Maze

Daughter of Darkness #2

by Katya Mills

In a modern day American city, there are those who track and hunt down humans for their fear. They are indiscernible from you and me. A young woman with attitude in her mid-twenties, Ame, has fallen in with them. Her abduction was foretold by the voices in her head. She has the same light in her eyes that marks them. In this sequel to Katya Mills' urban fantasy, Grand Theft Life, Ame has fallen in love with a young man who shares the dark gift. He skateboards into her life and they roam the streets together. Conflicted by her own violent nature, she has become nevertheless intoxicated by the ways. She thirsts after 'the tangy energetic'. A death dealer of a different kind prowls around the boarding house where Ame and her boyfriend live. Meanwhile her best friend, Bless, vies for her attention. Hendrix, a bloodhound for tracking fear, inadvertently leads Ame to Kell, a kindred spirit in the grips of a terrible addiction. She takes her little sister with green eyes under her wing. Just as Ame seems to have found her rhythm in the chaos surrounds her, someone very close to her disappears. In her search for her loved one she uncovers a secret alliance, revealed on the tapes of a security camera, which threatens to uproot her, once again.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Science Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2015

About the author

An Independent, Katya Mills is an American and nonbinary writer of German and Huguenot (French Protestant) descent. They grew up in New England, mostly in New Hampshire, the 'Live Free or Die' state. They studied at Northwestern University and spent about a decade in Chicago before settling in California. Mills is a licensed psychotherapist and helps people imagine, envision and reauthor the stories of their lives. Mills writes creative nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and has a lifelong obsession with words. The stories they create often involve marginalized characters who have been somehow reduced or overlooked and, in turn, they have exiled or overlooked themselves. Lovers, dreamers, loners, addicts, scribblers, and latchkey kids. Adventures toward wholeness. You can find Katya Mills also on Amazon.

Reviews

[Patrick Horgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book about the protagonist, Ame. The first was Grand Theft Life. I fell in love with Ame in the first book and had been waiting impatiently to find out what had been going on with her. Ame is not human, but is a member of a human looking race that preys on us. It seems almost like vampirism, with some of the same mental abilities, except they feed on our fear instead of our blood. The book is set in the San Francisco Bay area, mostly in Oakland, and is wonderful. The cast of characters includes her mentor Freddy, her skater boyfriend Maze, and her girlfriend Bless. The relationships are push-pull/love-hate, with the loving Ame being willing to excuse almost any behaviour in people she has given her heart to. She has such a pure clean heart it is impossible not to love her even as she stalks.
Reading Katya's writing is like listening to bepop jazz. It is the most amazing writing. The lines jump and dance with long lines interspersed with short bursty phrases. I've never read another author that writes like her. Her main characters, I think, by our standards would be bebop punk crazy psychic mental vampires and her use of language communicates that. They don't think like we do. She takes me into a different mindset where every crazy thing makes sense. Oh I love this book. I can't wait for the next one.

[Petite Clementine · Rating 4 out of 5]

(A BTW: I got this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.)
Anyway, I just finished reading this book. Probably because of this, I'm not quite sure what to write. (Maybe a few days or weeks will provide me with some clarity, something to say.) All I can say is that this was interesting. Very interesting. Quite particularly the cliffhanger at the end. Thank you for that cliffhanger. I appreciated it. I always enjoy things that leave me hanging, after all. ;) However, this book has managed to do what most books (in a series) aim to do: keep me hooked.
The writing style itself reminds me of a few books that I can't quite put my finger on as of right now, but I enjoyed it. Reminded me of a stream of consciousness sort of thing. A more lyrical, edited stream of consciousness, that is.
Anyway, maybe I should go and read the first book (if I can find it). And wait for the third.

I gave this story a four star rating because it was surprising, in a pleasant sort of way. :)

[KarenMichelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read the first book, so I was quite lost when I first started reading. The book is short, and while not action packed, it ended with a bang which I found satisfying. I'm not sure if I will go back and read the first, but I will pick up the next one.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page-turning plot, full of lyrical passages. Mills maintains a good, steady pace and brings the reader along with her characters in this tour of the Bay Area. Make sure to read thes ein sequence for the full effect!

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received this book for free from a Goodreads Giveaway.

I was a little lost a the beginning since I didn't read the first book, other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy novels. The author has a unique style that was a nice change of pace from other fantasy authors.

[Jackie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

iam giving as a gift for my teenage friend I know she will enjoy it so much!!

