Review: Painfully Beautiful
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2014
“…you’re too damn addicting, hummingbird. Everything about you…I’m always left wanting more. I want all of you, all the time, every day, and the more I’m with you, the stronger the craving gets.” - Ryland, The Edge of DarknessAsk me what was the last book that kept me awake all night… and I would say it was both the of the Darkness Duet Novels. Araya and Ryland’s story is just that painfully beautiful. Once I got started I couldn’t put them down. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about this series and don’t know why it took me so long to finally read these since they’ve been out for months.The Grace of Darkness picks off where The Edge of Darkness ends with Ryland struggling to make sense of the world without Araya in it. He becomes exactly like the one person him and his sibling despise – their father, who he is currently working for. Ryland never wanted this job and you could tell that he is miserable but he doesn’t have a choice if wants to be with Araya again.Araya on the other hand is trying to do the best she can without Ryland. She continues to push herself to become better just like Ryland had encouraged her to do so from the very beginning. While Ryland is failing miserably moving on, Araya is starting to become more and more fulfilled as she progresses in her dancing.He was never expected to see her again for months but again J.D. – his manipulative father, dangles her right in front of him when least expected. Again, he can’t resist her and when they finally meet up again he is determined to keep her close no matter the consequences.Even with that time apart their love neither withered. If anything that distance brought them closer, made their relationship stronger but of course even with that sweetest reunion it doesn’t come easy after that. J.D. is bent on making their life a living hell. There aren’t any boundaries that J.D. is unwilling to cross to keep Ryland away from her.This time around though Ryland has his siblings are on his side. Careless – trying to make up for the wrongs that she did in The Edge of Darkness and Sebastian just selflessly giving up his freedom for their happiness. This was the one thing that I found most shocking – Sebastian. He stood out in this book and I am honestly relieved that Ms. Andrea is planning on writing his very own story.That was the only thing about it holding me back from giving it a 5/5 stars. There were just some unresolved issues concerning Sebastian, Careless and especially Makayla. Don’t get me wrong, the series doesn’t end with a cliffhanger per sè it just felt incomplete which I am sure the author intends to fix soon!Otherwise I thought the story was perfect. It was quite unique in a sense that Ryland and Araya’s love had no limits. It didn’t matter that Araya was blind or that Ryland had so much baggage. They dealt with the difficult situations together. Their connection was soul deep. The they way they expressed their love repeatedly was beyond magnificent. Loved the series and can not wait to read more about these amazing characters.liezelsbookblog.net