Hallway 100 Comics

Hell hath no fury, but lots and lots of spoilers. Because it’s a book review. And spoilers make it fun.

Overall: Recommend this book at a Grade A for relatable lead character, badass cast, thrilling mythology, and fun tale. You won’t be disappointed.

Darkness Brutal, by Rachel A. Marks

It’s Brutale. Like Casino Royale. IDK, I just can’t read it as brutal. Maybe Darkness-COMMA-Brutal would work for me. I’m a grammar nerd. I can’t let it go.

So, after changing the title in my mind, I truly enjoyed Darkness Brutale. I was afraid it would be outside of my comfort zone, being about demons and all. The closest I’ve come to seeing a horror movie is The Dark Knight. I will never watch The Exorcist, (but I will make hilarious comics about possession). Horror and hell-related crap is not my thing. But I couldn’t put this book down. File this into my third Goodreads-told-me-it-was-cheap-so-I-sampled-it-then-immediately-bought-it category for the year. Getting these genre based deals of the day from that sight has reawakened my reading gene like a Petrelli getting his memories back.

Why was it so good, you ask?

• There was so much mythology to learn and dig through. I loved the angels and demons and learning how they can/can’t interact in the physical realm.
• Kara was a very developed, complex character. She was a vulnerable bad-ass. Not an easy thing to write.
• The other characters were amazing and provided much comic relief
• Sid ended up being a cool twist on a mentor. Not some Dumbledore rip-off or evil mentor trope rip-off.
• The small demons reminded me of Deviantart’s FuzzyDemon! It’s clear why I didn’t see this as horror, right?
• Aidan was a protagonist you had to root for. He has no clue what’s going on and is trying his best to help his sister and do right by everyone. He screws up a long, but it’s all realistic. I liked being in his head.
• Aidan’s backstory as well as his sister’s totally shocked/surprised me. I enjoyed it!
• The larger demons (non-Fuzzydemons) were frightening and worked well as villains. The huge one was scary enough, but then Lester-demon topped that, and Heart-Eater was worse.
• The swearing jar. And Jax. I mean, yeah, he’s an ass, but he’s awesome.

Things that I shook my head at:

• Demon-Lester. Just, no. Lester didn’t deserve that. Ava deserves nothing after that.
• Ava. Good character. I get why she did everything. Still pissed at her, though.

Looking to book 2… and 3. Will we meet Daniel? Will Ava be stuck in a fugue state forever (knock on wood)? Will the Fuzzydemons throw a coup and become the big bads? Will Aidan and Kara just get it over with (I very much foresee three books worth of makeout sessions because this is YA)? Will Sid stop being a jackass and let the other kids go to school?

See, I must have enjoyed it, because I never right snarky reviews like this? Of course, none of the other books have been part of a series, otherwise I might have. I’ve already started reading book 2. I’m excited. Book 1 was impossible to put down, it flowed so well and the action never stopped. So here’s to more Darkness Brutale.

It’s French. Just go with it.

And here’s a FuzzyDemon comic for the heck of it. Check out the site. It’s hilarious!

 

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Confused by my grading scale, click here to find out how the grades relate to star-ratings you’re more used to seeing.