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Learning From the Past
Conquering the Darkness follows a man hurt in battle who wakes up without his magic or memories in the middle of a war that could destroy the land. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for this story was all about learning from the past, and I had to bring Jasce to a dark place so that he could eventually rise above it. Starting the book with Jasce working in a forge in Balten, a frozen wasteland, seemed like a perfect way to begin his journey.
What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?
Forgiveness is a theme throughout this book as well as self-worth. Many of my characters had to struggle through situations that would push them in these areas and question what they believe, just like we do in life. I wanted them to recognize their weaknesses and wrestle them out with the love and support of those around them.
What was one of the hardest parts in Conquering the Darkness for you to write?
Definitely the ending as this is the final book in the Darkness Trilogy. I needed to wrap everything up in a satisfying way and also leave options for some spin-off stories. This isn’t good bye to my characters, just see you later.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I don’t have anything in the works right now but I’ll definitely keep you posted on what’s next.
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Without his magic or his memories, Jasce Farone finds himself in the frozen realm of Balten, suffering the lingering wounds from his last battle and haunted by a woman he can’t recall. Jasce tries to be the man everyone expects him to be—the one they remember—but the spindly fingers of revenge wrap around his heart while a past he’s never confronted escorts him further into darkness.
When a disturbing message arrives from Orilyon, the race for the three remaining Stones of the Heart of Pandaren begins. Jasce will need to trust those who fight by his side while battling the demons within if he wants to preserve magic and prevent tyranny from spreading throughout the land. If he succeeds, then a chance at love and peace is within his grasp. If he fails, Drexus will unleash hell on everyone who stands in his way.
Can Jasce fight the battle within while waging war against a threat that could destroy everyone he ever loved?
Conquering the Darkness
Both Jasce’s mind and body are racked with pain. He is suffering in every way imaginable. He has been stripped of his powers, his mother is dead, and he is responsible for his father’s death. To rub salt in his wound, he has lost his memories. When he isn’t fighting through constant pain, he dreams of finding and defeating Drexus, the one person responsible for the shambles that is now his life. There is but one thing he needs to bring an end to Drexus once and for all–he needs the Creator Stone. But is Jasce willing to do what it takes to obtain it?
Conquering the Darkness, by Cassie Sanchez, is a multi-faceted fantasy that follows Jasce, a tormented soul, as he sets his sights on destroying the man who has stolen everything from him. Jasce is a masterfully drawn main character toward whom readers will immediately be drawn. From the first pages of Sanchez’s novel, his pain is almost palpable, and the desire to see him find happiness once and for all is overwhelming.
While Sanchez has gifted readers with a fantastic fantasy narrative, she has adeptly managed to create relatable characters whose angst and self-loathing bridge the reader/character divide. The relationship between Jasce and Princess Irina is filled with tension on multiple levels and will satisfy readers who require an element of drama and romance in their fantasy novels.
I have always been drawn to books and movies that tie in journals and diaries. There is something exceptional about an author who can construct the thoughts of a character who is only a memory to the characters we as readers actually meet in the text. The appearance of Amycus’s journal early in the text was a pleasant surprise, and I found myself looking forward to how Sanchez connects his words to Jasce’s developing storyline.
Conquering the Darkness, by Cassie Sanchez, is the ideal blend of engaging narrative and compelling exchanges between characters. At just over 400 pages, Sanchez’s book is lengthy but a quick read due to the fast-paced action and likability of the cast of characters. I don’t often find a book difficult to put down, but Conquering the Darkness is definitely one with which I struggled to settle on a good stopping place. I would love to see more from Sanchez’s fantastic collection of personalities.
Pages: 410 | ASIN : B0CLLBG5N1
Embracing the Darkness
Jasce’s sister is missing, and the very people who can help most do not see her return as a priority. The kingdom has seemingly more important things with which to contend, and Jasce is expected to do his part, forcing him to make a choice between family and the Kingdom. Jasce, as it turns out, possesses a power highly desired by those who know him. As infamous as he is, however, he is unable to overturn the command he has been given to stand down and stop his frantic search for his sister, Jaida.
