Blog Tour: Review - Darkness Watching

Darkness Watching by Emma L. Adams
(Darkworld #1) 
Publication date: September 30th 2013 
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

(Goodreads)(Amazon)

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she’s losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere – little knowing that it isn’t coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life – but demons still stalk Ash, and their interest in her has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she’s looking for. The demons want something from her,  and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be..

Review

I received Darkness Watching in return for an honest review as part of the tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Ash is sitting in a career assembly when the power goes out basking the room in the dark aside from the light coming through the window blinds. While the room is bask in darkness Ash sees a pair of violet eyes staring right at her from above with a voice saying her name. She starts questioning that she saw from hallucinations to ghost at last ending on demons before heading to bed. It’s after everything that day that everything changes Ash is haunted by demons seeing them everywhere but unsure as to why or how to stop it.

When she’s offered a place at Blackstone University one that she’s never heard of before she jumps at the chance after all it’s in a quiet north England village. After waiting ten months Ash arrives at Blackstone University where she will be staying in a flat with several housemates each unique. As Ash settles in she starts to learn about why she can see the Demons, why they are reaching out to her as well as how she can see them. When strange things start happening around the school Ash begins her own search to find out what is really happening. Will Ash be able to beat the demons? Will she pass her classes? Will she find love?

I like Ash she’s your typical college student she attends parties, makes friends and even falls in love but that’s where the similarities end. I found too connect with she’s smart, and determined to find out what’s going which I like. My favorite type of character is one that grows as the book progresses and I think the author did a great job of having Ash grow. I don’t know how I feel about David I wanted to like him but he’s the kind of guy I don’t care for. Maybe he will redeem himself in the next book it’s not like he was a bag guy.

Darkness Watching is a fast paced story right from the start we are pulled into Ash’s world. The story is a college story but with the mix of demons sorcerers it turns into a captivating paranormal story. I think the author has taken the demon concept and added her own unique twist to an intriguing story. I've not honestly read a lot of demon books but I really enjoyed Darkness Watching it’s a quick fun story. I feel like the characters are real they don’t have that fake quality maybe because they aren't all perfect. I think Ash is a great character with lots of potential for future books. The author had done fantastic job of creating Ash’s world but doesn't bog the story down with overloading. The story flows along start to finish with enough suspense to keep you guessing till the very end. I like that the book is clean that teens as well as adults will enjoy. Looking forward to see what happens next. 

4 out of 5 stars

AUTHOR BIO

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal for young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).

Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and will be published in September 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.

Author Links:

Website: http://emmaladams.weebly.com/
Blog: http://throughthegateway.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ELAdams12?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ELAdams12
Goodreads profile: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6563991.Emma_L_Adams