I love the Deadtown series - it has unique world-building, a large mishmash of supernatural critters, they're out and about in the world where everyone knows their name, and the main character Vicky has a unique job I haven't read about before.

This time she goes on a creatively constructed, surreal battle into the Darklands to be reunited with old foes and family. There's a surprising return of a villain I had written off as long gone. The author grows adventurous with the underworld and its rules, honest to God quests as part of the adventure (three of them), and a weird fantasy pot and magic and spells and all that jazz.

There's finally some developments with Kane but that grows old. I like the guy but Vicky is kind of annoying by still being a little too standoffish and refusing to compromise more. Other than that, Juliet is still funny, Tina wasn't as annoying this time but makes a case where Vicky should never EVER go to her school again, and we get a dream or so of the Aunt who keeps overplaying the "child" nickname.

The Eidolon was actually fun! I'll kind of miss him...

Despite the creative story and revisiting so many beloved characters, the story lacks a little of the cohesiveness the first three books had. It's just not as exciting for some reason, and I didn't like the battlefield leaving the familiar town and settings as much as I liked the battles in it. I also thought Vicky was being a little too careless with her daring rush into the Underworld despite all the warnings and common sense lectures. ( )

Vicky has to stop Pryce yet again, and yet again various things go wrong. I could not care less at this point. This book felt like a poorly done retread of the previous three books. ( )

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Guest Reviewer, Kathy M:

I’ve enjoyed Nancy Holzner’s Deadtown series and her latest offering was no exception. Darklands is fast paced, action packed and laced with humor, thanks in large part to the introduction of a demon named Butterfly.

Vicky, the heroine, is Boston’s only demon exterminator and she’s really good at her job. But when it comes to dealing with her feelings of guilt regarding her father’s death, or her uncertainty of her relationship with her sexy werewolf boyfriend Kane, Vicky struggles big time. When demons start disappearing and a powerful cauldron goes missing, Vicky must travel to the land of the dead, known as the Darklands, to stop her demi-demon cousin from bringing down the fall of humanity.

Nancy Holzner does an excellent job of laying down the foundation of the prior books in the first couple chapters of Darkland, bringing new readers up to speed. But I would recommend reading the first three books in this series so that you don’t miss a thing. Darkland is a must read for fans who love urban fantasy with a dash of mystery.

LITERAL ADDICTION's Guest Reviewer gives Darklands 4 Skulls. ( )

Darklands is an action-packed adventure and makes a wonderful addition to the Deadtown series. Each book in this series gets better, and Darklands is no exception. This novel offers romance, character growth, and, as I said, action. This is one book that you don't want to miss.

As with the other books in the series, romance is not the central focus of Darklands; however, Vicky's relationship with Kane does evolve over the course of this novel. Kane really won me over in this novel, and I was rooting for him and Vicky the entire novel. The main obstacle in their relationship is Vicky's inability to open herself up to him and fully commit. It's interesting to watch them attempt to work through this problem and others while Vicky is in hell trying to save the world yet again.

Vicky grew a ton in this novel, and I really enjoyed watching her learn how to deal with things that have been haunting her for three books. She finally had to deal with the guilt she felt over her father's death, and she had to face her inability to trust and open up to people. She's always had a problem accepting help from others, and it was interesting to watch her learn to humble herself enough to admit she needed help. I'm very pleased with how her character is evolving, and I can't wait to see what she learns next.

Considering Vicky has to go to hell, or the realm of the dead, it's obvious that there will be a lot of action. Holzner does not disappoint in this installment. Even though Vicky's character is changing, she's still the strong, kick ass heroine that we've all grown to know and love. She's just slowly becoming a better version of herself.

Overall, I'd recommend this book (and series) to anyone who loves a good Urban Fantasy story with a romance subplot. The characters are well-developed, the world is captivating, and the action is non-stop. This is a book (and a series) that you won't want to miss! ( )

First thought when picking up the book was how much I dislike the cover, I really don't picture Vicky looking like that and it throws me off. If i didnt already like the series I probably wouldnt pick up DARKLANDS for the cover alone.

Unfortunately for Vicky (well and the world really) Pryce is back and already up to no good. It doesn't take Vicky long to come up with a game plan to once again get rid of him no matter what she has to sacrifice to do it. DARKLANDS brought out a lot of insecurities in Vicky especially revolving around her relationship with Kane. By the end of the book they seemed to finally come to an understanding but there are some new circumstances that are now in play that hopefully will bring them closer together and not push them farther apart. Kane really did some amazing things to prove to Vicky how much he loves her and I think she is finally seeing that they have something that will last.

A good portion of the book takes place in the Darklands and I hate to admit it but it was kinda boring to be there. There were a few good points which I wont point to as they will be to spoiler filled but for the most part even though I can see how it needed to happen to advance certain parts of the story I just couldn't get into it. There is still plenty of action packed moments and there is also some great Mythology thrown in.

DARKLANDS wasn't my favorite book of the series but I still enjoyed it and I'm still going to continue reading it. ( )