Dark SoulsDark Souls Series
Volume I
Ketley Allison
Genre: New Adult Urban Fantasy
Date of Publication: July 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-615-85755-8
Goodreads Rating: 4.43
My Rating: 4.5
Number of pages: 280
Word Count: 103,000
Book Description:
19-year-old Emily desperately wants a name for what she is. For what is consuming and torturing her. For what is changing her. But she’s not crazy like her mother. She’s not. Emily may not be as crazy as she thinks, because her body is no longer her own. Something is stirring inside her. It is soft, seductive, and tells her what to do to survive. As Emily learns that her world has been infected by demons that consume human souls and fit seamlessly into the bodies they empty, she must also accept that she is one of them. Yet, she is different from the rest, because her darkness didn't inhabit her, it was awakened. And it doesn't just want the humans.
My take on the book:
Ketley Allison is a whiz when it comes creating a great Demon world, the types of demons in particular where very interesting. Look out Jana Oliver, author of The Demon Trappers Series because it looks like you might just have yourself some competition in the literary world of Demons because Ms. Allison sure did give you a run for your money. I absolutely loved this book, no doubt about it and genuinely look forward to reading the next installment.
The Great (Pros):
- Demonology. I loved that Ketley Allison took the time to do some basic research on demonology. Her demons where very well placed and the imagery executed to near perfection.
- The Characters, more specifically Macey. Macey was the bomb, an awesome best friend. The characters were all very likable even those that shouldn't or normally wouldn't be, but as you might notice this will also fall into the not so great column.
- The Epilogue. Holy Hell I loved the epilogue, it might just be the best part of the whole book to me. It not only grants you closure but it definitely has the chills hitting you hard.
- The Ending before the Epilogue. I can’t say I was expecting that ending but I will admit that it was a treat. I love when writers have the ability to shake us up as readers and step away for the norm.
- The Cover. Simplistic and yet very to the point. I like that, a lot. Once you've read the book it all makes sense.
- The Hunter. I loved everything about the Hunter, the mythology, the creation, the character. This was one of the most thought out portions of the book. While the name itself is a tad anticlimactic it is definitely something you can overlook, all because of how the author goes about creating and writing it.
- The Romance. I’m a sucker for the romantic bits in books and I really liked the chemistry between Emily and her beau. But sadly this to will fall into the not so great as well.
The not so great (Cons):
- The Characters. As you saw above I liked the characters, their back stories and how they interacted. Emily was a strong young woman who is like-able, but to me that also seemed like a problem, every character was like-able. They seemed a tad too constructed in that sense. Also, I found it hard to picture some of the characters which is why I felt the need to place this in my cons list.
- The Romance. While I liked the chemistry, there weren't enough scenes or interactions in my opinion for the intensity of their romance. It seemed a bit rushed.
- The Pace. I have to admit that as much as I loved this book, there were a couple of instances where I found myself wanting to skim through a couple of sentences, this was due in part to the way those passages where written and partly because I’m easily distracted. I felt like they seemed a tad on the blah side, which is the complete opposite of the paragraphs before it or following it. It felt as if Ms. Allison, herself was winded and these were her breather passages, causing an awkward pace for me as a reader.
4.5 Stars/Quills
All in all the negatives didn't seem to affect the story enough for me to drop the rating too much. Ketley Allison is an extremely talented individual with a knack for writing, well at least writing demon stories. This book is a definite must have, comparable to the writing of Jana Oliver ‘Demon Trapper Series’, Kim Harrison ‘The Hollows’ and Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie ‘Wicked Series’. And luckily for you readers, this book is a steal on Amazon for $0.99. Enjoy the Excerpt Below for your first look into “Dark Souls”
Short Excerpt:
My eyes narrowed, unsure if I possibly could have seen what I thought I had seen.
Again.
It was only for a millisecond, but his eyes had shifted strangely. One minute they were his normal soft green, and then suddenly and inexplicably, they flashed yellow, his pupils shrinking into slits. I blinked, and his eyes were back to normal as they studied me quizzically.
“Something wrong?” he asked. His eyes flitted back and forth between mine, scrutinizing me. “You okay?”
“I really don’t know,” I said, concerned over this potential mental break from reality. “Are you okay?”
I searched his eyes, my mind not quite catching up to what my eyes were seeing.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re…” I didn’t even want to say it. I just saw snake eyes on him, for god’s sake. My thoughts weren’t exactly credible at the moment. “You’re not hitting on me, are you?”
His very normal-looking eyes widened for a moment. “Oh—no. Shit, right. No.”
I jerked my chin back, appalled by everything that was happening right now.
“How about we go back downstairs?” He asked, running a hand through his hair.
