"Darkness" by Erin Eveland follows Catherine, a teenager with a horrible home life who gets drawn into a centuries-old conflict over the powers of Darkness. I received a free copy of this book as part of the First Reads program.

I've got to say first of all that this isn't a genre I normally read, and I didn't know quite what to expect with this book. I thought in the first few chapters that it was going to be going the demonic-possession, good vs. evil route.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. The conflict isn't a typical good-vs-evil thing. It's more... evil vs. also evil. Apart from Catherine (and maybe Nathan, but I don't even know where I stand on him in light of Things That Happen), there was really no one I could root for.

I love Eveland's descriptions. She creates an amazingly creepy atmosphere. And her figurative language is so evocative (there's a description I loved of a church steeple as being like an elevator to send people to heaven).

Eveland also differentiates the voices of the characters well. Some of the time this felt over-the-top (Kathy, for example). Still, like I said, she made the characters sound unique. And I'd rather see some characters talking in dialects than characters who all sound exactly the same.

There were some things that didn't sit right with me in the book. The way characters who have a lot of sex are villains and/or vilified for it. And how almost all of the conflict in the book seems to boil down to a love hexagon of romantic betrayal. I really wish that Esa, in particular, hadn't fallen into this. Why not have an amazing, power-hungry villainess who isn't motivated by what is apparently some kind of romantic jealousy?

Having said that, this was an enjoyable book. I'm going to be rereading it, both because I want to pay more attention to the QR codes and because it'll be interesting to see the beginning again now that I know what's going on. ( )

The writing is solid and Eveland does a fantastic job at creating a spooky atmosphere, inspiring a sense of dread even on a sunny day. The story itself is interesting and extremely captivating, even if some of the characters fall flat. You can tell that Eveland really knows what she’s writing about and has a firm grasp on the mythology she’s weaving; I was never left wondering how a specific form of ‘magic’ worked or why something was happening. Everything was well explained, but not overly done, and it left me wanting to know more about this world of shadows and colours.

The first part of the book introduces Catherine, a lovable little girl living in complete isolation with her grandmother. Raised in almost complete seclusion from others, Catherine’s world is shattered when the only person she’s known her entire life is put in a hospital after a frightening series of escalating events. You see, young Catherine would have sudden ‘fits’ in which she would seem almost possessed. She would suddenly attack her grandmother or talk about a mysterious nightly visitor. There were constant episodes of dancing trances. She was convinced that there were shadow creatures slowly picking away at her grandmother as the greater her fear became. Finally, it became too much for both Catherine and her grandmother and suddenly the visions and the episodes went away, as did grandmother when Catherine was forcibly placed with her abusive, both emotionally and physically, birth mother. The larger portion of the book deals with the aftermath of this placement. The effect of both the negligent treatment she received for the better part of a decade, and the repressed memories and abilities that were locked away.

While I did not find Catherine or Nathan’s characters to be extremely exciting, even though they should be considering everything that surrounds them, I believe that’s only because the other, cursory characters are so much more intriguing. We know what makes Catherine and Nathan tick. We know their childhoods (for the most part) and what their desires are. Artros, Jorgen, and Esa are complete mysteries. We know they have some sort of power. We know they have lived a very long time. We know there was, at once time, a love triangle between the three. They are where the excitement lay for me. I’m sure, though, once Catherine and Nathan begin to understand their new gifts and the world they’ve now been placed in, they’ll shine through.

// I received a free copy in exchange for an honest and uninfluenced review // ( )

I actually rated the book 0 stars on my blog. Goodreads doesn't give an option of 0 stars. Too bad.

t’s been YEARS since I picked up a book to read that was so awful I couldn’t finish it. In fact, it’s been so long that I can’t even remember the title of that particular book. As a reviewer I’ve always tried to finish books so I can educate my readers, but I just couldn’t do it with “Darkness.” Read the rest on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2014/09/21/darkness-erin-eveland/ ( )

Review courtesy Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Darkness is not the kind of story that will give you warm fuzzy feelings. In fact, it starts out downright depressing before taking a very definite turn into holy-crap-this-is-creepy-like-The-Shining territory. Overall, despite Eveland’s talent at creating visceral responses, the story didn’t appeal to me due to the lack of supporting character development and inclusion of abusive elements.

Opening Sentence: “The Devil is really an Angel,” Margaret said to her granddaughter as they hurried along the cracked, uneven sidewalk, knowing her answer was insufficient.

The Review:

Catherine has always carried a sense of foreboding around her. Even her grandmother, who raised her after Catherine’s alcoholic mother abandoned her, never quite felt safe or comfortable around the strange girl. A lot of this is because Catherine is able to see things no one else can, things she calls the Shadow Creatures. These shape-shifting phantoms swarm their victims, crawling in, out and around the unsuspecting bodies to feed off human emotions. For a girl who has to take a shower at the mere thought of a bug skittering across my bare feet, these Shadow Creatures might just be the most terrifying creation I’ve ever come across.

