Series: Port Lewis Witches (book 1)

Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Diversity: LGBTQIA+ (m/m, trans* character, f/f)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Cover: Those colours! And the moons! And the candle!

Link: goodreads

Trigger warnings: gore, blood play

Description: Port Lewis, a coastal town perched on the Washington cliffs, is surrounded by dense woods, and is home to quaint coffee shops, a movie theater, a few bars, two churches, the local college, and witches, of course.

Ryder is a witch with two secrets—one about his blood and the other about his heart. Keeping the secrets hasn’t been a problem, until a tarot reading with his best friend, Liam Montgomery, who happens to be one of his secrets, starts a chain of events that can’t be undone.

Dark magic runs through Ryder’s veins. The cards have prophesized a magical catastrophe that could shake the foundation of Ryder’s life, and a vicious partnership with the one person he doesn’t want to risk.

Magic and secrets both come at a cost, and Ryder must figure out what he’s willing to pay to become who he truly is.

Review: Did I miss something?

While reading Darkling I checked several times if it truly is book 1. It seems to be but I felt like I missed quite a lot of information? EDIT: There is a story before this. It’s called Into the Mystic and can be found here*.

The main pairing was enjoyable to me – especially the lovely way of acting towards each other – but they started out as (best?) friends and in the span of a few seconds they were lovers? Is there a story about them before this book? I felt like I needed to know more about the other characters as well as the whole universe.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I really liked Darkling’s take on witches, their familiars and especially necromancers. But have you ever read a fanfiction about a series you know nothing about? That’s the way I felt while reading.

Usually when I’m this confused I dnf because why bother? But I still was so very, very hooked! The writing sucks you right in and like I said before, I really like Ryder and Liam. I like them on their own and I like them together (and together-together, if you know what I mean…)

Maybe Darkling would have profited from way more pages, because the story was over in the blink of an eye and a lot of development seemed to be skipped over. Or maybe that is my confusion speaking, but my liking of the book says ‘gimme the next part now!’.

Last words: That was a short and confusing but kinda fun ride.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

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