Rob continued to look at me with concern, his eyes still normal as they rested on my face, and I immediately felt stupid. This was Rob, for crying out loud. He walked around like a doe-eyed deer half the time and could barely kill a spider without his eyes welling up. Subconscious manifestation or not, imagining snake eyes on Rob was like imagining Macy wearing plaid flannel pajamas to class. Not to mention the absurdity of the thought that he was actually hitting on me. No way. Not nice, endearing Rob, a guy who only had eyes for one girl.
That settled, I nodded to Rob. “Definitely. Let’s go find Macy.”
On cue, my phone buzzed in my purse. I pulled it out, already knowing what it would say.
Danger or Dastardly? Macy’s text read.
Macy and I had a code that we used whenever we got separated at parties: either we were involved in something that wasn’t good and needed rescuing, or we were up to no good and didn’t need any help at all. Macy was usually the latter.
Neither, I texted back, horrified at the thought of actually doing anything dastardly with Rob, especially considering our current circumstances. Coming to find you.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said to Rob, shoving the phone back in my purse. I began to walk, but immediately stumbled on the cracked, uneven rooftop. Even in bare feet, I was a klutz in a dress. “God, how did I even get over here without tripping?” I asked, mostly to myself.
Rob came up beside me and cupped my elbow to lead me through the dark, but as soon as he laid his fingers on my skin, a searing pain like nothing I had ever felt before spiked through me. Before my brain could even process the pain and tell my body to flinch away, Rob moved with such superhuman speed that my eyes could barely track him as he flew to the other side of the rooftop, his body curving against the stone barrier. At the same time that my mind screamed at me that this could not be happening, he actually peeled back his lips and hissed at me.
Again.
It was only for a millisecond, but his eyes had shifted strangely. One minute they were his normal soft green, and then suddenly and inexplicably, they flashed yellow, his pupils shrinking into slits. I blinked, and his eyes were back to normal as they studied me quizzically.
“Something wrong?” he asked. His eyes flitted back and forth between mine, scrutinizing me. “You okay?”
“I really don’t know,” I said, concerned over this potential mental break from reality. “Are you okay?”
I searched his eyes, my mind not quite catching up to what my eyes were seeing.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re…” I didn’t even want to say it. I just saw snake eyes on him, for god’s sake. My thoughts weren’t exactly credible at the moment. “You’re not hitting on me, are you?”
His very normal-looking eyes widened for a moment. “Oh—no. Shit, right. No.”
I jerked my chin back, appalled by everything that was happening right now.
“How about we go back downstairs?” He asked, running a hand through his hair.
Rob continued to look at me with concern, his eyes still normal as they rested on my face, and I immediately felt stupid. This was Rob, for crying out loud. He walked around like a doe-eyed deer half the time and could barely kill a spider without his eyes welling up. Subconscious manifestation or not, imagining snake eyes on Rob was like imagining Macy wearing plaid flannel pajamas to class. Not to mention the absurdity of the thought that he was actually hitting on me. No way. Not nice, endearing Rob, a guy who only had eyes for one girl.
That settled, I nodded to Rob. “Definitely. Let’s go find Macy.”
On cue, my phone buzzed in my purse. I pulled it out, already knowing what it would say.
Danger or Dastardly? Macy’s text read.
Macy and I had a code that we used whenever we got separated at parties: either we were involved in something that wasn’t good and needed rescuing, or we were up to no good and didn’t need any help at all. Macy was usually the latter.
Neither, I texted back, horrified at the thought of actually doing anything dastardly with Rob, especially considering our current circumstances. Coming to find you.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said to Rob, shoving the phone back in my purse. I began to walk, but immediately stumbled on the cracked, uneven rooftop. Even in bare feet, I was a klutz in a dress. “God, how did I even get over here without tripping?” I asked, mostly to myself.
Rob came up beside me and cupped my elbow to lead me through the dark, but as soon as he laid his fingers on my skin, a searing pain like nothing I had ever felt before spiked through me. Before my brain could even process the pain and tell my body to flinch away, Rob moved with such superhuman speed that my eyes could barely track him as he flew to the other side of the rooftop, his body curving against the stone barrier. At the same time that my mind screamed at me that this could not be happening, he actually peeled back his lips and hissed at me.
About The Author:
Ketley Allison is a twenty-something (maybe almost thirty-something) author who believes that supernatural love shouldn't stop at eighteen. She began her career by writing books as birthday presents for her friends (with her friend as the main character and opposite a super sexy lead, of course) before ending it in order to walk down a path she thought she was supposed to follow.
The writing bug never left her--and, in fact, would often bleed into the official papers she was supposed to write--so now Ketley's putting down her suit and finally following her dream. While her friends are no longer the stars of her books, she still throws in bits and pieces of them into each and every one of her characters.
As a result, her books tend to focus a lot on friendships as well as love, because let's be honest, friends are what really get you through--especially when your epic love turns into epic heartbreak.
Web/Blog: www.ketleyssoul.com
Twitter: @KetleyAllison
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