Dark Souls
(Dark Souls Series)
Volume I
Ketley Allison
Genre: New Adult
Urban Fantasy (OFFICIALLY)
Date of
Publication: July 19, 2013
ISBN:
978-0-615-85755-8
Number of pages:
280
Word Count: 103,000
Summary: "19-year-old Emily
desperately wants a name for what she is. For what is consuming and torturing
her. For what is changing her.
But she’s not crazy
like her mother. She’s not.
Emily may not be as
crazy as she thinks, because her body is no longer her own. Something is
stirring inside her. It is soft, seductive, and tells her what to do to
survive. As Emily learns that her world has been infected by demons that
consume human souls and fit seamlessly into the bodies they empty, she must
also accept that she is one of them. Yet, she is different from the rest, because
her darkness didn’t inhabit her, it was awakened. And it doesn’t just want the
humans."
My Review: Great start to a series. Ketley Allison has a great debut novel here!
The main character, Emily, is a young woman trying to make it on her own
in the big city. While her best friend, Macy (who seems a bit shallow
at first but grow on you), is living an easier life of college, parties,
etc, Emily is stuck working two jobs just to struggle still to make
ends meet.
One day, Emily's life is flipped upside down when
Macy's boyfriend transforms into a monster and attacks her. Yet
something inside Emily knows how to handle it and soon he is dead. When
Macy friends Emily she is alone. No body, no blood...nothing. Emily
soon finds herself in a world full of demons. One such demon tells her
she is one of them. Or is she? For Emily can do more than other
demons...
Emily also meets Asher, who she is drawn to, an his
sister Gwyn. These two have secrets of there own. I must say, I could
not stand Gwyn. She is just plain cruel and nasty! Asher on the other
hand I couldn't decide one way or another. Being the book was all from
Emily's perspective it was a little jaded. While there is a romantic
element, there is no major romance in this book which was nice. While I
wanted them to try and be together, it was sweet to see nothing was
rushed for it, especially with everything else going on.
I felt
really bad for Emily. Certain people knew more than they were sharing
with her as she tries to learn about herself. I could not imagine going
through what she goes through all alone. Although this is partly her
own fault as she too is not truthful with others. Guess honesty is a
two-way street here.
The book started off a bit slow for me and
it took awhile until I could get into it. Yet once the pace picks up
it doesn't slow down again even for a minute. It keeps you guessing who
or what Emily is, dropping partial hints throughout the book. It was a
fun thing to do while reading. Yet none of the hints give everything
away, so you aren't stuck fully knowing what is going on until Emily
herself learns the truth.
The ending left me sitting still,
starting at the book, willing there to be more. While the book answers
the questions needed to finish, it easily leaves things open enough for a
second book. This is a great book for older teens and adults alike.