Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Darkling

SERIES: Port Lewis Witches #1

AUTHOR: Brooklyn Ray

PUBLISHER: Ninestar Press

LENGTH: 126 pages

RELEASE DATE: January 8, 2018

BLURB:

Port Lewis, a coastal town perched on the Washington cliffs, is surrounded by dense woods, and is home to quaint coffee shops, a movie theater, a few bars, two churches, the local college, and witches, of course. 

Ryder is a witch with two secrets—one about his blood and the other about his heart. Keeping the secrets hasn’t been a problem, until a tarot reading with his best friend, Liam Montgomery, who happens to be one of his secrets, starts a chain of events that can’t be undone. 

Dark magic runs through Ryder’s veins. The cards have prophesied a magical catastrophe that could shake the foundation of Ryder’s life, and a vicious partnership with the one person he doesn’t want to risk. 

Magic and secrets both come at a cost, and Ryder must figure out what he’s willing to pay to become who he truly is.

Content Warnings: Scenes of bloodletting, consuming blood, erotic bloody scenes. Death (and resurrection) of a main character and animal/pet. Explicit sexual content. Depiction of anxiety

REVIEW:

First, please be aware of the content warnings. You are dealing with a story and series that deals with dark magic, necromancy and demons, so it’s going to be a darker story. But it’s a hell of a book.

I actually had to laugh just a bit when the blurb says Ryder has two secrets. Because he has way more than two. When he and Liam do a reading (tarot), the cards they both draw open their eyes to some things that are about to change. And not necessarily in a good way. But some of the changes have finally opened the doors to secrets that needed to be shared a long time ago. Especially between he and Liam. And one huge secret that will affect not only Ryder but whether or not he kills someone on accident by his magic. It’s extremely powerful. But in order to fix his magic and balance himself, he has to undergo a ceremony he might not make it back from. And Liam is livid. They want what’s best for Ryder, but Liam doesn’t want him dead either. So now the decision is not even if he has to do it, but how quickly. And it’s not a good answer. And both are praying to anything they can that Ryder makes it back.

This has all the goodies in it I love. The characters are complicated and intense. There’s the whole good vs evil in a sense. The magic, the paranormal stuff. It’s an amazing book. And even though this book is more of Ryder’s journey with Liam by his side, it brings in a whole cast of characters that make the story just so much better. And Ryder has some major secrets he’s been hiding. And I’m glad through most of them, he’s had his sister. Who was another secret of a sort. But what I love even more was the connection between Liam and Ryder. And being tethered and bonded just made things even more intense. It broke my heart they circled each other for years, not knowing how to approach the other. But once they did….

I’m anxious to see where this series is going to go. There’s so many things up in the air right now and I’m wondering how it’s going to fall. Especially with Donovan. 

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

ninestarpress

amazon