Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton 3/5 (liked)

I have to say that in general I'm not a big fan of the paranormal genre and because of this, paranormal books generally have to work a little bit harder to get me to like them. With Darkness Becomes Her, I started out only lukewarm but by the end I was really into it.

Here's what Goodreads says it's about:

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.
Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.


She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.


Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

-Goodreads

I think what really made me like Darkness Becomes Her is the setting. I've loved New Orleans since reading Anne Rice's vampire books. Kelly Keaton made me fall in love with it all over again. I love the idea of New 2 being a hub for outsiders and so naturally that's where Ari feels at home.

Ari herself is both a strong character, but has moments of vulnerability which make her more believable as a character. Sure she's been trained as a bail bondsman so can take care of herself but when she gets locked up in a prison cell, she breaks down and cries like anyone would.

Supporting characters are fairly well done, though her love interest Sebastian starts out all broody and stand-offish and then seemingly does a 180 and is suddenly friendly and helpful. I would have liked that to have been more of a gradual process. I like both Sebastians, I just felt like they were two different characters.

The mythology aspect of it was cool. I hope we see more mythological monsters in future books since I love that kind of stuff (see my love for Percy Jackson). Overall Darkness Becomes Her felt a bit like Percy Jackson for 16 year old girls. (And I should mention that while the f-word sprinkled throughout felt in character, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one to the same Percy Jackson audience).

This is just the beginning of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to more.

(reviewed from an e-galley - thanks S&S!)