Darkness Becomes Her

by Kelly Keaton

In post-apocalyptic New Orleans, now a sanctuary for supernatural beings, a hardened teenager on the run searches for the truth about her monstrous heritage and discovers a curse that could ignite the ancient war between gods and monsters.

• ISBN10: 144240924X
• ISBN13: 9781442409248
• Publish Date: 22 February 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[reveriesociety_]

I think more people should know about this book o.o

Proper Review Soon.

[Chelsea]

I want to start off this review saying that finished this book in 2 and a half hours. So it’s not that big of a book. I wasn’t really impressed with it either. I found it rushed into everything. I did t understand what was going on half the time because there was no explanations. It wasn’t a bad book because the plot was there, even though it was rushed. Maybe the me t book will be a little more elaborate.

I’m not a huge fan of the main character Ali. She also rushed into things. She’s looking for leads on her mom and just rushes off wherever she feels like going. She hardly checks in with her parents and when she does they just let her do what she wants. It wasn’t very realistic. After that, she meets this guy and they’re making out the second time they see each other. I mean good job for her because he’s hot and everything but that’s not how a relationship starts. He was a boring character though. The typical punk, bad boy vampire. How original. The only character I did like was Violet. She was pretty cool.

Something else I didn’t like was all the supernatural going on. By the title of the series, you assume it’s about the Gods and some mythological creatures, who we did see, like a harpy and Arachne. But the book starts with introducing vampires, witches, and shapeshifters. It’s completely fine until the author then introduces the Greek Gods too. There’s way too much going on I think.

At the end of the book I wasn’t impressed but it wasn’t bad either. I’m willing to give the next book a chance.

I love this book and the whole series. The Mythology genre is my favorite and this book was really good, easily in my top 3. It has a great plot and the storyline just kept on building with new information that kept you reading just to figure out how it would all unravel. I love the main character, she is just a strong heroine, which I really like. The secondary characters are really well written. I love the little misfits that were in Sebastian's house.

[elysium]

The book is set in future New Orleans after the hurricanes. Ari has grown in foster homes and has tried to find out who her parents are, and maybe an explanation to her silver hair and teal eyes. After finding out her mother committed suicide, Ari finds letter in written by her mother that warns of a curse and to stay away from New 2 (New Orleans as it’s now called).
After Ari is attacked she decides to leave for New 2 where she discovers more about her family and meets new friends.

This is bit darker YA book and that’s probably why I enjoyed it so much. It was very action packed with kick-ass heroin and Greek mythology. What’s not to like?

I liked Ari and she’s not damsel in distress by any means. Her latest foster parents taught her to use weapons and defend herself. She has somehow foul mouth and there was surprisingly much cursing for YA book, I thought it was refreshing.

The book was much shorter than I would have guessed and the events takes place in few days time. And because of that there’s lot going on all the time which was fine except for the romance part. It just felt so rushed and again it takes pretty much one look and she’s head over heels in love. I liked them together but I wish there would have been more developing there.

But aside from that thing I loved the book and it was quite fast reading. Can’t wait for the next book!

And I have to say I like US cover so much more. I’m not fan of this one at all.

[lizarodz]

A great start to a new series! This novel is a mix of paranormal, action, mythology and romance. It follows Ari, our kick-ass heroine to the abandoned city of New Orleans were paranormal beings run the city. Ari is a great, strong female character that can cry one minute and kill a monster the next.
I loved the other characters that become Ari's new 'family' and the affinity they have for each other in such a short time. This is an action packed book, but very easy to read (I finished it in a few hours.) Did you know I love mythology? Specially Greek mythology (one of the reasons I loved the Percy Jackson series.) If you, like me, love mythology and paranormal books, look no more, this is the one for you.
One of the things I didnt' like about the story was the romance between Sebastian and Ari. It happened in less than 24 hours of knowing each other! For two characters that seem to be otherwise very skeptical and careful, the romance doesn't came off as believable. One of the things that I like the most is that Ari (and everyone else) learns and knows what she really is and we don't have to wait until the next installment. Overall a great, quick, and interesting read.
About the cover: Didn't like this cover at all! The design and the font were both off for me, I only bought the book because I heard great things about it.

[celinenyx]

A great mix of action, the paranormal, and the sense of not fitting in.

Ari is different. Not in the standard I-don't-fit-in-on-high-school kind of way, but visibly different. Her straight silver hair cannot be cut or dyed, and her eyes stand out. She hasn't had the most standard upbringing either; after being left by her mother she's had foster home after home, before finally settling down with a couple that teaches her how to fight and handle a gun.

The story begins with Ari trying to find out who her biological mother is. This leads her to the ruins of New Orleans, that now, after two catastrophic hurricanes, is called Area 2. Area 2 is bought by nine families of power, the Novem. It has become the epicentre of everything paranormal and the outcasts. Ari hopes to find who she is here, or better still, what she is.

First thing that comes to mind while reading Darkness Becomes Her is that Ari is so mature for her age. She doesn't pay attention to the normal-teen stuff. While this could be a put-off, in this story it works. Her early matureness can easily be explained by her lack of a innocent childhood. We don't get a lot of background, but enough to see that Ari's life has not been easy. One thing that shocked me a bit is Ari's language. I'm used to the cutesy fluffy YA-heroines that say things like "Oh my!". Ari's favourite profanity seems to be "fuck" though. I'm not really a fan of foul language in books, and the word was used quite excessively, but that didn't bother me personally. I can understand that this might offend some readers though.

What made me love this book so much is it's oddness. The setting, the characters, everything is different from the ordinary. It goes hand in hand with the dark edge of the story. The plot is a daring mix of paranormal creatures we know and understand (like vampires and shifters) and an interesting view on the Greek mythology.

I had only one complaint that made me reluctant to give this book a 5-star rating. The plot moves extremely quick, which overall I only appreciated, because this kind of book has to move fast to keep momentum. But that also meant that the romance between Ari and Sebastian was completely incomprehensible at times. Just when I thought I understood what was going on, they did something that left me frowning and scratching my head in utter confusion. Luckily, towards the end it got more understandable for me so I wasn't condemned to stay in that uncomfortable state.

You will either love this book, or hate it. It depends on what your expectations are. Don't expect this to be a cute girl-meets-guy story with some paranormal elements and mythical creatures. A whole new world is created in Darkness Becomes Her, and I cannot wait to see what happens next with Ari!