Darkness of Light

Darkness, Book 1

By: Stacey Marie Brown

Narrated by: Michelle Sparks

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Freak. Witch. Crazy. Schizo. Ember Brycin has been called them all. She's always known she's different. No one has ever called her normal, even under the best circumstances. Bizarre and inexplicable things continually happen to her, and having two different colored eyes, strange hair, and an unusual tattoo only contributes to the gossip about her. When the latest school explosion lands her in a facility for trouble teens, she meets Eli Dragen, who's hot as hell and darkly mysterious. Their connection is full of passion, danger, and secrets.

Secrets that will not only change her life, but what and who she is, leading her down a path she never imagined possible. Between Light and Dark, Ember finds a world where truth and knowledge are power and no one can be trusted. But her survival depends on finding out the truth about herself. In her pursuit, she is forced between love and destiny and good and evil, even when the differences between them aren't always clear. At worst, she will incite a war that could destroy both worlds. At best, she will not only lose her heart but her life and everyone she loves. Once the truth is out, however, there will be no going back. And she'll definitely wish she could.

©2013 Stacey Marie Brown (P)2014 Stacey Marie Brown

should be titled, "Darkness and Frustration"

Over half of the dialogue dedicated to how warm and lusty he made her feel. This was even after he treated her like crap. There were many eye rolls . There were so many things stated but unexplaineded. I still don't understand the purpose of the 2nd male darting in and out of her dreams leaving the same cryptic message. The author finally started getting to the point around chp 23. I thought, "finally". But the ending was disappointing.
The narrator did well with the exception of the husky, sensual voice which remained throughout. I won't be getting the second book. Sorry.

Great Beginning to a Series!

This is my first Book by this author and after I was done, I devoured the rest of the series! I started this series because of a friends always raving about this author and went into it completely blind and spent most of this book wondering what the heck Ember was! This book is action-packed, a little YA, Quirky and is full of sexual tension! I really enjoyed the world building, the paranormal originality and the writing! The character are great too, they are all so completely different from each other. I was so excited to finally find out what was going on I knew I had to jump right into book two!

The narrator for this series is great too!

held my attention throughout

Darkness of Light is the first book in a paranormal romance series which is classified as New Adult. The series consists of four books in total.

The main character, Ember Brycin, is a bit of an outsider due to her unusual appearance (she has two different colored eyes) and due to the fact that things tend to explode around her. She also has hallucinations, or that is what she assumes they are. After the latest explosion at her school, Ember is sent to a juvenile facility where she meets the mystifying Eli Dragen, whom she feels instantly attracted to.

Ember and Eli have this love/hate relationship going on which was quite entertaining. Eli was totally unpredictable and could change from bad ass, cocky biker boy to really quite charming, protective and helpful in seconds. The banter between Ember and Eli was fun. Dry humor, sarcastic comments and a heroine who can’t help but say what she thinks.

The romance was clean and in my opinion, would have been suitable even for a younger age group. But there is the hint of a potential love triangle to be developed in the series, so who knows where this will go. In book one, there is nothing more than a few kisses.

For the majority of this book, Ember is trying to work out who and what she is. There were lots of clues to an otherworldly existence around her, but Ember was very slow on the uptake, a bit too naive, really. Therefore, the main action does not really start until about three quarters through the book, when things are finally revealed to her and Ember starts on a dangerous quest where she has no idea whom she can really trust.

Ember has two good friends at school and lives with her stepdad Michael. Her Mum was killed some years ago. Then there is Torin, who initially appears in Ember’s dreams, the other candidate for the potential love triangle. All these characters were well developed and interesting. There was a good balance of romance, action and mystery.

The writing was flawless. It flowed well, was nicely paced and interlaced with lots of humor. It definitely held my attention throughout. It was a really good introduction to the fantasy world created by Stacey Marie Brown, and I am certainly interested enough in the plot and feel invested in the characters to want to get book two to find out how the story continues. Considering that I don’t usually read any fantasy books that is saying a lot.

Michelle Sparks did an excellent job narrating. I hope she will continue as narrator for book 2 in the series. She really made Ember sound like an eighteen-year-old girl. Michelle Sparks was very good at expressing emotions. I would certainly listen to other audiobooks narrated by her. There were no issues with the production.

A definite recommendation for paranormal romance fans, maybe enjoyed more by YA/NA readers at the lower end of the age spectrum. Saying that, I am a very “mature” adult and I definitely enjoyed it.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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I couldn't get past the abusive relationships!

Any additional comments?