But it’s not just the Shadow Creatures that follow Catherine’s every move. There’s also Artros, aka the Dark Man. He appears in both her dreams and the world outside her grandmother’s small apartment. Artros whispers promises that he will come for her when she’s ready, telling Catherine that she is and will forever be bound to him. She’s both frightened and intrigued by this idea, yet also too young to know what his promises truly mean. So, rather than waste time on this vague future, Catherine instead chooses to work on ways to banish the Shadow Creatures from her grandmother’s home. She’s successful one time, banishing the creatures by sheer will alone, but her excitement at accomplishing this feat is quickly crushed under the weight of tragedy. Catherine’s emotional response to these circumstances is understandable, but the physical way her emotions are expressed leave people injured and a hospital staff wary of the odd – and apparently dangerous – young girl.

Catherine’s story thankfully jumps past several years of physical and emotional abuse to her last year in High School. Thoughts of the Shadow Creatures and Artros fade as she gets closer to making her escape from the wretched environment she’s been trapped in for years. The only bright spot in her life has been her relationship with Nathan – an older boy who saved her from a beating by classmates. Catherine has never told anyone, even Nathan, that she’s planning on making a better life with him somewhere far away from their current home. Until a frightening episode brings it all back: Artros plans on keeping his promise by coming for her soon.

Eveland certainly knows how to pull on the heartstrings. Catherine’s despair and sheer determination to survive are palpable. Her story was difficult to read without becoming too overwhelmed with disgust and anger for those who suffer through such things in real life. Beyond that, however, the story is a bit…convoluted. Most of the other characters in the story are forgettable – even Artros. I don’t have a firm grasp on what exactly the Darkness is. My understanding is that it’s something like the Jedi Force – an energy/emotion that flows through the world that some people can master and harness. Still, it seems too corny to make the darkness “evil” and the light “good” yet that seems to be where Eveland is leading the story. Eveland is obviously a talented writer to create a visceral response to the creepiness of the Shadow Creatures and elicit strong emotions regarding Catherine’s life. However the lack of memorable characters, confusing plot and emotional toll the story took wasn’t enjoyable for me at the end of the day.

Notable Scene:

215. His fingers touched the numbers 215. He etched the numbers again and then slid his hand to the doorknob, daring to turn it and enter. A young man opened it for him. Jorgen stepped aside. This was not the one he pursued. Although this boy was ignorant, his mind was being manipulated toward the power of Darkness. Jorgen could see it inside of his inner threads which were developing awareness, a knowledge which would soon lead to the dark hollow cave of questions without answers. They glanced briefly in passing before the young man became distracted by the commotion in the corridor. He walked down the hall and questioned a janitor about the events taking place before stepping into the elevator with him.

Jorgen stood in the doorway of 215. Mesmerized, he watched a girl pace the room, unaware of herself or anything else around. However, her inner-self spindled, weaved and projected forth as much as it could stretch given the binds placed upon her and the pulsing power she held within. Jorgen saw Catherine for the first time.

FTC Advisory: Selladore Press provided me with a copy of Darkness. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I was sent an ARC in the mail along with an E-Book copy from NG.

The interesting thing about "Darkness is that it is an 'interactive' novel. The beginning of each chapter has a QR code that when scanned provides you with a picture of a piece of art or a song that corresponds with that particular chapter.

"Darkness" is the story of Catherine. Catherine was raised by her grandmother until the age of six, when she suddenly passed away. Now she is forced to live with her mother who is an alcoholic and only keeps her daughter around for the welfare checks.

Ten years later and the only thing that keeps Catherine going is Nathan. Nathan is older then her, already out of high school and working at the same bar as her mother. Since Nathan graduated she has seen less and less of him and she can't help but think that he will never know how she truly feels about him.

Little does Catherine know that the reason Nathan has become so distant is because Artros (a master of Darkness) has been frequenting the bar he works at, teaching Nathan of colors, light and dark and how to control them.

Nathan is unaware of the fact that Artros is using him to get to Catherine and in turn the power she unknowingly has inside of her.

Then a new master of Darkness arrives in town, Jorgen. Jorgen goes against his very nature to protect Catherine from Artros, herself and even the boy she has given her heart to.

The beginning of this book really drew me in and I hung on every word. But sadly the more I read the less interested I became in it. I'm giving it three stars because I was still intrigued and I had to know the ending.

While the idea of an 'interactive' novel is attractive and engaging it annoyed me a little bit to be reading and have to stop to grab my phone and scan it before moving on to that chapter.

I haven't decided yet if I'll be reading the sequel but if I do I'll be sure to post about it.

In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review.
My review is my honest opinion. ( )