Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Review: Embrace the Darkness by L.M. Justus with Giveaway




EMBRACE THE DARKNESS
Darkness Trilogy, Book 3
by L.N. Justus
Taurpio Publishing
YA Paranormal
230 pages





A cure for vampirism is within Reed Hennessy’s grasp. According to legend, all he has to do is destroy the original vampire. If Reed is successful, every vampire on Earth will become human again, and he and his girlfriend, Sarah, can have the normal life they want.
If only it were that easy.
First, they have to find the original vampire, whose location is a centuries-old secret. Second, most vampires don’t want to give up their superior strength, speed, and longevity, so they’ll do anything to stop Reed.
With the help of their friend and mentor, Nathaniel, Sarah’s sister, and a trio of former vampire hunters, Reed and Sarah set off on their most dangerous journey yet. Reed faces a choice when he realizes the price he must pay for the cure: he can persevere with his quest or learn to embrace the darkness.





MY TIDBITS


First off, I read the third book in this series as a stand alone. Although I had little trouble understanding what was happening and how the characters fit together, the depth needed to love the characters was missing. So I would highly recommend reading the first books in the series before diving into this one.

That said, I enjoyed the novel. It's about vampires (obviously), which thanks to the last years can feel repetitious. That was not the case in this book. Although Nathaniel, Reed and Sarah are vampires, they are also accompanied by their very human friends. And despite the special powers and abilities vampires have, the humans were by no means portrayed as a worthless addition to the equation. I really appreciated this balance and found it refreshing to see.

I also found the style of the writing fun and easy to read. Many vampire books are dark and the writing very serious. Although this is by no means a humorous novel, the dialogue and personalities of the characters kept the story from growing too gloomy. The reactions of the characters was sometimes a little unexpected, but it was exactly this which made them likable.

Even the scene descriptions are well done. From one spot on the globe to the next, the characters chase after the mystery for the cure. And no matter where they landed, it was easy to picture the scene and journey through the places with them. They had quite a few places to go too. The plot keeps the heroes on their toes as they head from one situation into the next. The only thing that bothered me here was perhaps the lack of tension whenever the danger came around. Although the heroes are faced with several life threatening obstacles, I didn't feel the danger. And when death did occur, it didn't grab as it might have.

Even with this small lack of depth, this book is worth a read, especially if you enjoy vampires and all things supernatural. It's entertaining, the characters are easy to relate to and it has a plot that pulls through until the very last page.




And here she is. . .
LISA JUSTUS!!!






Lisa Justus’ path to becoming an author took a circuitous route through the University of 
Waterloo where she earned a Bachelor of Mathematics, followed by jobs in quality assurance and technical writing at a high-tech company. With a keen interest in creative fiction, she wrote her first fantasy novel as part of NaNoWriMo as well as an early chapter book for her kids when they were younger. Welcome to the Darkness and Darkness Reigns are the first two books of the Darkness Trilogy, a YA paranormal fantasy.

These days Lisa is busy writing her next novel, reading, finishing her basement, doing volunteer work, and trying to stay in shape by running somewhat regularly. She, her husband, and their three children live in Ottawa, Ontario.

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2 comments:

Giselle said...

Great review! This sounds like a fun read overall! Glad you liked it! :)

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the great review - much appreciated!