Darkness Becomes Her in The Under-Hyped Readathon!

May 04, 2014 Melissa Chung rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

4.5 stars!!! From the get go I was hooked. Half a star knocked off because Ari is a pretty average teenage girl and has her moments of insecurity. If only she could always be like Cera from 'The Land Before Time' always bad ass and never doubts herself until she makes a mistake ;)

The cool thing about this book is that I went into pretty blind. I knew it was a supernatural book and that was about it. I knew it had vampires in it and so I bought the trilogy. Stupid reason to buy a trilogy, but th 4.5 stars!!! From the get go I was hooked. Half a star knocked off because Ari is a pretty average teenage girl and has her moments of insecurity. If only she could always be like Cera from 'The Land Before Time' always bad ass and never doubts herself until she makes a mistake ;)

The cool thing about this book is that I went into pretty blind. I knew it was a supernatural book and that was about it. I knew it had vampires in it and so I bought the trilogy. Stupid reason to buy a trilogy, but there you go. When I started this book I had no expectations. I read the first few pages became hooked and continued. Pretty much everything kept me engaged.

Ari is our main character she has teal eyes and silver hair. She is also an orphan. At 5 or so Ari is put into the foster care system. Her mom committed herself to an Asylum and eventually committed suicide. When we meet Ari she is 17 and at said Asylum trying to get as much information about her mother as she can. Immediately after leaving the Asylum strange things happen. And in quick succession Ari finds herself in New 2. New 2 is the area that was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The Garden District and French Quarter is where Ari spends most of her time in this book. Learning about her mother. Why she is different and what to expect in the future. At one point, I was just as surprised to learn about gods as Ari was and super excited that both monsters and gods could be found in this story.

New 2 is what folks "outside the Rim" say is where you can find the supernatural. Ghosts run wild. Tourists go there to see ghosts and haunted houses. But New 2 is more than what is on the surface and that was one of my favorite parts.

When Ari reaches New 2 she is greeted by a band of misfits. I loved all of them, Violet especially. She has style!

I'm so excited to pick up book 2. If you like supernatural beings and mythology definitely check this book out. I do have to mention...this book does have insta-love, but I found it to be engaging and not a gag-fest so yay to that :D ...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Amara Luciano rated it liked it · review of another edition

So I mistakenly assumed that Darkness Becomes Her would be a high-tech, sci-fi kind of book, maybe with a touch of paranormal. But what it actually turned out to be was so much more and better! When the summary indicates creatures residing in New 2, its talking about the slew of paranormal creatures we've been introduced to throughout the YA genre. The town (a remake of New Orleans) refuge for solely paranormals (incredible ones), the play on Greek mythology, and the overall package of character So I mistakenly assumed that Darkness Becomes Her would be a high-tech, sci-fi kind of book, maybe with a touch of paranormal. But what it actually turned out to be was so much more and better! When the summary indicates creatures residing in New 2, its talking about the slew of paranormal creatures we've been introduced to throughout the YA genre. The town (a remake of New Orleans) refuge for solely paranormals (incredible ones), the play on Greek mythology, and the overall package of characters served as an engrossing read!

There were points, aspects within the book that DID bother me. For starters, for some reason the profanity really irked me. In some books it works, in this one it didn't. Then there was the speed of the relationship between Ari and Sebastian. I DO like them together, but I didn't like the way they got to that part of their relationship. They barely know each other, and then, suddenly, somehow they're kissing. The progression of their connection had me scratching my head in confusion. I wasn't so much as annoyed as stumped. I didn't see how being in acquaintance for a few days led to full-on contact like that. Thankfully, though, there wasn't exactly insta-love here, no I love yous were swapped. It was more like insta-attraction that, to me, made no sense. Still, as a couple I liked what I saw and the potential for a great romance IS there... I also wish that certain plot turns were given more of an explanation. And later, the battle that ensues was a tad misplaced and short-lived (and if you don't know how much I love my battle scenes, you should read my earlier reviews). But those are probably my ONLY complaints.

Well, besides my problem with Ari herself.

I like her, the idea of her and the fact that she can kick-ass. I just couldn't fully meld myself to the character. There wasn't enough of an emotional explanation behind the search for her mother, and it was hard to understand what feelings she did encompass and exhibit. Toward the end, I did however feel like I got to know her a little, so there's hope for a better connection between us in the future.

I want to gush about the rest of this book. I thought the world-building was skillfully done. The recreation of New Orleans while still keeping its original spirit and style intact was awesome, especially for someone like me who has never been there. The Novem, the nine families who bought New Orleans, and their origins were one of the most intriguing facet of the book. Vampires and witches and everything in between can be found in this book, inside these families' trees. The curse on Ari and her family... WHOA. I was slowly trying to piece together the mystery behind it, but I wasn't quite there. And when it was finally unveiled... again, WHOA.

And the characters! I loved Violet, with her strangeness and keen obsession with masks, and Sebastian, with his odd seductive powers (that indicate something very...interesting). I just wish that Henri, Crank, and Dub had more of a prominent role in the story. Hopefully, with the approaching war they'll have a larger, more significant place in subsequent books.

The way everything was tied in--Ari's curse, the Novem, the Greek mythology, the sons of Perseus, all of it--created a phenomenal second half of the book that had me flipping the pages at a very fast pace. And despite some of my issues with the novel, the whole of the book will stay with me and leaves me yearning for what's to come in A Beautiful Evil.

---------------------------------------------------

Adrenaline thrummed through my veins, fueled by fury. Nothing got me going like seeing a kid being hurt--I knew first-hand what that was like. "Why don't you try that on me?" Better yet, I slugged him in the jaw.
The pain that shot through my knucklebones and up my hand felt good. And when his friends came to his aid, I welcomed the fight.
Bring it on, you assholes.
As the first guy reached out, I spun on my heel and grabbed his arm over my shoulder, flipping him onto the floor. As soon as he was down, the other one's breath fanned the back of my neck. My gaze met Sebastian's. His eyes were smiling at me, challenging me, seeing what I could do. I cocked a grin as the second guy grabbed me around the waist. I threw back my head, bracing for the crack as my skull collided with his face. He grunted. It hurt him more than it did me. I spun and kicked him in the gut. He went down next to his friend.
I took a step back and surveyed my handiwork... (58-59)

Originally posted on my blog, Paranormal Indulgence. ...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Samii Mcclout rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

It was good! Seriously good!
No blablabla, no trying to hard to make a whole history for the character in the first pages. And the swearing was awesome!

Straight to the point and an amazing new twist on distopian novels.

4,5 stars!
Can't wait for the next one! ...more

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