The year is 2026 and 17 year old Ari Selkirk is searching for answers about what really happened to her mother 13 years ago that forced her to leave her behind in foster care. Ari, who has silver hair that seems to have a mind of its own, as well as blue eyes that can pierce your soul, has been with foster parents ever since and she doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of her age group.
Her current foster parents, Bruce & Casey Sanderson, run a Bails & Bonds office where Ari has been trained to use various weapons, as well as protecting herself against attacks. They also appear to be open about allowing Ari to explorer her past without being treated as a child.
Ari’s search for answers about her mother’s fate start at a state mental asylum where Ari learns that her mother appears to have committed suicide after escaping from New 2, better known as the former New Orleans which was destroyed by hurricanes and where Ari herself was born.Ari soon finds a letter written by her mother telling her to run and stay away from New 2 and those who can ID who she really is. Soon after, she is attacked by a mysterious man who mutters the curse “By the will of Athana potniya, I release you from this life.”
Ari, not letting a thing like almost dying scare her off, heads on a solo mission to New 2 where she runs into Crank, Henri, Dub, Violet, and of course, Sebastian who she pretty much falls hard for shortly after their first meeting which is more than typical of the YA genre.
New 2 is a paranormal wonderland with vampires, witches, demigod/shifters, and Greek Gods straight out of Mythology. Is Ari cursed like her mother and the rest of the women in her family? If so, when will the curse finally rear its ugly head? What secrets do the Novem (9 original families who now own New 2) hold and can they help stave off her curse before she ends up like her mother?
This, my friends, is one of the better YA stories I've read in a very long time. I love the fact that Keaton (Gay) stepped away from her Charlie Madigan series to write this mini-series that follows Ari as she learns the stunning truth about her heritage and what she is truly capable of.
Ari is one of the strongest female YA characters you will find which isn’t surprising to me since Charlie Madigan is no push-over either. When attacked, she fights back instead of wilting and running away like an un-watered and under-fed flower.
My only beef, as with others, is how easily swayed Ari becomes at Sebastian’s charm to the point of disbelief that somehow could actually fall that hard that fast.
Darkness Becomes Her could be considered part dystopian, romance, fantasy, and as well as a bit of Greek Mythology mixed in to make things interesting. This is the first book in the Gods & Monsters series and I will definitely be looking forward to reading A Beautiful Evil as soon as I can lay my hands on it.
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