I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Darkness Reigns by L. M. Justus Series: Darkness Trilogy #2
on June 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Source: the author
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New York City is a wasteland. More than eight million people are dead or worse…infected.
After their failed attempt to stop the spread of a virus that turns people into zombie-like, human-vampire hybrids, Reed Hennessy and his ragtag crew are scrambling to stay alive. To make matters worse, the human authorities are close to proving the existence of vampires and blaming them for the disaster in New York.
Their storm of trouble is already spinning out of control when an old enemy reappears to issue a challenge–an ultimatum that will mean certain death for at least one member of Reed’s group. With their mountain of problems growing exponentially and a host of enemies closing in, they flee for their lives, desperate for a miracle. Will they survive and avoid the world’s scrutiny, or will darkness prevail?
Feel free to check out my review of book 1, Welcome to the Darkness, HERE. Be warned, there are a few spoilers to book 1 in this review.
I’m always wary of middle books. More often than not they can’t stand on their own, and fail to hold my attention. In this case, Darkness Reigns was a solid middle book. Its plot was largely self contained, but by no means standalone. You definitely need to have read the first book, but I found that it wasn’t important that I couldn’t remember all of the details from it. Justus did a great job recapping the previous plot, without completely beating me over the head with it.
This book does suffer from the same quirks as the first book, but at least it’s consistent for the series. The POV is the hardest thing to get used to. Reed’s chapters are told in first person, while Sarah’s and Nathaniel’s are both third. It did throw me off a few times, but at least I knew what to expect. The group of characters was definitely more solid in this second book. There were a couple new ones, but mostly I was already on board with this bizarre crew. And, just as with the first book, the second half of the story was a lot stronger. It took a few chapters to get me hooked, but by the end of it, I was entirely worked up for the next book in the series.
The first book left off with an undead dilemma, and I was a little disappointed that this book didn’t deal more with that. Instead, it became a survival story, as the group tries to outrun an ancient vampire hell bent on revenge. It did give the story its own voice, as the characters have a new quest. I just feel like there is more to learn about what happened in New York. Overall, the Darkness Trilogy is growing on me, and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
AUTHOR BIO
These days Lisa is busy writing her next novel, reading, finishing her basement, doing volunteer work, and trying to stay in shape by running somewhat regularly. She, her husband, and their three children live in Ottawa, Ontario.
Lindsay
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