Search - In the Darkest Night

So, first things first: I received this book as part of the Goodreads First-Reads program, which sends out free books to readers hoping for them to post glowing reviews on the various book-reader web sites.

But here’s the truth: I really didn’t like this book much. Granted, paranormal romance isn’t a genre that I’ve spent any time with, but I do like paranormal and urban fantasy stories, so this really wasn’t a huge stretch for me. No, the real problem with this book was a pair of characters who could most accurately be described as “losers” for most of the narrative. The first protagonist is a woman who constantly goes on about how weak and helpless she is, whining about issues she’s too wound up about to actually enunciate. The second protagonist is a protector type with a deep and dark background he doesn’t want to talk about, either. In other words, a pair of people that are impossible to feel any empathy toward.

There was a time in the late 90s when I watched a lot of “date” movies with British actors who had an inability to communicate, and I walked out of every single one of those completely frustrated with characters who couldn’t TALK to one another. This book might not have British actors, but damn, it’s sure full of people who can’t talk.

So if I didn’t like the characters, I could hope for a fun setting, right? Well, no. Not here. This book takes place in essentially two places. If there’s any world here, with any other people around, the author sure left that information in her notes, because it didn’t make it into the novel.

Was there any good at all then? Well, the last quarter of the book moves more from “romance” to “paranormal,” and that was a lot more interesting. (Though “paranormal” is wrong. This is urban fantasy, only without a good urban setting.) The fantasy elements are reasonably well thought out, and might be an interesting thing to explore—with a different set of characters and setting all together.

2 of 5 stars.