[Jim Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okaaaay...let me see. Brilliant, fascinating, different, yes, extremely different. I guess I'd have to say "over my head" also applies. I really enjoyed this book, the 2nd of the series, while wondering exactly what the hell I was reading, lol.
While reading this I was thinking ahead concerning whether or not I would continue the series. But since the ending left me hanging and confused I'll go ahead and start the 3rd book in the series and hope it enlightens me. I usually don't care for books that force me into reading a sequel but in this case it may just be my lack of comprehension. I'm hoping, anyway. I'm pretty sure I would have given 5 stars if I could have figured it out though, lol!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange

I won this kindle edition through Goodreads. The story is decent but incredibly wordy. It is as the word count was more important that allowing the reader to follow the story. Maybe it's just me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Received a free digital copy through a goodreads giveaway)
Although the rather disconnected way the story was written kept throwing me off, this book was definitely interesting. In a lot of ways it felt like I was ready a bunch of short scenes and character development being jotted down for an upcoming book instead of coherent chapters, however the cliffhanger at the end still left me wanting to read on and wishing I could keep on reading.

[Kristy Rulebreaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is easy to read because of the flow of the words. The characters are very interesting and complex. The end is mysterious, and I can't wait the third part to see what will happen next.

[Emiley Allen Bowes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is great artwork. The story just so, so. thanks for the goodreads ARC

[Paula Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book. I really disliked the cliff hanger it ended on. Now I have to find the next book to read so i can find out what happened. UGH!

#GoodreadsGiveaway

[Rachel Hahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend reading the first book or you will be lost during the second, in my opinion.I won this on a goodreads giveaway. If you love fantasy you will enjoy this series.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to follow as I did not read the prior book. It did hold my interest despite that. I may reread it if I get and do read the prior book. I do like the writer tho.

[Rose and Mike Mccarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I’ll start by saying I won this book on a Goodreads giveaway. I so wanted to like this little novella, part two in this ongoing series. Although I did not read the first part, the characters are set up pretty well so I really did not need to read the first to get into the second book.

My problem came with the way the story was being told as a first person stream of consciousness style which reads really quickly as the character jumps from topic to topic carrying the reader with her. This also gets confusing with long run-on type sentences and then quick one word sentences as the character has an idea pop into her head, at times from out of nowhere.

I know many people liked this book, and honestly, I didn’t hate it, I just think others who reviewed it as lyrical were a bit off. Just because the character used flowery language, it doesn’t make it lyrical. It seemed that in writing the character this way the author was trying way too hard to try to make the character sound intelligent and fancier than she was meant to be.

Also, the character was introduced as a bad-ass , rough and tumble female lead, but later in the book she lowers herself to tiptoeing around her moody, more than likely lying boyfriend. Where did the bad-ass go?

Anyway, I give the book 2.5 stars. Not really my thing, but you may like it.

[Lourdes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free from a Goodreads Giveaway.

I enjoyed the story but was a bit lost because this is the 2nd book in the series.

My first time reading from this author but it was great writing.

I would recommend it, but first, read the first book. :)

[Amber Harbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

So chaotic

I rarely leave bad reviews, but this was so hard to read. Chaotic, disorganized, and confusing. It really needs someone to look over it and try to sort it into a more cohesive story.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could not get past the second chapter, where Ame and her funky style left me cold.

[Debra Barstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this book was not for me. Glad it was a short book.

[Tima · Rating 2 out of 5]

hard to follow

I found the story hard to follow. I understood that the main characters were not human. Where did they work? How did they pay rent or get food? And, why the title?

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book on Goodreads.

This story is a drama with some fantasy elements. I may have been more into the story if I had been able to find book 1 and read it first. (I tried, but my library says the author does not exist.) The characters (except for Malafide) current situations were well-described. I just know nothing of their backstories. I have no idea how they came to be energy-suckers or living in Oakland. I wish the main character would have taken a stand on the fate of her victims. Was she pro-life, pro-death, or pro-driving them crazy as a loon? Any reference to Malafide was very vague. The book ended oddly. There is a cliffhanger, but only the main character knows what it is. For once, she did not reveal her thoughts.

Warning: The book is written from the point of view of the main character, a woman who spends most of her life thinking. Since her thoughts are mostly stream of consciousness, the book contains a large number of run-on and grammatically incorrect sentences. Also, there is swearing and a love triangle.

[E.Y.E.-D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through a goodreads give away in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very difficult book for me to complete. I feel pretty much the same as I did about the first one. The concept is good but there is something missing. Things just seem to happen and are never fully explained. The flashback scenes are a little confusing as you are never really told when they go back to the current time.
I read the first one and then this one but I will most likely not be picking up the third when it comes out.

[Paul Kater · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Note that 4 stars is good.)

Maze is the sequel to Daughter of Darkness. Maze is written in the same fast, powerful style. Ame, the main person from Daughter of Darkness, gives the reader her look on life, humans (because she is different) and what they do to each other. Her life hasn't been easy and in book two things have changed for Ame, but not always for the better.

Join Ame in the next stage in her life. Learn about the way she looks at everything and the ways in which she tries to help others.

[Clipinchick]

I received this book for free from the author/publisher in response for an honest review of the book. I have not had the opportunity to read this book at this time. I will add my
review of this book once I have read the book. Thank you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.