Embracing the Darkness, by Cassie Sanchez, is a rousing fantasy tale centered around siblings Jasce and Jaida, both of whom possess powers that set them apart in more ways than one. Jaida is considered a fugitive, and Jasce’s number one concern, despite the orders he has been assigned by the Queen, is finding his sister and gaining her forgiveness. Jasce’s inner turmoil and fiery temper make him a standout character in Sanchez’s beautifully detailed novel.
The author provides great backstories in the book’s introduction. Readers are given a full breakdown of the trauma and abuse that dominated the siblings’ childhoods. The gripping introduction and the interactions with their loving and fiercely protective mother set the stage for the intensity of emotion later in their lives when Jasce becomes the one with his sights set on mending fences and recovering his sister.
Cassie Sanchez is a master at balancing a complicated and multi-faceted plot with detailed imagery and incredible visuals for readers. Jasce and Jaida’s story is fast-paced, and the variety of settings and relatable dialogue all combine to make Sanchez’s story a must-read in the fantasy series.
When an author manages to make a plot come full-circle, I am always impressed and satisfied as a reader. I absolutely loved the idea that the stories Jasce’s mother told him as a child came to light in adulthood and served him as he fights to obey the Queen and recover his sister. Sanchez pulls this technique together and gives readers a specific type of closure to their reading–a truly masterful technique.
I am giving Embracing the Darkness, by Cassie Sanchez, a solid 5 out of 5 stars. With strong main characters, tastefully done romantic scenes, and an engaging plot, Sanchez’s fantasy delivers it all from cover to cover. I highly recommend Sanchez’s novel to any fantasy fan looking for a fabulous new cast of characters to cherish.
Pages: 151 | ASIN : B0B33RFRP8
Chasing the Darkness – Book Trailer
Pain is inescapable. Suffering is a choice.
Azrael, the Angel of Death, has known his fair share of pain. Losing his mother and sister and forced to join the Watch Guard at the age of twelve, he becomes the most feared assassin in all of Pandaren. As a Hunter, he searches for those with magic, called Spectrals, but has his own agenda–destroying the Fire Spectral who altered the course of his life.
Azrael, obsessed with revenge and power, undergoes an experimental procedure that gives him magic, but unexpected side effects cause chaos, and he becomes a liability to the Hunters and the Watch Guard, for the Angel of Death cannot have a conscience.
Rescued by the people he has sworn to eliminate, Azrael finds himself questioning everything he once believed as years of secrets and lies are exposed. His very nature is challenged as he battles unfamiliar emotions and navigates relationships that contradict the heart of a killer.
Chasing the Darkness is an escape to a land of magic, sword fights, and love, with memorable characters who come face-to-face with the darkness within, forced to journey down a path of either destruction or redemption.
We All Have Some Darkness
Chasing the Darkness follows an assassin who’s given magical powers which unlock suppressed memories that turn his world upside down. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The inspiration for Azrael came from a video game called Overwatch that my boys played. One of the characters is an assassin named Reaper, who can teleport. In my first draft, Azrael’s name was Grim, but after a search for names from different sources, I came across Azrael, which means Angel of Death. I didn’t just want the typical assassin on a quest for revenge, which is why I added the side effect of the magic. An assassin that feels empathy is a liability, which leads to his betrayal and being dependent on those he’s hunted, forcing him to face the past, the unwanted emotions, and the vulnerability of caring for someone besides himself.
