Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Ari can't help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can't be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.Her search for answers uncovers a message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it's impossible to protect herself when she doesn't know what she's running from or why she is being pursued. 

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of "her."

Ari won't stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

I wasn't blown away by this book like many people that I know were. This book was... bleh, since there are a great deal of flaws that stop it from being great or even good, for me this was an okay read that I got through quickly due to the length and whilst I read it in one sitting I didn't feel particularly absorbed by.

Keaton is a great writer, I will admit that. She definitely has a knack for putting words together. The problem was that this book felt completely rushed... the start was rushed, it wasn't really developed and felt very unpolished, the characters were rushed; where was Ari's development? I felt as though the character was there for the story but had like no life before. The romance was VERY rushed... I mean this is insta-love at it's worst; Ari and Sebastian meet and then five minutes later they're making out in a random chair in a random bar... I felt as though I had missed a hundred pages! They COULD have worked as a couple with some more development but this romance developed WAAYYYY too quickly for my liking.

There is one thing that I enjoyed; the world that Keaton develops. New 2 is New Orleans that has been rebuilt after two hurricanes tear the city apart. The city is now carnival central, with all sorts of dodgy dealings going on in the background. I did like this setting very much, adding the strict city rulers gave off a kind of dystopia vibe.

Overall, this book COULD have been great, but I felt as though the whole book was rushed and nothing seemed to be developed at all. I did like the setting though, that was okay.

Overall Rating: D-

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Released June 9th 2011 by Simon and Schuster (UK)
Book bought by myself