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Darkness Watching (2013)

by Emma L. Adams(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1620073633 (ISBN13: 9781620073636)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Curiosity Quills Press

series

Darkworld

review 1: The first in Emma Adam’s compelling series, Darkness Watching tells the story of eighteen-year-old Ashlyn, a gamer and Milton fanatic, who starts seeing demons in the middle of a school assembly. Haunted by the demons, Ashlyn’s life slowly unravels. Too exhausted by the constant presence of the spirits to prepare for her exams or interviews, her dreams of an Oxford education crumble and instead, she enrols at Blackstone University, where she has no recollection of applying. Once at Blackstone, Ashlyn meets others like her and begins to understand her own power and magnetic attraction to demons.Darkness Watching has many positive qualities. I really enjoyed reading the novel and felt a strong connection to Ashlyn. With her quirky obsessions, literary knowledge and indep... moreendent attitude, she was relatable (to me, a nerd), and kept the story flowing.Adam’s take on demons is also very unique. The demons have bright amethyst eyes and cause sleep paralysis – rendering Ashlyn unable to move, trapped by her own body. The suddenness of their appearance in the story made things suspenseful. I needed to know why the demon appeared and why it chose Ashlyn specifically. That mystery, as well as Ashlyn’s strange connection to the history of the town of Blackstone itself, kept me reading.Adams writing is beautifully vivid. Her metaphors are unique and decidedly creepy! The epigraph to the review provides one example of Adams’ spine-chilling style, and here’s another:“Soot-blackened bricks divided rooms of yawning emptiness like a giant rib cage.” – Darkness Watching *shiver*Although a generally fabulous book, I did feel that a few of the less important characters could have been fleshed out further. Early in the book, I found it quite difficult to differentiate between Ashlyn’s female flatmates and would have liked a bit more reaction from her parents before she went off to Blackstone. I wondered why they didn’t notice their child was chronically sleep-deprived and possibly depressed, when they otherwise seemed supportive of her. Some of the world building also occurred in dialogue info-dumps and perhaps could have been better incorporated into scenes.
review 2: I received this book in exchange for an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal). I thought this was a very unique book. Ash is 18, trying to get into a good college, but has major panic attacks during interviews. Or are they something other than panic attacks? I liked Ash's character, her friends, and her "aunt". I did hope that the whole thing with David would end differently. All in all, I enjoyed this book and will continue on with the series. less

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