Darkness becomes her by Kelly Keaton

Ari has spent most of her life in the foster system after her mother abandoned her for a mental hospital where she died from something Ari would never have expected - suicide.  Faced with the shocking fact that her mother took her own life, Ari is further shocked to discover a letter from her mother, a letter that apologises for the past and orders Ari to RUN.  Instead of running away, Ari runs to New 2 the city that remained after two devastating hurricanes flattened New Orleans.  In the ruins Ari begins to make connections to her past, connections that place her life at risk - and the lives of those around her because Ari carries a curse.  It turns out that even in New 2 she is a freak amongst freaks, standing out for more than just her white-silver hair and teal coloured eyes.  She has two choices, she can run and hide, or stand and fight against a family curse that once she knows about, will change her destiny forever.

Like so many other authors at the moment, Kelly Keaton has taken us into a future world where mythology has come to life in dark and deadly ways - and unlike some of those authors Kelly Keaton has done a fantastic job.  Without sounding too cliched from my own reviews, Keaton has taken diferent mythologies and bound them together to create a world that is wholey believable and drags you into the action kicking and screaming.  Ari is tough and determined, but also has a vulnerable side that peaks through the armour she has built around herself to survive.  The cast around her is not always as fleshed out as they could be, but the pace of the story is such that you don't really mind - and the promise of more books to come with probably flesh those characters out more anyway.  A fantastic read, and I can't wait for more in the series to see how the mythology develops further.

If you like this book then try:

• The demon trappers' daughter by Jana Oliver
• Percy Jackson and the lightning thief by Rick Riordan
• Enclave by Ann Aguire

Reviewed by Brilla