The Darkwood Trilogy

A Complete YA Fairy Tale Fantasy Series

By: Anthea Sharp

Narrated by: Amy Landon

Length: 33 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Two sisters. One enchanted forest. And a reckless choice that could destroy kingdoms …

Taken away from her ordinary life, Rose Valrois finds herself in a world full of secrets and forbidden magic. There she meets her new stepsister, the enigmatic Princess Neeve, who will either become her best friend … or her worst enemy.

In the shadows of the magical Darkwood, Rose discovers danger and adventure in her quest for answers about the mysteries surrounding her. When she’s rescued by Thorne, the Dark Elf guardian of the forest, he binds her to the Darkwood and forbids her to speak of its secrets.

But secrets have a way of getting loose, especially when there’s hidden magic involved, and Rose falls deeper into the thorny tangles of her own past. Her sister, Neeve, is concealing dangerous powers of her own, and the two of them are soon entangled in a destiny that will bring them face-to-face on opposite sides of a deadly magical war.

Ultimately, Rose must risk her freedom, her world, and even her truest love to save her sister. Can she bear to make that sacrifice? Does she even have the choice?

Called “A fantastical series” by Publishers Weekly, USA Today bestselling author Anthea Sharp has crafted a lushly written fairy-tale trilogy weaving elements of “Snow-White and Rose-Red” with romance, magic, cozy fantasy, and secrets that that will change the fate of worlds.

©2020, 2021, 2022 Anthea Sharp (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Excellent Teen/YA Fantasy Series

This is a new author for me and I’m glad I decided to give this series a try. The author does a great job creating an intriguing magical world with elements from “Snow white” and “Rose Red”. The world building and character development are excellent. The main character is Rose and the story is told in her POV.

The narration is excellent and brought the story to life. It was easy to differentiate between character’s voices. Amy did a great job.

This book has mystery, magic, adventure, betrayal, and romance. It is a very slow burn clean romance which I enjoy.

The story grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. The conclusion was excellent and wrapped things up nicely.

The End

I really liked the story. It's a great book to listen too. As always I complain about a word or two being misspoke. Right near the end the word Tome was pronounced wrong. Rose referred to some books as Tomes. It was read as TOMBS. It just messes up the flow and the visual I have in my head. I truly do love these books. Thanks

Fun Story

This was a pretty good story, nice flow. I liked how it followed the time line of their growing in life as well as their power and destiny.

Loved this YA series. Perfect to make a tv show/movie.

Loved this YA series. Perfect to make a tv show/movie. Starts with the lead at 14 and ends with her in her 20’s I believe. These books had me wondering which sister was going to end up being the evil one and which the good one. No spice. This story line is so good for those that are a fan of stories with the fae realm, magic, and sorcerers.

Excellent plot and timeline development

Won’t lie, the beginning felt childish- like I was in highschool again. BUT as the stories progress you see the characters age and the plot thickens so deeply at all angles. I am so glad I gave the trilogy a chance.

very needed

The main character is so annoying, needy, and need everything to be about her. Very impatient and don't listen.

Engaging story

I loved the overall stories but there were times I was screaming at the world as Rose was not catching on to clear traps. It did not distract from the story and I would listen again!

I chose this b/c the narrator is awesome… the story:

The main character literally FEELS like she IS the main character of a grand story and… while fantastical and charming, she does come off as more and more selfish as the story goes on.
Granted… it’s not like I don’t enjoy the trilogy… I love long long stories and discovered this narrator from her work on my favorite author Drew haye’s villains series and brings just as much great energy to this production.

I like the nemesis step sister to die hard bff vibe the arc gives and this book has me liking dark elves wayyyyy more then humans… though tbh the main dark elf guy (you’ll see) is a little predictable and feels kind of all talk through the whole story… he doesn’t throw out much magic…but he is a team player and has lots of information… just not as powerful as you’d expect him to be: “you want to see what this terrifyingly magically deep forest can do?!? Ok, you’ll see, and things will happen as they are supposed to!” I was expecting some green lighting bolt energy, but he was a very kind and compassionate love interest for a selfish main character…I only say she’s selfish because she doesn’t take anyone else’s feelings or state of being or story in mind at all when making her demand and wanting to know things when she wants and control other people and decide she wants ALL the eligible princes even though her sister wasn’t even trying to compete with her… very hard on her mother..which the story did a little injustice to by not really giving her a chapter or two to explain herself…. Of course at the end she “gets what she deserves” in a very “better watch out mom!!! You never loved me so serves you right to -you’ll see.”
Anyways, I liked the book- it’s very very trope-heavy… and the main character is live CRAZY…out of nowhere…but… by the end she gets what she wants with who she wants and everyone that ever did her wrong gets what’s coming to them in their own way…and the main girls’s servant girl gets invited to the royal party at the end!! Even SHE got a get happy ending(which I was rooting for because I liked her accent a lot and she doesn’t ever really become the main girls friend…she very much stays her servant…but the main girl by the end doesn’t mind that they can’t talk as friends….cause she had a good loyal heart all along.
(The main girl isn’t really that loyal to her kingdom…which is irritating..but…she learns her lesson by the end and always had all the magic she ever need inside all along.
Give it a listen, thankfully the romance is very light and doesn’t get to awkward and detailed/explicit like a lot of books in the genre kind of do too much… so I appreciated that all the romance and love was heavily…talked out, and by the end I think there’s a kiss and some hand holding and deep gazing into one another’s eyes… which was fine.

Very well wriiten

Loved how it transported you to another world and kept you intrigued and on your toes

Engaging

Overall, it is a well-written story that keeps you engaged and wanting to know what will happen next. I wish the author would have developed the mother character more to further and thicken the plot (I would read the mother's story; I have so many questions about her and her past). The end tied up all the loose ends, but it felt rushed and unsatisfying. However, I would read/listen to this series again.