Thank you to every reader and bookseller who’s recommended my book🥹😭💜
📚Darker By Four is a YA contemporary fantasy inspired by Chinese underworld mythology where a girl strikes a deal with an underworld immortal to get her magic back and save the life of the boy who stole it. Think Shadowhunters x Jujutsu Kaisen + Bleach + Noragami. If you like Kpop Demonhunters you’ll like this😎
Art by Ashley d. Perez/panprika & Mona Finden
#bookstagram #darkerbyfour #yafantasy #booktok #fantasybooks #yafantasybooks #bookreels #kpopdemonhunters #jujutsukaisen
✨𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲!✨
one more sleep until DARKER BY FOUR releases in the US so I thought I’d share this beautiful illustration from @monafinden of Rui & Zizi because why not? (and 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 it’s April 2 somewhere in the world already so DBF’s book birthday has started 😈
If you’ve preordered DBF you’ll get this illustration with your digital swag pack later this month. The US preorder campaign is still running for a few more days so it’s not too late!
But don’t worry if you missed it - this RuiZi illustration is part of something 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 that’s coming when book 2 of the DBF duology releases and you’ll have a chance to receive physical art prints 🥰
ps: there are a few easter eggs in this illustration 👀
Thank you so much for all your comments and shares and excitement for my new YA fantasy! I can’t wait to share more about it with you in the coming weeks 💜
#darkerbyfour #yafantasy #yafantasybooks #bookstagram #characterart #fantasybooks
✨DARKER BY FOUR IS A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER✨
Did I scream at my cat when I found out? You bet I did 😭 ahhhhhh speechless!!! A massive thank you to everyone who made this possible!!!!@hodderscape@ljrennert@anissabyday readers, booksellers - everyone who believed in me and gave DB4 a chance 😭🥹❤️🫶🫶
Posted @withregram • @hodderscape We’re thrilled to reveal that @junescribbles ’ Darker By Four is officially a #1 Sunday Times bestseller in the Children’s chart 🎉
Huge congratulations to June and thank you to all the readers who have been loving this brilliant book! And if you’ve not picked up a copy yet - it’s not too late! It’s the perfect read for fans of Legendborn and Mortal Instruments.
#darkerbyfour #yafantasy #bookstagram #booknerd #booklover #diversebooks #booktok #fantasybooks #sundaytimesbestseller #bookworm
Don’t forget to register for this fantastic FREE AANHPI YA Panel at Words on Warren this Saturday 5/9 at 6pm with Kat Cho @katchowrites , June CL Tan @junescribbles , and Grace K. Shim @gkshimwrites !💝Unfortunately, Claire Ahn had a schedule change and cannot make it but we will still be stocking her book BAD INFLUENCE at the event! Register through the link in our bio! We can’t wait to have you!💫
I am so excited to discuss Darker By Four with @junescribbles on June 23rd at 2:00 PM PT here on Instagram! 🥳 Perfect for fans of This Savage Song and Only a Monster, Darker by Four pulls readers into a world of love and desperation and revenge—a world where every deal has a catch, no secret stays buried, and no one is exactly who they say they are. We hope you join us! 🫶🏼
#bookishcommunity #bookevent #authorinterview #fantasybooks #yabooks
The Shadowhunter Chronicles meets Chinese diaspora folklore in this sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller Darker by Four! 🗡️
Rui has her life back together—or so it seems. Hailed as a hero, she’s finally on her way to becoming an important member of the Exorcist Guild. But she knows the Hybrid Revenants are still out there, and they’re planning something big. Something evil.
Zizi is trapped in the underworld. As his mortal body deteriorates, he realizes he can access the Fourth King’s memories, which may be the key to keeping the mortal realm safe. To save the girl he loves, he must defy fate—and escape Hell.
Yiran watches from the shadows, magicless once more. When he discovers a dark family secret that changes everything he thought he knew, his hunger for power tempts him toward a possible betrayal. And he must decide what he truly stands for—before it’s too late.
As the consequences of the past wreak havoc on the present, three lives bound by the threads of fate must weave a new destiny for themselves—and the realms.
BOOK: BRIGHTER THAN NINE by June CL Tan (@junescribbles )
Literary agent: Laura Rennert (@ljrennert )
Don’t miss this epic, sweeping contemporary fantasy duology inspired from diaspora folklore from Jade Fire Gold author June CL Tan!
🥳🥳 Brighter Than Nine is a “Best of Young Adult” pick in @kobobooks ’ Best Books of the Month roundup for March!!!!! 🥰 this is a great honor, thank you Kobo!!💜
I’m also super pleased to share this honor with @samjamtimtam whose debut YA fantasy Prodigal Tiger is out next week on March 17!!!!! As a fellow Southeast Asian author, I’m so incredibly proud of Samantha and all the SEA authors that have and are still making their mark on bookshelves 🥹💜 Prodigal Tiger is a fun, fast paced and heartfelt story about history, belonging, family & ancestral magic. It’s also a love letter to Penang, Malaysia and the ghost stories that remember our past. I hope you’ll check it out!
