Kinda reminds me of the Ivy Granger series.
This reviews contains some spoilers for the previous book in the Darkworld series. If you're unfamiliar with the series, you should start with Darkness Watching.
It was nice to be back with Ash at her college. Slightly different from the previous books she's no longer surrounded by the same group of friends, although some of them make an appearance during the story.
After she found out she's part demon, taking a job at the Venantium sounds like the worst possible idea. However, Ash realizes something fishy might be going on.
The books in the Darkworld series are always quick and fast reads, and it that aspect Souls forsaken certainly didn't disappoint. I'm still no fan of the fortune teller, but what's to be done about that. Don't expect the deepest of urban fantasy, but it is a very enjoyable read.
Would certainly recommend it to readers of the rest of the series. People new to the series should not start with Souls Forsaken as it refers a lot to things that happened in the previous books.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
If you're new to this series, beware that the following synopsis does contain spoilers for the previous books. Why not read my review of the first book, Darkness Watching, instead.
Can a demon’s heart of ice be thawed?
Ash may have escaped death several times, but now things are finally looking up. The doppelganger is gone, she’s dating Leo, and the Venantium are staying away from her - for now. But a new threat rises from the Darkworld, and only the fortune-teller knows the true extent of the danger they’re in.
Lucifer, a sorcerer who did the impossible and cheated death through escaping to the Darkworld, is on the move. Now his second-in-command, Mephistopheles the demon, is loose in our world - and will do anything to win Ash over to his side.
The Venantium fear a repeat of the Demon Wars, the demonic invasion that wiped out the Blackstone family. But there’s more to those events than the records reveal. When Ash finds the lost diary of Melivia Blackstone, she starts to dig into the past to find the town’s forgotten history - leading to a revelation that shocks her to the core.
Leo seems to be the only person Ash can rely on, yet can she truly open up to him, knowing what she is? Blackstone’s dark history is rising to the surface, and it seems even memory can lie. The worst betrayal waits around the corner, and Ash has to decide whether to trust Leo with her darkest secret, even when it has the potential to destroy them both…
I find this a very nice and fast reading series. Perfect for when you're looking for something that isn't too complicated and perfect for when you just want to relax after a day's work (or for whatever reason whatsoever).
Demon Heart is much in line with the previous books, although I thought there was slightly more drama, which I could have done without. Many characters from the previous books are taking a bigger role in this instalment although I thought some of the new connections were a bit too much of a coincidence.
Apparently there's quite some magical people in Blackstone, and a number of unregistered magicians though still everything seems to happen to this particular set of friends. I'd say that if there's such a large magical community in and around Blackstone, why even allow the 'muggles' on campus. It would make the prevention of discovery a lot easier. These are only relatively small things and I would like to know where the story is going in the next year of Ash's studies.
Demon Heart is the third novel in the Darkworld series, previous instalments are Darkness Watching and Walking Shadow. There's also a prequel novella called Fear's Touch.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review during this book tour, thanks!
About The Author:
Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing speculative fiction. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also entertained her creative writing group and baffled her tutors by submitting strange fantasy tales featuring dragons and supernatural monsters to workshops. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).
Now a reluctant graduate, Emma refuses to settle down and be normal. When not embarking on wild excursions and writing fantasy novels, she edits and proofreads novels for various publishing houses and reads an improbable number of books. Emma is currently working on the Alliance series, a multiple-universe adult fantasy featuring magic, monsters, cool gadgets and inappropriate humour. Her upper-YA urban fantasy Darkworld series is published by Curiosity Quills Press.
Continuing the Darkworld series with Walking Shadow.
Life isn't any safer for Ash now that she has found out that she can see into the Darkworld and can see demons, who, for some reason or another, seem to be really interested in attacking her. Together with her friends she has to endure more adventures at the Blackstone University.
It was easy to continue the series, it was only a week or so after the first book. Luckily for me, there was not too much of a recap since everything was still quite fresh in my head. Even if it has been a longer while, I think you'll be able to get all the details straight quite fast.
There was a little sigh from my sight at the first mention of vampires (are the werewolves next?) but the vampires were no ordinary vampires. A bit confusing though since they keep calling them vampires. Like in the first book, the mystery isn't that much of a mystery but it's nice to read about Ash, Claudia, Leo and the others. I would like to find out exactly what happened to Berenice.
It's another easy and fast read (I finished it in a couple of hours). Next up is the third (and at this moment newest) book in the series.
Walking Shadow is the second book in the Darkworld series. The earlier books are Darkness Watching and a prequel novella called Fear's Touch.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This October I'm reading the Darkworld series. You can also find my review on the prequel novella Fear's Touch.
Just before starting college Ash starts seeing weird things, which turns out to be a link to the Darkworld, filled with demons. Also, there apparently is a whole shadow community of magicians going, especially surrounding her new college.
Despite being not that original, as in a girl finds out she's got some special powers, and she's even more special than her already special friends, I thought it was a quick and entertaining read. Perfect for my October-fantasy read. I liked it that Ash and her friends are slightly older than usual in these YA fantasy series. It didn't feel like there was too much going on, it was mostly darkness watching, but there's also some mystery going on that I hope we'll learn more about in the coming books.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!