Darker By Four Readalong: Day 1!

Beautiful photo by @jbooksndreams!

Hello fairy friends!

Happy Monday and welcome to day 1 of our readalong of Darker By Four by June CL Tan. I’m so excited to be reading this one with you, I hope you all love it!

Before we get into the book, how are we all doing today? I hope you all had a wonderful weekend full of amazing books and relaxing vibes!

Since today is day 1, we’ll be reading from the beginning to the end of Chapter 9. It’s time to get comfy and cosy with our book and get started!

When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!

---

Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Darker By Four by June CL Tan from the beginning to Chapter 9. Please only read on if you have finished this section!

–!SPOILERS!–

What an intriguing prologue! Are you as hooked as I am? Who is this ‘her’ he wishes to forget? Why did he disappear? There’s a whirlwind of questions swirling in my mind, and I’m eager to unravel the answers!

The food mentioned in the first line of chapter one sounds absolutely heavenly! I need it right now. Is anyone else suddenly feeling a pang of hunger? I think warm rice, pickled vegetables and a crispy pork cutlet might just be a perfect reading snack… 👀 

In the first chapter, we encounter Nikai, the head reaper, as the story sets the stage right before the events shown in the prologue. We also learn of something called ‘the blight’ – a supernatural virus that infects newly departed souls, turning them into vicious monsters.

A Reaper’s job is to guided souls into the afterlife where they can reside in one of the ten courts of hell, until their individual cycle of reincarnation is up – can’t say I’m jealous of their job if I’m being totally honest…

Nikai is accompanied by Four, one of the ten kings, at a car wreck where numerous souls await collection. Four once saved Nikai in the afterlife, providing him with purpose, a home, and friendship.

The first King known as One swiftly arrives at the scene and rushes to a car in the pileup, finding a passenger carrying a baby who faces imminent death. After a quick exchange with Four, One reveals spotting a dying star’s spirit trail, signalling an anomaly in the human world that points directly to the unborn child. Convinced of the child’s destined purpose, One insists on its survival.

Four agrees to return the woman’s soul to her body, ensuring her and her child’s survival, in exchange for a glimpse at a discovered artefact, to which One agrees. Four then pockets the artefact.

Not long after their deal is complete, Four acts a little strangely towards Nikai and tells him he is ‘going to see the stars’. It’s only later that night it becomes apparent that Four has disappeared entirely.

Now, we’re shifting to Rui’s POV, eighteen years later. She’s a cadet and exorcist in training. With the worsening blight since the incident with Four, I suspect Rui might be the rescued child previously mentioned. What do you think?

During a training exercise, we get a glimpse into Rui’s past: her mother is deceased and her father mostly absent. Four years ago, unaware of her high yangqi (which revenants are attracted to), Rui’s life changed at a night market when a man attacked, killing her mother. She suspected him to be a hybrid, seen only as myth. But could this uncaught revenant play a key role in this story? Do you have any theories?

Bodies have been turning up in alleyways or sprawled out on the sidewalks with no sign of psychical injury and it’s clear revenants can quite easily see and kill humans.

We meet Zizi, a mage offering various services, even illegal ones, lounging in his striped pyjamas. Zizi tells her he has a job for her, a spell that needs testing. Side note: it’s incredibly cute that he has a nickname for her – I’m big fan of nicknames in books, are you?

We also learn that the night she lost her mother he had appeared and told her not be afraid; they’ve been friends ever since. (I want a pair of the ghost earrings he wears, they sound SO cute!)

We meet Yiran, grandson of the Exorcist Guild head and half-brother to the infamous captain Ash. Left on his grandfather’s doorstep by his mother, he’s had no contact with her since. Having no magic in a family of magical/exorcist members, he faces a strained relationship with his grandfather.

Summoned by his grandfather, Yiran is told to leave for tarnishing the family’s reputation. Emotional, he heads to the dangerous Night Market, where he seeks a spell from a mage to trap a revenant and make it visible to non-magical people. However, he’s promptly shown the door.

Yiran and Rui meet at The Night Market, but their encounter is far from pleasant. Rui learns she’s late for the academy, where a curfew is in place due to a strange revenant on the loose.

A woman runs toward Rui, screaming about a monster around the corner with a boy trying to fight it—Yiran. But this revenant is unlike any Rui has seen before, with its strange appearance and tentacles.

After exchanging blows with the revenant, Rui gets struck in the ribs by its tentacles, feeling something crack, and it begins draining her life force. In a desperate move, she uses the experimental talisman given to her by Zizi, to transfer her Yangqi to Yiran so he can continue the fight. Instantly, Rui notices a hollow sensation within her.

Thrown by the revenant, Rui crashes into trees, sustaining serious injuries. Meanwhile, Yiran, fuelled by Rui’s Yangqi, wields her spiritual blades to defeat the revenant.

Severely injured and bleeding, Yiran carries Rui to his car. Despite her condition, she insists on being taken to Mort Street, Zizi’s home, instead of the guild or hospital.

---

Well, that was quite the start! So much action and lots of interesting characters! I can’t wait for tomorrow’s reading!

What are your thoughts so far?

Do you have any theories on why Four disappeared?

Do you think Rui could have really faced a hybrid revenant four years ago?

And lastly, are you loving the eerie vibes and intrigue of the revenants/underworld as much as I am? 😍

See you tomorrow for another day of reading!

Love,
Jodie