Darkness

by Ciye Cho

[Angie]

Darkness is another fun and exciting addition to this series. I thought it was going to be the finale, but there's more to come! Florence is still trying to find her place among the Niemelans. She's more accepted than she was before the Life Path ceremony, but she doesn't have her own niche yet. However, Florence's visions have been increasing and soon they lead her to place that was once forgotten. There she finds out the location of a secret that can save the mer world and the human world. Too bad that King Rolan refuses to let her help. Florence isn't sure if it's because he has no faith in her, or because he wants to keep her safe. But she does know that she just can't float by idly while others put their lives at risk because of what she saw.

The world-building continues to be amazing in Darkness! Although for the majority of the book we're out of the safety of Niemela and into the great void that is the Darkness. But before we get there, there is a lot revealed about the history of Niemela. It's not at all what the mer are taught, as many truths have been covered up and lost over the years. But thanks to a mer who was thought to be dead, Florence uncovers it all, and leads the way to a secret location. Of course, they have to fight many scary creatures to get there, and then they have to make it back alive.

While I loved seeing the world expanded, the plot of Darkness wasn't as good to me as the one in Luminaire. It's the typical dangerous quest plot, where the odd-one-out must prove their worthiness to the group. There's a lot of trouble along the way, and almost anything that can go wrong does go wrong. There's also a lot of convenient ways that Florence and her group get out of sticky situations. At one point I had to roll my eyes and think "why didn't you do that earlier?!" It was still fun, and there's never a dull moment, but it was missing the uniqueness of the previous book.

The ending of Darkness is pretty great though. Florence goes through a major change, and I can't wait to see what that holds for her in the next book! The romance also progressed a bit more quickly. Rolan is still a bit standoffish and has trouble expressing his feelings for Florence, but after their life altering adventure, I think they're finally on the right track.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.