#brighterthannine #darkerbyfour #yafantasybooks #prodigaltiger #bookstagram
˚₊‧꒰ა ✦ brighter than nine | review ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)
happy (belated) release day to bt9!! i did mean to post this on tuesday but making this post was a lot of effort ahaha... my perfectionism knows no bounds and i wouldnt settle for anything less for this masterpiece of a book. anyways here’s my long review of bt9 <3 (swipe to see my yapping :))
[★★★★★]
first off thank you so much to @junescribbles and @epicreads for sending me an arc through edelweiss! this does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way.
such a stunning sequel to darker by four, with all of the atmospheric and enthralling worldbuilding, interesting characters and more of them, and anime like action scenes! miss june pls pat yourself on the back, cause this was everything i ever wanted!! i hope u have the best life ever (even if u made them cry a lot TT) but also expect a very simple therapy bill from me, and a mile long one from your characters lol.
to be honest i cannot believe that this duology is over. wdym this is goodbye? nahh these are my kids and i need to see them often (i guess rereading is the only option :’))
anyways i hope u all give this duology a try! its kpop demon hunters + chinese myth + xianxia dramas + urban fantasy,,, and if you have been watching pursuit of jade, one of the couples have the same vibes as them <333 so run to your nearest library, bookstore or audiobook website(?) and read it today!!
lots of love
~ carthi
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📖: prodigal tiger by samantha chong
🎧: triple 7 by p1harmony
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#asianbookstagrammer #bookstagram #brighterthannine
🥹Happy UK release date to Brighter Than Nine 💜
And with that the Darker By Four fantasy duology is complete 🙂↕️😭🥰 still slightly in my feelings and I think it’s all conveyed in BT9’s dedication (swipe to read) 🤓I love that @hodderscape added a little Zizi to the spine just like how they added Rui for book 1 🤭😍
Thank you all again for showing so much love for my stories, characters, and the random unhinged things I share on IG stories 😂😬
Here’s to more books, more stories, more characters, more unhingedness, hopefully in the near future!!!🥂👀🙏🕯️
#brighterthannine #darkerbyfour #yafantasybooks #fantasyromancebooks #bookstagram
Brighter Than Nine Review🌌
This is how you write a sequel!!
Every question I had in the previous book was answered, the plot was intense but it still gave me the character dynamics I loved in Darker By Four. Everything was thousand times more intense but the book still carried everything I loved about this world.
The book starts with the main characters Rui, Zizi and Yiran separated, all of them are trying their best to save the mortal realm and in the process of doing that they reunite. If you know June CL Tan you know that she will give you multiple heart attacks because she has her characters by the throat, so yeah I was going “FUCK FUCK” “NO” “WTF”a lot while reading this book.
Rui, Zizi and Yiran have my heart for different reasons and it was so nice to see them again. Reading their scenes made me feel like I was home. I will miss rooroo, mochi and Lord death.
I’m having a lot of trouble with having to put what I feel about this book into words. This is one of my favourite duologies and I urge you to read it!! The character dynamics, the plot, everything about this book is excellent.
If you like the Secret Shanghai series, you will love this.
🥹 and she’s here!!! Ahhhhhh -incoherent noises- I honestly don’t know what else to say except thank you for your patience while waiting for Brighter Than Nine, and your love for the fantasy duology I never thought I could get published.
💜
#brighterthannine #darkerbyfour #yafantasybooks #fantasyromancebooks #bookstagram
🥹One more sleep. Then this story leaves my hands and finds its way to you.
Brighter Than Nine, the final book in the Darker By Four duology releases tomorrow, and I’m feeling way too many things at once 🥲 What started as an idea inspired by Chinese underworld mythology and my desire to write a modern twist to a heart-wrenching romance that pays homage to the C-dramas I grew up with and love, slowly merged with my favorite anime visuals and grew into a whole world that I escaped to during my cancer treatment and the aftermath.
I’ve lived with this story and these characters (hello Zizi 🙂↕️) for so long that it feels somewhat surreal to bid farewell. But in my head cannon - and yours too, I hope - Rui and the gang are still running around, doing ridiculous things, having fun, and they’re Happy!! (because I’m not around to ruin their lives hehe).
Anyway, more than anything, I just feel grateful. To everyone who read the first book, recommended it, shared their excitement, or simply spent time in this world with me—thank you. I might have started writing this fantasy duology alone, but I finished it with thoughts of you, dear readers🥹💜
I’m so excited (and more than a little nervous) for you to finally find out how it all ends tomorrow. Can’t wait to hear what you think 👀
ps: character art swag packs are still available and can be redeemed using the google form linked in my bio! All retailers and formats welcome (except for the FairyLoot special edition). A exclusive pack with extra swag + signed and personalized copies are available through @booksofwonder Ends March 20 2026 or when supplies run out.
Art by Mona Finden
#brighterthannine #darkerbyfour #yafantasybooks #fantasyromancebooks #bookstagram
