Review: Interesting concept for a dark new world, entertaining at times but falls flat with some of the character development.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 08 14, 2012
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Interesting concept for a dark new world, entertaining at times but falls flat with some of the character development.Opening Sentence: Sometimes, pain was delivered through the skin - the sharp end of a sword jammed through the gut.Excerpt: YesThe Review:The last full-blooded human died twenty years ago. The inhabitants of earth are all immortal. There are still some immortals with diluted human blood, just enough to feed the blood thirsty creatures. Izel Campbell has been summoned to her grandfather's home in Scotland, only to find that he is not home but someone else is, Kelvin Kerr. Kelvin has made it his mission in life to kill all of the Campbells after one of them killed his father. He is looking for Izel's uncle and the next leader of the Campbell clan, unaware that it is Izel, since all the heirs have been male. When he finds out who she is he tries to kill her but she transforms in front of his eyes. She is no longer the skinny, lanky, blonde Fionn but a curvaceous, green-eyed, red-haired, tanned Human.Izel has lived all her life under a spell, to hide her human nature. One side effect was that she had no emotions and as the spell vanishes she is wracked with all emotions hitting her at once. Kelvin cannot kill her as the last living human. He has decided to take her back to his fortress to hide her from the creatures who want to eat her. He also has to figure out what to do with her. Thankfully, Izel finds a vial that her grandfather left for her that hides the smell of her human blood. Izel reluctantly follows Kelvin because he vows not to hurt her and he promises to help her find others in her clan.Kelvin knows that Izel is his soul mate when she is revealed to be human. Izel is so overwhelmed by her new feelings that she feels the pull to Kelvin but she doesn't want to act on it, especially after he tried to kill her. She also doesn't like the fact that Kelvin is a player (but at a thousand years old, it is kind of hard not to have many lovers in his past). Kelvin is a Razorback Pookah (he really is a pig!), thankfully his kind do not change forms, they just get overwhelmed by their animal instinct when the sun is set. Also as a Pookah, he can only find his soul mate if they have sex on the Solstice, if they have sex before that then he will lose all feelings towards that person. He knows that he cannot have a future with Izel so he desperately wants to do the deed before the Solstice so he will just feel indifferent towards her. The Solstice is only a few days away. Will Izel act on her emotions? Will Kelvin get her to his fortress safely? As the last living human, will Izel be forced to hide away the rest of her life? And there is also a huge curse/prophecy that will change the course of Izel's future.The Darkest Day is one of those books that I really liked aspects of it but also didn't care for other parts. I really liked the world that is set up. The only thing I couldn't figure was if it was current time or set in the future. The dialogue was modern which leads me to believe that it is set in current times. There are four different dimensions, Heaven, Hell, Earth and Cypher where a lot of the different creatures come from. Although parts of the worldbuilding could be better described, I'm still not entirely sure what a Pookah really is, even though they were described in a glossary at the end of the ARC. I enjoyed Izel and Kelvin's banter and their love/hate relationship. I loved Kelvin's Scottish accent. The two main things I really had problems with was the fact that Izel did not freak out enough when her looks changed. It was kind of like, `oh, wow I'm more beautiful now' and only one other time did she think about her difference. I would have freaked out every time I saw my different skin tone or at least been more surreal about it. The other thing was the very adolescent and so bad it was hilarious - a make out scene when Kelvin asks Izel: "Do you want ta see it?" "Do you want ta touch it?"Kelvin is one big, sexy Scot. If you don't mind all the mine speech, he isn't all bad. Izel can be a little mopey at times but she pulls off being a strong woman when it counts. The character I want to see more of is the witch/prophet Ryo, she was mysterious and funny and didn't put up with anyone's bull.The Darkest Day is one book that I'm still not really sure how much I enjoyed it, days later I'm still kind of speechless if it was good or bad. I read it quickly and Britt Bury has talent that will only just grow. It is a decent start to a new world that will only just expand more as two more relationships are hinted at in this book. Even with my indifference, I really do want to pick up the next book in the series to see how this world will develop.FTC Advisory: Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group provided me with a copy of The Darkest Day. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.