Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Darkness Eternal
SERIES: Refuge Inc. #5
AUTHOR: Leslie Lee Sanders
PUBLISHER: LLS Books
LENGTH: 165 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
BLURB:
As above, so below, except when referring to the underground Refuge Inc. compound.
A century after an asteroid impact and merely fifteen years after a second collision that turned the world into a noxious wasteland, Cadet Connor Nichols and other Refuge facility residents are making the most of their spherical underground utopia they call home.
But when a breach threatens to poison the occupants with toxic air, Connor is forced to make life-altering decisions in an attempt to save lives and his only home. With help from best friend and training partner, Vince Moore, he’s reminded that good leadership requires responsibility.
His struggle intensifies as everything he knows about the facility, the leaders, and himself becomes twisted, distorted, and turned into the unimaginable when his efforts exposes shocking secrets that threaten their future.
*A standalone in the Refuge Inc. series
REVIEW:
While this was an easy book to get through, I find myself still struggling to get an adequate description of the book down on paper. Based on the description, this story had a lot going for it: post apocalyptic society, a danger to their survival requiring immediate action and friends with the possibility of becoming more. Things were naturally more complicated than they first appeared with laws against homosexual relationships keeping Connor and Vince apart and, more troubling, lies upon lies concealing the truth about almost everything they’ve ever known.
I liked the premise of the book and I’m ALWAYS up for a good apocalypse read but despite my initial gung ho attitude about the story I found myself coming away with a kind of…meh feeling about it. The story was very easy to read and while the start of the book is a little on the slow side, it picks up and is easy to fall into once the initial necessary information dump is concluded. I liked the characters I had the chance to get to know and found myself empathizing with Connor in his struggle against the law and his attraction to Vince but I wish I’d been able to see more depth in more than just a handful of people. I think my main problem with the book was that it all just seemed too easy. Yes, there was a big problem that needed resolution but when I think of post-apocalyptic and/or dystopian society reads, I expect more struggle before the ending, whether that ending is good or bad. There also wasn’t much in the way of a relationship between Connor and Vince and, honestly, while I would’ve been thrilled to see one, it was almost worse to get the hints and small glimpses without any kind of meaningful follow through.
The book wasn’t bad, it really wasn’t, but it also didn’t quite live up to my expectations and I came away feeling slightly disappointed. It was a decent read but I don’t figure this will be more than a one time read for me.
RATING: 
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