Review: Darkness Becomes Her, by Kelly Keaton

Darkness Becomes Her, by Kelly Keaton
Published: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9781442409248
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy YA
Pages: 288
Source: Simon & Schuster's galley grab
Series: Gods & Monsters

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.

Darkness Becomes Her took me by surprise. I read it because a few people recommended it, but I'll be honest--I hadn't even read the synopsis. Right? I know. I just delved right in without a thing to go on!

I was immediately drawn to the heroine, Ari. To put it plainly, she kicks ass. With a foul mouth and a no bullshit attitude, I connected with her from the first page.

It's difficult to talk about the story, and what I enjoyed about it, without giving too much away. I loved the mix of gods and paranormal creatures. It felt like a genuinely fresh concept, though the individual elements were far from original. Keaton managed to pull these things together in a way that felt original. Unique. It was fantastic.

About two thirds through the book, there was a brief moment when I had a fleeing feeling. Ari does something that felt so out of character, I was nearly turned off to the point of DNFing it. Was it really that extreme? Probably not. I'm not sure why it resonated with me in such a negative way, but it did. I pushed forward, though, determined to find out what happens with her story. Luckily, she snapped out of it quickly, realized her own stupidity, and turned back into the girl I loved. I'm glad she snapped back, but I'm left wondering what the hell the scene did the for the story. I'm still baffled by it. I don't think it was necessary to move the story along at all, and it pulled us away from her character. Even if it was brief, I just wish it wasn't there.

I think Keaton did a great job painting the picture. It had a gothic feeling that I fell in love with. I'll definitely be keeping tabs on what comes next in this series! I'd recommend it to YA paranormal junkies everywhere.

*Small note. There's a lot of cursing. If you're turned of by excessive foul language, be prepared, because Darkness Becomes Her is littered with it!

4 Stars