Born to Darkness was a pleasant surprise. In fact, it was fantastic! One of the best science fiction books I’ve read since Ready Player One . The world building was well developed, the plot kept me guessing and the romantic interludes were steamy! Did I mention that the story was told from seven different perspectives? SEVEN! At first it was confusing, but once I learned who everyone was I had no problem following the different storylines. The transitions from one perspective to the next were flawless and I really enjoyed delving into each character’s life, relationships and back-story.

The main focus seemed to be on the prickly heroine Mac (Michelle) and her potential love interest, blacklisted NAVY Seal, Shane. In a world where most people are considered Fractions, there are a small percentage of people called Greater-Thans who have access to parts of the brain that others don’t. They develop abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy and rapid healing. Mac has the power to affect people’s emotions and physically alter her body to make her look unrecognizable. She works with an elite team of Greater-Than’s who specialize in training those with potential and putting a stop to organizations that would exploit them. The other characters featured in this book include the powerful leader of Mac’s team Bach, her partner Diaz and his love interest, the quirky scientist Elliot. There is also Anna, a Fraction who gets drawn into this strange new world that she previously didn’t know existed and her sister, Nika who gets abducted by the very people that Mac and her team are trying to hunt down.

Confusing? Honestly this is a difficult book to describe because so much happens! I can’t begin to do it justice. It’s obvious that the author spent a great deal of time building the world and fleshing out the characters. I’m assuming that this is just the first book in what will probably turn out to be a long series. Several questions remain unanswered by the book’s end, and a couple characters don’t get their fairytale ending (quite the opposite actually!), but overall this is a solid start to what will hopefully turn out to be an amazing series. Anyone who enjoys urban fantasy/paranormal romance or science fiction would be completely remiss to pass up the chance to read Born to Darkness. Don’t be intimidated by the length. It’s worth every page!

3/1/2012

I don't say this often, but...

Holy crap this book is huge!

Born to Darkness ARC

I won this ARC on Goodread's First Reads Giveaways and I was expecting a little pocket paperback. Instead I get this big, heavy 500 page book! If my scale was working I would weigh it because the book has some heft to it!

I've been in a bit of a reading funk lately. The last three books I tried to read I had no desire to finish. Here's hoping that this one sticks because I'm rather excited to read it :o)