneous descriptions. This made Daughter Darkness a very difficult read and had me yearning for her to get to the point. While expanding on many aspects of the environment, characters, animals, etc.…, I felt she left out defining points, such as, how could such a smart, talented, and aggressive young girl not find a way to educate herself?
Cutting down or eliminating details that have little or nothing to do with the plot would make this a much easier and enjoyable read. For this reason alone, I’m giving Daughter Darkness a 4-Star review.
December 12, 2022
Is this a Cinderella re-telling? You might think that while starting this book because it had all the ingredients for it. Twilight’s evil step-sisters and mom surely played the part. As we get introduced to our protagonist, we see how mistreated she is in her family but the reason is not superficial. It is inherent to who she is, without knowing her fault. She is part of the shadows, an evil beyond words and her power is not only scary but it pulls her in a direction that strives to wreak havoc on the world that she knows.
Even though the book has dark-magic and the premise is that of a fantasy novel, but the book is made more character-centric so it can also be viewed as a coming-of-age novel. We see such a multi-dimensional character with her inner struggles especially when she turns vicious. A typical Good vs Evil story except that the struggle is within. But don’t think that this book will be in any way predictable because there are lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing in this dramatic adventure novel. It is a compelling story, however, I did think that in places it got too descriptive while I would’ve preferred a more fast-paced approach. It is worth it to stick till the end for the shocking reveal though!
Even though the book has dark-magic and the premise is that of a fantasy novel, but the book is made more character-centric so it can also be viewed as a coming-of-age novel. We see such a multi-dimensional character with her inner struggles especially when she turns vicious. A typical Good vs Evil story except that the struggle is within. But don’t think that this book will be in any way predictable because there are lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing in this dramatic adventure novel. It is a compelling story, however, I did think that in places it got too descriptive while I would’ve preferred a more fast-paced approach. It is worth it to stick till the end for the shocking reveal though!
November 27, 2022
I don't have words to describe just how much I enjoyed this book. It's been ages since I read such an awesome YA fantasy book. I had lost all faith and interest in YA fantasy early this year because whichever book I picked up it was similar to the previous one I read and that frustrated me to no end. The synopsis of this book hooked me right from the start and I finished this book in 3 days only!
Although it started slow for me, I was surprised to find myself so drawn into the story by the end that I wanted to buy the second book immediately after finishing this one...
The character writing is done in a very good way, it's past paced and well written. Loved the plot and the shocking ending sealed the deal for me. The pacing was great though at places I thought the story would loose my interest but this awesome story line just kept gut punching me.
So excited to see what happens in the next installment. Hope this series never end.
Although it started slow for me, I was surprised to find myself so drawn into the story by the end that I wanted to buy the second book immediately after finishing this one...
The character writing is done in a very good way, it's past paced and well written. Loved the plot and the shocking ending sealed the deal for me. The pacing was great though at places I thought the story would loose my interest but this awesome story line just kept gut punching me.
So excited to see what happens in the next installment. Hope this series never end.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews