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With demons ravaging London and humanity in danger, it’s up to sassy and reluctant heroine Scarlett Ravenwood to protect the world from falling into the clutches of evil.

London bartender, Scarlett Ravenwood, has never fit in.
She’s a nobody with zero future, and the world thrives on reminding her.
But when she's attacked by a demon, and becomes entangled with the mysterious man who saves her, Scarlett learns she’s not quite human. She’s a Natural — a demon hunting mage with powers unlike anything in the supernatural world — and her destiny is not her own.
Thrust into a hidden world on the brink of an apocalypse, Scarlett must leave behind everything she’s ever known to protect humanity...or risk losing her soul forever.

Dark Descent is the first novel in The Arondight Codex, a new Urban Fantasy series full of action, adventure, and romance, woven with the threads of lost Arthurian legend. Oh, and demons. Lots of demons.

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 22, 2019

417 people are currently reading
949 people want to read

About the author

Nicole R. Taylor

63 books335 followers
Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian Urban Fantasy author.
She lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne dreaming up nail biting stories featuring bad-ass witches, duplicitous vampires, hunky shape shifters and devious monsters.
She likes chocolate, cat memes and video games.
When she’s not writing, she likes to think of what she’s writing next.


AVAILABLE SERIES:
The Witch Hunter Saga (Urban Fantasy) Series Complete!
The Crescent Witch Chronicles (Urban Fantasy) Series Complete!
The Arondight Codex (Urban Fantasy)

And more coming soon!


Find out more about Nicole and her books by visiting:
https://www.nicolertaylorwrites.com

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5 stars
291 (38%)
4 stars
214 (28%)
3 stars
187 (24%)
2 stars
51 (6%)
1 star
20 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Dahrose.
685 reviews17 followers
March 31, 2020
This was a DNF at the 42% mark. The writing, as such, wasn't bad, but the characters and plot line? Yikes.

First off, our Heroine, Scarlett, or Purples (gag) as the H likes to call her. She's one special surly snowflake. Plagued by visions/memories of her parents death - that she's not sure really happened or not - but the vision is pretty precise and if she's been having it for twenty years then I'm not sure why she feels the need to go on meds, considers herself a bit loopy but other than that very mundane.
When she witnesses a magical event - the author can't decide whether to make Scarlett scared and unwilling to believe, or balls out throwing herself forward for no reason what so ever. Scarlett's motivations never really make sense - she hunts for an entire day for the H, then when she sees something a little off (even though she's witnessed several off things in previous encounters) she decides to make a run for it.

Then there is Wilder, the H, or not so affectionately as I like to refer to him as the a-hole. Seriously, everything out of his mouth is derogatory, a put down or just offensive.

I assume these two get together eventually - but as neither are likeable I wish them nothing but a lot of togetherness time.

The story / plot - Scarlett's motivations too often failed to make sense. She's witnessed some seriously weird stuff, but is still unwilling to believe any magical explanation, shrieking and being kind of a doofus. Tracking down Wilder made no sense. Running from him. Submitting to the test at the Naturals HQ when they are all jerks??? None of this made any sense.
Her hair is purple - and several times the author hints that this is natural - in what world does anyone have purple hair and not believe in the supernatural??

Surly heroine. Arrogant a-hole Hero. A storyline that at the 42% really hadn't gone anywhere. The problem is - the special snowflake discovering a magical world and that she has special powers has been done to death - and if you are going to adhere to that trope then you better make sure your characters & plot are stellar, because otherwise, as it does in this case, it will suffer badly in comparison to so many other stories that went down the same path but did it so much better.
Profile Image for Violet Stone.
327 reviews41 followers
August 21, 2020
If this had said "Inspired by The City of Bones" I wouldn't have been surprised. The whole set up felt extremely familiar.

Invisible man killing monsters that only the main girl can see (man and monsters), said monsters are after this girl. Best friend is in love with her, gets hurt. They then have to go to the secret society for them to save him. Main girl kisses monster hunter and best friend is in her room waiting for her and is butt hurt that she's kissing a dude that's not him because he's been in love with her all these years...

I'm just saying there were some similarities.

Overall, I didn't care for this book. Not that it was badly written, which is rarely the case. Most of the time I really enjoy an author's voice. It's just that the plot or the characters don't click well with me. And that is what happened this time around.

Scarlett is a young woman who has been dealt a bad hand. Both of her parents were murdered and she was put on crazy pills because she can see things other people can't. Enter Wilder, a demon hunter with a bad attitude, who saves her life a couple of times. The trick is, only she sees him and the things he kills.

She finds herself among a secret society of demon hunters who agree to train her when they discover she also has the light. But because of the pills she's been on all these years its repressed. The overall plot of the story is finding a hidden weapon that only she knows the location to, only she doesn't know she knows.

I didn't like the romance, only that I feel like Wilder was too brutish for too long and then bam, he liked her. It didn't seem to flow well.

I never want to discourage someone from reading a book, and don't let my review stop you.




~*~
August 13, 2020
Initial Thoughts: there were a handful of moments that really made me think of City of Bones.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews130 followers
Want to read
February 5, 2020
🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (2/5/2020)! 🎁
Profile Image for Rebecca.
47 reviews1 follower
February 29, 2020
This was perfectly readable, but I didn't exactly like it. It just didn't feel done to me and I found the main character annoying.
Profile Image for A.M..
Author 7 books57 followers
Read
April 11, 2021
I started another book by this author, then realised it was a spin off from this series. Went back to read this but... it is not good. 'Purples' makes no sense as a nickname. It just... doesn't. Her name is Scarlett, so he might call her 'red' but she has purple hair or something.

And her England is just off slightly. [I looked it up and she's Australian. oh no.]

The banter is neither funny nor smart. I have already read a paragraph she re used in the first part of the spin off series. I mean, to repeat an entire paragraph of action as she jumps over a fence and into a posh garden. [Yes, we all watched Notting Hill. I too, have garden envy.]

Other than that it is the standard orphaned heroine, lost her memories, really down on taking meds being a 'problem' when it obviously isn't if they help people. ugh. it's just not good.

There are a few on the nose phrases, too, and she masturbates ON a cake of soap - yikes - do NOT do that, you'll mess up your vagina chemistry. Use your damn hand like everyone else. She is also not quick on the uptake; she's already been told things and she still doesn't get it a page or so later. I understand that she is having trouble with believing her world is changed, but she could say that, not just act dumb again. I am going to DNF it, aren't I?

Did not finish at 22%
Profile Image for Katherine B..
926 reviews29 followers
September 19, 2022
So, this wasn't the worst book in the world. I enjoyed it. But probably because I was having fun tracking the blatant plagiarism that is this book.

Have you ever read The Mortal Instruments? If so, no need to read this book. Because they are one and the same. We have:
- A "sassy" heroine who is seeing things no one else sees.
- A broody hero who the heroine sees killing demons.
- A snarky[ish] best friend who is in love with the "sassy" heroine (and gets messed up by baddies)
- Demons!
- Magic swords that only the demon hunters can use.
- A Codex
-A magical artifact that everyone wants and only the "sassy" heroine can find because she's spea-shul.
- A "traitor" who was part of some bad group of demon hunters.

Really, the only thing we were missing was a sassy warlock and his pretty boy who thinks he's in love with the broody hero.
Profile Image for heidi.
256 reviews2 followers
July 28, 2020
Liked it
Nice new twist on old legends!
412 reviews8 followers
February 16, 2020
Can't decide if I liked it or hated it.

So this started out with what could have been a great story. So we have Scarlett who has secret powers but doesn't know it, we have Jackson a guy friend who is in love with her and then you have Wilder the bad boy. All centered around demons who are trying to get to her for her unknown powers. First I would like to say I hated how the author couldn't decide if Scarlett was going to be a strong female lead or a wimpy one. I was sick of her whining about halfway through. I also did not like how Jackson was brushed off so easily without even a thought. I have decided not to read the rest of the series for my own reasons. I leave it up to you to read this book. Even Wilder the bad boy I didn't care for either.
731 reviews7 followers
May 27, 2019
Scarlett is a great heroine - the natural organization is terrible

Scarlet is a great heroine, but the natural organization is almost as evil as the demons.

