Darkness of Light by Stacey Marie Brown

Amazon.com – Darkness of Light – Book 1

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the publisher, Mark My Words Book Publicity, via NetGalley for an honest review.

Genre: Mature YA/Adult/Fiction/Fantasy/Romance

Plot: Freak. Witch. Crazy. Schizo.

Ember Brycin has been called them all. She’s always known she’s different. No one has ever called her normal, even under the best circumstances. Bizarre and inexplicable things continually happen to her, and having two different colored eyes, strange hair, and an unusual tattoo only contributes to the gossip about her.

When the latest school explosion lands her in a facility for troubled teens, she meets Eli Dragen, who’s hot as hell and darkly mysterious. Their connection is full of passion, danger, and secrets. Secrets that will not only change her life, but what and who she is—leading her down a path she never imagined possible.

Between Light and Dark, Ember finds a world where truth and knowledge are power and no one can be trusted. But her survival depends on finding out the truth about herself. In her pursuit, she is forced between love and destiny and good and evil, even when the differences between them aren’t always clear. At worst, she will incite a war that could destroy both worlds. At best, she will not only lose her heart but her life and everyone she loves. Once the truth is out, however, there will be no going back. And she’ll definitely wish she could.

Opinion: Okay readers, I have something great to show you! I know so many fellow bookworms on Goodreads and Instagram have been looking for another amazing series that feels like a version of Twilight (one with better writing) or of The Mortal Instruments…LOOK NO FURTHER! I started this book on my lunch yesterday (12:00 – 1:00 PM), had to agonizingly put it down while I continued on with my work day (1:00 – 4:00 PM), which then lead to me immediately reading it once I got home and not stopping until I was finished. Not only did I tell myself my review could wait until tomorrow (procrastination never sleeps), but I immediately purchased book 2 Fire In The Darkness. Okay…you caught me. I read book 2 into the wee hours of the night, finished it, and yes…I might have ordered book 3 Dwellers of Darkness already. Sue me, because I am a tad bit obsessed. 😉

Ember Brycin has been dealing with her peers treating her differently for her entire life, and her unique looks don’t help her case. After several incidences of electrical explosions start to happen whenever Ember is near, she is forced to attend a school for troubled youth. Here she meets the alluring and dangerous Eli Dragen, who makes a point to show his distaste for Ember. Soon Ember starts to learn the truth about who, or what, she really is and is forced to choose who to trust.

AH! This book absolutely grabbed my attention from the beginning and I am still having trouble putting this series down! The beginning starts out feeling very much like a scene from Carrie, but the overall series definitely has a Twilight and The Mortal Instruments feel to it. Due to these descriptions sometimes not giving you guys enough to go on about the book, let me dig in a little deeper into what this series morphs into. Ember is sassy, independent, strong-willed, ferocious, and FANTASTIC. Her character reminds me of Jessica from the 1-800 Where Are You series, in the sense that both of these girls are attracted to the “bad boy” lead male characters but aren’t the damsel in distress type. Ember can hold her own, and she is a very entertaining character to follow into this series. Eventually the reader will learn that Ember and Eli are Otherworlders, which includes creatures like demons, faeries, goblins, and Dark Dwellers, and that Ember is a species of Otherworld that is forbidden to be alive. I will say no more, I cannot spoil this for you guys!

The writing in this series is wonderful, the author is fantastic at character development, and she doesn’t rush over things at all. There was a nice even pace throughout this book and I was COMPLETELY ABSORBED in it. I enjoyed how the author kept the tension and the suspense building between Eli and Ember, but made sure not to completely drown the reader in a romance that is bound to happen. Please also keep in mind that this is a Mature YA/Adult series, meaning that it is focused on its story-line and rather tame but it gets a little bit hot and heavy…but not enough to make this fall into the erotica genre.

OVERALL, FANTASTIC! A MUST READ SERIES! If you are looking to get lost in another world, you need to try this out. I am SO looking forward to continuing on to book 3 and seeing where the author takes the story.