Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Hardcover, 288 Pages
2011, Simon Pulse
ISBN: 144240924X
Series: Book 1 of Gods and Monsters
Synopsis
Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.
Review
Darkness Becomes Her is set in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans, but this isn't a post-apocalyptic novel. New 2 has been rebuilt and chooses to remain apart from the rest of the United States, making it a safe haven for supernatural beings and others who don't necessarily fit into the "real" world. Ari ventures into New 2 following a lead on her birth parents and finds a place that is as strange as she's always felt she was.
Darkness Becomes Her mixes witches, shifters and vampires with figures from Greek mythology. I was skeptical at first as to how well the themes would work together, especially set in New Orleans - where the culture leans more towards French Creole and African. Greek culture isn't very prominent in New Orleans beyond some Greek-revival architecture. I was happy with the result. Nothing felt forced as the characters related to the mythology didn't need the culture to support them.
Ari is an interesting character. In and out of foster homes for most of her life, she's recently been living with a couple of bond enforcement officers and has been learning the trade. This gives her some self-defense abilities as well as firearm training. I liked that she could defend herself and that these skills were learned as opposed to being the result of the supernatural. New 2 is an eye-opening experience for Ari and it's fun to watch her grow comfortable with the place and people.
Ari is more than just an orphan girl searching for her place in the world. Who she is, what she can do, and what that means for the people of New 2 are surprising reveals on a grand scale. Many answers are provided in Darkness Becomes Her, but the ending makes a sequel necessary and obvious. Ari's story is no where near done and I can't wait to read the next part.
Rating
Links
No comments :
Post a Comment