I really really hated the organization so much so that I would’ve felt better if she never joined it. The organization supposed to be the last bastion of light to stop the demons.

Instead this organization is all about rules and being robots. They intentionally put Scarlett’s harms way and humiliate her for kicks.

Overall I don’t know about continuing this series.
Greer and the natural organization should be dismantled and be true knights of Camelot that are willing to help and not just be almost as evil as the demons.
Profile Image for Tatiana.
Author 26 books37 followers
November 19, 2023
An engaging book, I read it straight through. The plot was quite similar to City of Bones/Shadowhunters, but I wasn’t mad about that. The MC is 25 but acts 12, and I wished for more girl power. The whole subplot of her best friend in love with her was an icky drag.
648 reviews2 followers
April 6, 2024
DNF. It wasn’t… TERRIBLE… but I just wasn’t invested at all, couldn’t make myself keep reading. There was world-building, to be fair. Maybe it was the lack of real plot? I don’t know, just couldn’t keep my attention.
100 reviews
May 7, 2024
Did not finish

I couldn't get into this book, far too many petulant characters. It came across as juvenile. I don't recommend this book.
Profile Image for Christine Rains.
Author 58 books245 followers
May 23, 2021
Scarlett Ravenwood feels like she's a nobody without a future until she starts seeing demons and witnesses a gorgeous Natural named Wilder exorcise one. No ordinary human should have been able to see that, and now the demons are targeting her. When she's tested by the Naturals, they find she has Light (magic) within her, but she's too old to start training. Even with the demons tracking her and her best friend mutating, Scarlett still doesn't think she's special. But what does her purple Light say about her and will she solve that mystery before she is dead herself?

A solid first book in this urban fantasy series. It had tones of the show Supernatural mixed with warriors called Naturals who wield swords similar to lightsabers. It worked really well together. Plus with the Arthurian myths added in, it was a fun read. Scarlett is brave, and I liked that she didn't do everything well right off the bat. She had to work at it. Wilder is a mystery himself, and I do wonder what secret his history contains.
19 reviews
August 14, 2021
This was more like 2.5 stars, but I rounded up to 3. As another reviewer mentioned, there were a lot of similarities with City of Bones (I liked this a little more because who wants even the possibility of incest in their romance? ew).

I think I cringed every time Wilder called the main character “Purples” - ugh, what a terrible nickname. And I was never quite sure why he distrusted the other Naturals so much. As soon as Scarlett started questioning Greer’s motives, Wilder leaped to her defense. And then at the end, it all seemed too easy that suddenly everyone was friends and trusted each other after spending the entire book being paranoid assholes.

Despite all that, this book was entertaining and I enjoyed a lot of Scarlett’s internal dialogue. If she and Wilder could be a little less assholey to each other, I wouldn’t mind seeing them get together. I doubt I’ll continue with this series, however.
Profile Image for Melonie.
38 reviews10 followers
February 21, 2019
I have never read anything by this author before. I was drawn in by the cover artwork and am happy I was. This story took about old tale and gave it a new twist, which I found refreshing and enjoyed! I am looking forward to getting more background story about the main characters, the Naturals.

The heroine, Scarlett, is snarky and fun, not afraid to speak her mind, follows her instincts, and is doing what we all are: trying to find our place.

The story was really fast paced and easy to read. I hope book 2 gives us more back story with Wilder and Jackson, both of whom I already love!

