Sonja starred review

I won an ARC of this book thru a contest here from the author, and to be honest, when I entered it was with a 'what the heck, why not?' kind of mentality. And I am very glad that I did because I loved it. This book was completely original compared to anything else I have personally read and at times was just crazy cool. But there were also just a couple times when I was a little bored though.

This book revolves around a power called darkness which can be harnessed by the few who have become masters of it's power. It's something that must be taught and learned to control. Until Catherine is born. Somehow she was born with the power of darkness inside of her (which has never happened before), but not only that, she also has pure light inside of her. Basically she is full of A LOT of power. And the first master to discover her when she was a child was Artros. He's the bad guy of the series and he wants to basically posses all of Catherine because he can't simply take the power from her. After the loss of her nana, the only person she ever loved and who loved her, when she is 6, she is forced to live with her mother who never even wanted her. Somewhere between there Artros had sealed her power and hidden her memories and we flash forward ten years. She's been living in a rundown trailer park with her alcoholic whore of a mother, but has found hope in the boy next door named Nathan. Unfortunately since he has graduated she sees him less and less. Days would go by without a glimpse. He's working a lot sure, but that's not the only reason he's never around anymore. Artros has become a regular at the bar where Nathan works and one day starts talking to him. Leading to him teaching Nathan about colors every night after his shift. All of which is just the prelude to him learning about the darkness. Because he's so engrossed in the teachings, Nathan doesn't realize he's being manipulated and used to Artros' own ends. Then one day a second master shows up named Jorgen. He came following the energy that Catherine gives off and had no idea he would run into his former master Artros. Not a happy reunion considering Artros thought he killed him in the last battle. Jorgen tries hard to do good even though it's impossible to do so because he's a master of darkness. Despite all, he has decided to protect Catherine from Artros no matter the cost. To say she's reluctant to trust Jorgen at first is a massive understatement, but as events unfold she's left with no choice at the end. Speaking of, the end was pretty nuts.

The building of the book was fantastic. From everything about the characters, to the darkness itself, and simply the world. It was so easy to get into the story and want to keep reading. I so cannot wait until the next book comes out.