Review: Dark Shadows of Scarlett Hills?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 8, 2014
Dark Love by Olivia Howe is a young adult vampire fantasy featuring Nina Mckay, a student at Scarlett Hills High School whose life has been torn asunder by the death of her father Scott. Her mother Ali and her sister Caroline continue to endure, though Nina suffers from clinical depression and has even resorted to cutting in a desperate cry for attention. Her prayers are answered by the arrival of two brothers, Andrew and William, who quickly find themselves attracted to the sisters. Only their dark secret draws the girls into a netherworld in which they are in a struggle for their very lives.The author develops her subplots in an interwoven tapestry that never deviates from the basic themes and elements. Nina’s blood, which she uses as a distress signal as a cutter, attracts the vampires though it becomes a source of life rather than passage into the world of the undead. She is recognized as a healer, and a transfusion of her blood to cancer patient Melissa ends up saving the girl’s life. The evil Sulivic Brothers are identified as the killers of her father, and again blood symbolizes her family ties as she seeks to rescue Caroline from falling into their hands. There is also a detailed explanation of vampire lore by Andrew that quickly brings Nina and the audience up to speed. It’s everything you wanted to know about vampires but didn’t know where to ask.Look no further. Dark Love by Olivia Howe is a great place to start.