If you are looking for a fun new read, I highly recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
715 reviews14 followers
March 11, 2020
All I can say is wow! I started this story and once I did, it was so hard to put down. Scarlett and Wilder are such mysteries that unfold so slowly before your eyes. You have to love Scarlett; she is so strong even though she thinks that she is not. She has taken her meds for years to try and deal with life only to find out she might not need them. Wilder is one of those characters that you love one minute and hate the next. The tension between the two of them makes the story move along quickly. By the time I finished, I knew that I would have to go and get the next book of the series.
Profile Image for Jagged.
1,080 reviews31 followers
July 11, 2020
A decent laugh

I really enjoyed the first 2 thirds of the book, very funny and I loved that nothing really came easily for Scarlett. I loved the significance of the troll too. And Purples. I liked that the nickname stuck. But I was really hoping she wouldn't be enfolded into the naturals. And once that turn started, the book lost its edge and became just like every other. Scarlets personality changed into a child, and it never returned to same caliber as the beginning.
I had been planning on buying the next book, but now I've lost interest.
Profile Image for Brblake.
16 reviews
January 6, 2024
Seems similar to Shadowhunters

So i started reading this and right off the bat the story reminded me of City of Glass… The female MC who doesn’t remember anything past the death of her parents maybe the only thing that felt different… But the Male Beat Friend with un returned feelings “altered” by the demons and the surly/grumpy Male MC who is a bad boy but so hot…. insert a quest for a missing weapon… just saying…. while the author has made this her own story it to me was strongly influenced by CoG….
Profile Image for Michelle Shemon.
383 reviews4 followers
February 23, 2019
Dark Descent
The Arondight Codex Book 1
Nicole R Taylor

This was a great book. I loved the introduction to the series. Scarlett Ravenwood (and don't you just love the name) is a great female lead. Lead to believe she was nothing and nobody she just comes to shine through her trials. The characters are well developed, and blend well together. I loved the action, and adventure the book provided. I can't wait for the next book in the series!!
807 reviews
December 21, 2020
DNF @50% literally cannot take the pace of this novel anymore. IS IT GOING ANYWHERE? The girl is whiny and the guy talks AT her in random phrases that make no sense. Contrived suspense and mystery. I really wanted to like this book, but I can’t deal with stupid, forced drama. She had the presence of mind to understand what was happening at her assessment, but she didn’t ASK?! Nope. Stupid. I don’t have time for this nonsense. I read for enjoyment, and this book just makes me angry.
Profile Image for Scarolet Ellis.
7,445 reviews52 followers
February 26, 2019
Dark Descent by Nicole R Taylor is a wonderful story that I got a chance to read. This is story number one in this wonderful start to a brand new series that I fell in love with. I love reading about magic and I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about magic.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for  BookwormMomma7.
974 reviews
February 14, 2020
Scarlett, Wilder and Jonathan along with the Naturals take you for a ride in this pretty exciting paranormal world where the Codex reigns supreme. Scarlett does remember her childhood or how she got the she sports on her face, things start to go bump in the night and she is in for a rude awakening when she discovers there is more to her than she ever thought possible.
Profile Image for Bernadette Hutton.
436 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2020
Something was missing

Just the three stars. I kept waiting on something else. The book and characters just let it down. It could have taken place anywhere, at any time, past present or future there was nothing special or indeed anything making me want to read the next book. This was disappointing,
14 reviews1 follower
February 16, 2021
Simply awesome

Great background with the Arthurian legends and modern London. I want more! Character development and dialogue is well done, I just hope Scarlet becomes less self deprecating. A new author, andi look forward to reading many more by Nicole Taylor.

though understanding her background,
81 reviews38 followers
March 26, 2022
Interesting Take on Camelot

It becomes clear that, given how much of the history of the good guys in this story is really unknown, there will probably be some internal conflicts as more of it is discovered. Most especially, what the main character's role is supposed to be. This is a good story with lots of potential as a series.
Profile Image for Chelsea.
229 reviews2 followers
June 5, 2023
This definitely felt like a page turner. The writing isn't particularly complex, but the story was entertaining and flew by. The story setting was good, as was the character framework. I'm glad I did not look at the character art for the cover before reading this because I had very different pictures in my mind of the characters that the cover would otherwise have changed for the worst.
32 reviews
September 18, 2023
A different type of magic

This story was completely different than I was expecting I like the characters were all a little bit off in their personalities one when or another. The use of a magic in a different way was very interesting and unexpected.
I recommend this book if you're looking for something that's a little different than the normal fantasy adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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