Darkshine by R. D. Vallier

Blurb

Miriam always knew something wasn’t quite right with her life, but it isn’t until a clash with the supernatural that she discovers her entire existence is built upon lies. Now two magical beings are promising the truth. One problem: Only one version is correct and each insists the other will bring her destruction.

When Miriam discovers secrets that can destroy her husband’s political campaign, she finds the strength to escape his abuse and seek her true and magical birthright. But he refuses to lose his wife so easily, and will hunt her down to assure his secrets are never exposed. 

Review

Darkshine is the beginning of a dark fairytale about right and wrong, evil and good and  choosing a side. Miriam has no friends, no self-confidence and can be easily manipulated thanks to this. Her marriage is unhappy, her family doesn’t care about her, so no wonder she is a bit neurotic and gets on your nerves too. For about half the length of the book I wanted to slap her hard to make her come to her senses. One day her life changes, she learns some truthts about herself and her life and so the journey begins. While Miriam tries to come to terms with her new reality, two sides are battling for her attention and loyalty. On one side we have the fair, loyal, almost perfect Orin, on the other there is the dark, mysterious, dangerous Delano who only comes after dark and is accompanied by foxes and other animals. In the end Miriam learns that not everything is as it seems and her decision has more impact than she imagines.

This is an interesting story with well fleshed out characters. I like how evil and good mixes up in their personalities. They are not only just good or evil. They have their own conflicts, insecurities and goals that drives them. Especially Miriam, who comes a long way throughout the story. At the beginning I didn’t like her much, but by the end she somehow grew on me. Altough I’m not fond of female characters, I could symphatize with her and root for her to find the right answer for her questions. I think people will be able to relate to her situation. A friend of mine once DNF-ed it, then when I recommended it to her she gave it another chance and by the end she could see what I found so intriguing about this book.

There are also some unexpected twists and a lot of action. The writing is good, despite it’s being a debut novel for R. D. Vallier. My favorite thing was that rhyme which came back over and over again throughout the book. It added a nice touch.
As for me, the most interesting was the Fae Realm, which reminded me of how communism worked (and still works in some countries). It was given back perfectly. The manipulation, the propaganda, how they make mindless soldiers out of the population.

I can recommend this book for those who like “gray” characters, a darker setting, stories with Fae and unexpected twists that will make you want to read more.

The second book, Dark Ember is also available on Amazon, so if you liked Darkshine I urge you to check it out that one too! I had the pleasure to beta read it, and I can assure you that you’ll end up craving more. I also plan to write a review about that soon.