With Ravage the Dark, Tara Sim closes out her Scavenge the Stars duology and brings readers the kind of emotional payoff they usually only see in longer series. Though there are some pacing issues throughout, Ravage the Dark is fitting conclusion to Amaya and Cayo’s stories.
Having fled Moray, Amaya, and Cayo, along with their friends, make their way to Baleine to track down the origins of the counterfeit money that is causing Ash Fever and find those responsible. But deep distrust between Amaya and Cayo threatens their work and with the plague growing day by day, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. The two must find a way to work with each other to stop their world from being ravaged by plague and greed.
There is a blessing and a curse when it comes to duologies. On one hand, it is easier to stay engaged in the story when we don’t have to wait 3+ years to get to the finale. On the other hand, the second book in the duology can end up overstuffed with story because it is doing the work of what would typically be books 2 and 3 in the average YA trilogy. Ravage the Dark, the second and final book in Tara Sim’s Scavenge the Stars duology, mostly avoids the duology pitfall. Mostly.
Starting with the really good, Tara Sim excels in her worldbuilding here. It’s not hard to imagine the world she writes about and everything in the story helped build up the world in a way that felt deep, yet effortless. While not the most unique world ever seen in a YA story, Sim brings a flair all her own and adds the right amount of intrigue to keep readers hooked.
Another point of excellence in Ravage the Dark is the characters and their development. Amaya and Cayo, in particular, grow in a way that isn’t seen much in YA these days. From the start of the duology, you knew these two broken characters were meant for each other, but in Ravage, much of their growing relationship is fractured from distrust. And while a good amount of the story in Ravage is about fixing that distrust, it never feels like the plot hinges on their budding romance. The romance is there, but it is so backburnered, that it just provides a pleasant warmth to a dark and gritty story.
Sim takes care with her secondary characters as well, bringing Liesl and Remy into the forefront throughout the story. Another interesting character focus is on Boone and Kamon. Unravelling the whole truth of the past and how the Ash Fever came to be sets the tone for Ravage and seeing how both men are entwined in that kept the plot intriguing.
The stumbling bit of Ravage is the pacing. Where Scavenge the Stars had the momentum of Amaya’s deception and revenge, this novel feels pulled in so many directions that it is hard to stay fully invested. The bulk of the story is our crew finding a lead in their search for the true origins of Ash Fever and then having it not pan out. And then they find another lead…and it doesn’t pan out. It never felt like the characters were truly moving forward until about 60% through the story. Then we get the shocking plot twists and revelations that bring us to the culmination of the story. But at times, it can feel like getting there took a while.
Though I don’t want to discount all that happened in the first half of the book. As mentioned earlier, the second book in a duology has to do a lot of heavy lifting, and Sim certainly put a lot of weight into her story. From Liesl’s search for her sister, to Cayo growing past his playboy ways, there is a lot of emotional ground covered in the beginning of this book. But the consequence of that is a slower start and a rushed ending.
And while the ending may feel a bit quick, it certainly closes out the duology in a satisfying way. Ravage the Dark holds a lot within its pages and there is much for the readers to sink their teeth into. Pacing issues aside, Ravage the Dark will give readers a world and characters they can get lost in. And at the end of the day, that’s what makes a book a truly good read.
Ravage the Dark is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
For seven long years, while she was imprisoned on a debtor’s ship, Amaya Chandra had one plan: to survive. But now, survival is not enough. She has people counting on her; counting on her for protection, for leadership, for vengeance. And after escaping Moray by the skin of her teeth, she’s determined to track down the man who betrayed her and her friends.
Cayo Mercado has lost everything: his money, his father, his reputation. Everything except his beloved sister. But he’s well on his way to losing her, too, with no way to afford the treatment for her deadly illness. In a foreign empire also being consumed by ash fever, Cayo has no choice but to join Amaya in uncovering the mystery of the counterfeit currency, the fever, and how his father was involved in their creation. But Cayo still hasn’t forgiven Amaya for her earlier deception, and their complicated feelings for each other are getting harder and harder to ignore.
Through glittering galas, dazzling trickery, and thrilling heists, Cayo and Amaya will learn that the corruption in Moray goes far deeper than they know, and in the end the only people they can trust are each other.
Step into an opulent world filled with risk, romance, and revenge and find out whether two unlikely heroes can save the world and stop corruption.