Azrael is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
During my writing and research, I found a quote by Plato: “For a man to conquer himself is the first and noblest of victories.” I love the anti-hero and the conflict of man vs. self, and for an assassin to conquer himself was an intriguing idea. I think we all have some darkness inside that we battle daily, and I wanted Azrael to be forced to deal with his darkness. Also, I learned from the Jerry Jenkins Guild about antagonists needing to be vulnerable (what he calls a “pet the dog moment”), and although Azrael wasn’t the antagonist, he still needed something to make him human, so to speak. Having an assassin cherish the sunrise, admiring its beauty, and the idea of starting new, brought a depth to Azrael that made him likable.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
There were two underlying themes in Chasing the Darkness; redemption and forgiveness. Azrael in his quest for vengeance found redemption. His love interest, Kenz, who held onto bitterness and anger, learned forgiveness when she held Azrael’s life in her hand. These two themes allowed the characters to open themselves to the possibility of love.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m currently working on the sequel to Chasing the Darkness. I plan to have three books in this series, hoping to finish the sequel by the end of the year. It took me two years to complete the first, but I’m hoping to cut that time down so fans won’t have to wait too long between books.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Instagram
Azrael, the Angel of Death, has known his fair share of pain. Losing his mother and sister and forced to join the Watch Guard at the age of twelve, he becomes the most feared assassin in all of Pandaren. As a Hunter, he searches for those with magic, called Spectrals, but has his own agenda–destroying the Fire Spectral who altered the course of his life.
Azrael, obsessed with revenge and power, undergoes an experimental procedure that gives him magic, but unexpected side effects cause chaos, and he becomes a liability to the Hunters and the Watch Guard, for the Angel of Death cannot have a conscience.
Rescued by the people he has sworn to eliminate, Azrael finds himself questioning everything he once believed as years of secrets and lies are exposed. His very nature is challenged as he battles unfamiliar emotions and navigates relationships that contradict the heart of a killer.
Chasing the Darkness is an escape to a land of magic, sword fights, and love, with memorable characters who come face-to-face with the darkness within, forced to journey down a path of either destruction or redemption.
Chasing the Darkness
Azrael’s life changed the night he lost his mother and sister to a raid led by a magic-wielding human called a Spectral. Now he’s a young man with a heart darkened by hate and a life’s mission to kill the erring Fire Spectral. Drexus, the kingdom’s army commander, then drafts him into an elite team of warriors trained to hunt down Spectrals.
Fueled by hate and anger, Azrael’s becomes the Angel of Death, the kingdom’s most ruthless assassin. In an experiment led by Drexus, Azrael receives Spectral magic and gets superhuman strength and speed. But this leads to unexpected side effects, and Azrael’s life changes again. The once cold-blooded killer begins to sympathize with Spectrals, but that’s a problem. Annoyed at Azrael’s newfound softness, Drexus kicks him out of his elite team and condemns him to prison. This leads the Angel of Death down a new path where he discovers shocking truths about reality and his identity.
Cassie Sanchez’s Chasing the Darkness is a superbly thrilling epic fantasy novel. The author takes readers through a world of hard-hitting sword and sorcery, cold-blooded warriors, and power-hungry maniacs. It’s a delightful mix of adventure and fantasy.
If Chasing the Darkness had a pulse it would be beating rapidly. For an epic fantasy adventure with kinetic energy I was pleased to see this was also and emotionally charged story. Author Cassie Sanchez has the ability to keep the tension high with a consistently engaging plot that is colored with intriguing characters.
I loved Sanchez’s penchant for characters with colorful personalities. From the feisty to the smug, the sweet and noble to the cynical, irrespective of what your taste in story characters is, you’ll find one that’s endearing in this book.
Apart from the traits the book’s characters possess, I also enjoyed their evolution. For example, I liked how Azrael began his journey from the point of confidence and then nose-dived into an identity crisis before clawing his way to renewed purpose and meaning. It is a fascinating reflection of the typical hero’s journey but with a unique flare.
If you enjoyed stories like The Witcher or Assassin’s Creed then you will find plenty to enjoy in this suspenseful fantasy novel that keeps things much more clean but loses none of the intrigue.
Chasing the Darkness is an imaginative fantasy adventure story with a vibrant cast and a storyline that is relentlessly entertaining. A fast-paced sword and sorcery adventure that was hard to put down.
Pages: 280 | ISBN: 1631956094
LITERARY TITAN 