Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

From Goodreads:

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. 

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued. 

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her. 

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

 I would have reviewed this one on or before the release date, but they changed it and I was only cognizant of the previous date. *sigh* So, here I am a few days late.

In this book Ari is trying to piece together her life after being in the system since her mother gave her up and landed in a mental institution. She took her own life shortly afterward. Only now Ari is able to try to seek out her roots. Once she starts to find clues to the answers she seeks, she ends up in a greater mystery. Not only where she comes from, but what she is since human doesn't quite seem to cover it. The journey takes her to New 2, which is New Orleans after several hurricanes destroyed and then taken over by the oldest families in the area.

I enjoyed this book, but I would have liked to know a bit more of what Ari went through before we got to meet her. We get fleeting glimpses of it but not enough to really tell the tale of why she is reluctant to trust others. I think this would have helped me connect much more to Ari and really feel for her later in the book. We are also introduced to a variety of secondary characters. I loved these characters especially Violet who is a tiny goth vampire. Here again, I wanted to know more than I got to, but I do suspect her story will unfold in the coming books in this series.

All in all, I thought this was an interesting take on the Greek mythology aspect entering our own realm and time. I don't want to give too much away and let the story unfold for you as it did for me. I will caution those that do not like the instant attraction aspect to YA books. There is a bit of that, and it did come quickly, but it did not come off as annoying to me. I felt that she was relieved to find other "freaks" like herself and was wanting to trust someone, and Sebastian was kind to her when she most needed it. In other words, it made sense to me in that way. I give this book 3 1/2 stars and am looking forward to the next book to find out what comes next. 


I received this eGalley from the publisher and no compensation for my review was given.