Main love interest was completely unlikable and abusive! I felt sick as I read how he treated Ember and all she could do was lust after him...it was disgusting. I did like the story and wanted to know how the series ended but stopped in the middle of book 3 because I could no longer take it. Bad language, abusive boyfriend, unlikable characters, explicit sex... I won't read another book by this author.

A welcomed surprise & enjoyment

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this book but high ratings from others suggested the writing and story would be good. While the first chapters were a little slow for me, it picked up steam and it was a pleasant surprise to me how much I did enjoy the Audible version. Ember is an 18 yo young woman trying to finish HS but unusual things happen around her. She is sent to an 'alternative' school to finish the last couple of months of school and there she meets Eli. Everything that seems to happen to her revolves around him in one way or another. Added to that is her realistic dreams where she meets Toren but she's convinced that isn't real. It isn't until the end of the story that Ember learns the truth about who and what everyone around her are and what she is. So much story material can't be contained in one book. A cliffhanger ending but I will definitely be reading the next book. Don't be skeptical, this is a very enjoyable book.

Douchey Hero

What would have made Darkness of Light better?

If Eli wasn't in it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Michelle Sparks?

Maybe, but I wouldn't buy a book just because she was narrating it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There were some good moments. It's biggest failing is the hero is a complete douche-bag.

Intriguing and enjoyable

This book was fun and mysterious. Narration was good. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward for the next book.

Stacey Marie Brown should have fired this narrator

I loved the Collector series which coincides with this series so I was excited to start it despite all the reviews saying Eli is a giant dick and the narrator sounds like a phone sex operator.

The story was good, a bit slow at the start, but I survived. However, the narrator was horrible. She does sound breathy like she's having sex over the phone. She did change her inflections from narration to a character speaking, but she didn't even try to change the tone of her voice. Despite everything, I hope the narrator reads these reviews and changes the way she narrates books because several people will never know the complete awesomeness that is Stacey Marie Brown all because of the performance. I'll be continuing the series regardless because I'm dying to see how this series and the Collector series ties together.

What's up with the lusty narrator voice?

I'm still listening to the book (for now), but I must say I'm annoyed by the change in the narrator's tone starting around Chapter 10. All the sudden she starts speaking like every line makes her horny. It's like a YA Debbie Does Dallas. Who gets breathy when they're talking about pizza? I hope this doesn't persist.

narration is breathy and over dramatic

What disappointed you about Darkness of Light?

The narration is overly dramatic. Every sentence is read like it is some steamy romance novel- even if the sentence is about getting in a car and driving to school. It drove me crazy!

Good story, shame about the narrator

I've tried to listen to this but am finding it impossible due to the narration. If you are ok listening to a whiny girl trying to be sexy and thoughtful, this will be no problem. She has terrible voice drag, all her words seem dragged out at moments they are actually needed to be speeded up, and the tone is the same whether worried, upset or excited.
The actual story does intrigue me, though there's a lot of 'what is going on?' - I'm half way through and I'm still no nearer to finding out.
But I would still like to find out, which must be a good thing story-wise so I'm off to find a hard copy instead

Great!

Would you consider the audio edition of Darkness of Light to be better than the print version?

Didn't read in print.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Didn't have a favourite but as i continue i am sure I will.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

This narrator Has read another book I have listen to and tbh her voice doe's start to annoy me because at the end of a sentence she tends to hold on to the last word.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

At points in the story I did find myself getting pretty angry!

Any additional comments?

I would have liked to listen to book 2 but its not available so I ordered the kindle addition but i can't see myself reading it with all the other audible books on offer. Would defiantly recommend this book to someone who likes to be removed from reality....

Slow burn, but enjoyable

Not a fan of the narration, but the book was quite good. Will give the second one a go and make up my mind.

Bit like Twilight

I thought I was mentally prepared for the quality of the debut novel, but a few things still bothered me.

The biggest disappointment is the slow burn and LI. He is a first-class jerk. I don't know how am I supposed to move from him being an idiot to liking him later. And I don't mean his alternative motives, which plotwise are the reason they even met.
No, I have a problem with how he:
- gaslighted her constantly
- not respected her physical boundaries
- ignored her saying NO 🤮🤮🤮
- was super condescending
- implied she is slow/stupid
- was super lame in every possible way.
Their interactions were super frustrating and unpleasant. It is a shame because I live for good banter.
At this point, her attraction to him just grosses me out.

The rest of the book is fine. Overall I had a good time 👍

Writing is less repeatable than in Savage Lands, and side characters are compelling. I am still waiting for some humor and squealability.
I will continue with hope for some drama and bearable new LI.