Title: Darkness Watching (DarkWorld #1)
Author: Emma L Adams
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published 
Publication Date: September 2013
Pages: 196
Rating: 3.5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she’s losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back.

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere – little knowing that it isn’t coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world.

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life – but demons still stalk Ash, and their interest in her has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she’s looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is.

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be…

My Review:

I’ve been interesting about this book since I did a cover reveal a few months ago – books set in university have been one of my guilty pleasures since the days of borrowing Sweet Valley University novels when I was a pre-teen. Darkness Watching is a great addition to the new adult world – with a delightful paranormal element to it all.

Ashlyn has her heart set on going to Oxford. But when she starts seeing dark shadows with creepy eyes and completely blows her interview, she finds a second chance in Blackstone. A smaller university – practically unheard of for many – this is Ash’s chance to embrace college life. Parties, room mates, professors and lectures aren’t the only new things in her life – she also has to deal with the new knowledge that she’s a sorceress and the things in the shadows aren’t the scariest things she has to face.

This is one of those books that is very much about the main character finding herself and embracing her new place in the world. I loved getting to see Ash embrace the university experience and starting the newest chapter of her life. And an added bonus for me was that all the new goings on in her life weren’t precipitated by some gorgeous guy who brings the creep with him. Not to say there aren’t males around in this book – and some of them rather creepy – but for the most part it’s not a romance at heart. I found myself cheering that she has so many interests that were her own and not just ones that she had because of a boy or because her friends forced them onto her. I found her to be similar to me – but better! – and I liked getting to follow her as she discovered the Darkworld.

The demons and magic in this book is something different – and not the type that I feel like I’ve read before. I liked the ‘magical’ characters and it was interesting to see where they fit into Ash’s story. There are twists and turns – not all I was expecting – and I imagine that this series is one that’s only going to get better with each instalment.

Thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for the review copy.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble| Kobo

AUTHOR BIO

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal for young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).

Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and will be published in September 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.

Author Links:
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