Dark Genesis (The Darkling Trilogy, #1) in Multiculturalism in YA,Fantasy, Sci FI,Paranormal and fun books ;p

May 09, 2013 Romance Novels in Color rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: genre_historical, genre_sci-fi-fantasy, genre_romantic-suspense, heat-level_sweet, 5-star, relationship_ir-mc, heroine-black, hero-white

I never have been a big fan of historicals or period pieces and usually I find life before the electronic era less than appealing to my mental palate. (I can’t even imagine using a chamber pot, an outhouse, or having to draw baths. No microwaves, indoor plumbing or TV?) But when I finished Dark Genesis the only word I could come up with to describe it was…WOW.

The tale begins with our narrator, named Dallas, a woman who has an odd portent in the middle of the night on her way home when a stranger I never have been a big fan of historicals or period pieces and usually I find life before the electronic era less than appealing to my mental palate. (I can’t even imagine using a chamber pot, an outhouse, or having to draw baths. No microwaves, indoor plumbing or TV?) But when I finished Dark Genesis the only word I could come up with to describe it was…WOW.

The tale begins with our narrator, named Dallas, a woman who has an odd portent in the middle of the night on her way home when a stranger asks her for a lighter. She walks away from the encounter with the odd feeling that she has narrowly escaped death. The story continues when Dallas digs through an old chest and finds an ancestor’s journal. And not just any diary of long forgotten memories about a vapid woman’s fears or minor triumphs of finding a spouse on the marriage market, no, this is the diary of a slave named Luna.

Luna is our narrator’s ancestor and just that quickly, the read spins back in time and into an entirely different mindset. One that I am hard pressed to understand with the modern luxuries of plentiful food, sleeping in, holding my own children at night, and doing what I please when I decide to do so. But reading the story made me take real stock of every blessing and gave me an appreciation for what I have been blessed with as I experienced the life of a house slave. Many of the experiences are gritty, riveting and penned with the near painful skills of Donald Goines’ novel Dopefiend.

The hero is simply amazing. Avery is not your average man, and that’s for good reason, as he is a vampire. But he’s kind, loving, absurdly gentle (even when he is at his worst), and unlike any other person Luna has ever known. He loves Luna and not even because she is a beautiful house slave, but for her mind and heart instead.

She teaches him to walk among the living once more and he taught her to (gasp) read and write. She prods him into relearning what a conscience is, and he teaches her what sacrifices for loved ones truly means. Dark Genesis is an amalgam of Twilight and Alex Haley’s Roots. As it would take an hour to even fully explain that statement, I won’t even try to start what I can’t finish.

The only cons that I noted were with margin justification and pacing in parts. Some of the paragraphs were unbearably chunky, but with a plot and writing of this caliber, those issues were quickly rendered unimportant.

Is this story worth reading? The only answer to that is a resounding yes. I sat in front of my laptop and refused to close the lid of my PC until this story was finished. Honestly, I’m a Nook girl and the fact that I had to use my computer was of no consequence, even when I was forced to chain myself to the wall to charge in the middle of the story. This is the first in a trilogy and I will be reading the other two as soon as I can get my hands on them.

-Reviewed by: Jennifer ...more

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May 02, 2012 Shomeret rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, my-reviews

Is this a romance? I've seen other reviews say so, but there's a strong implication that there's no HEA (Happily Ever After). HEA is a defining characteristic of romance. There is such a thing as "dark fantasy" and it can have romantic relationships (e.g. work by Jacqueline Carey). I'm thinking that this book belongs more in the dark historical fantasy category than paranormal romance. It is an unconventional book and therefore difficult to categorize.

I really liked the concept of a slave being ...more

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Aug 22, 2013 Starapple rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Good book. A must read in my opinion.

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Aug 20, 2013 The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears marked it as ir-to-reads · review of another edition

Against my better judgment, I'm going to read this in spite of the setting being the antebellum South and dealing with slavery, and vampires. Three things that are normally a total turn-off.

I will say the cover is absolutely stunning. ...more

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May 29, 2013 Alicia McCalla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

When I downloaded Dark Genesis, I was prepared for another simple story of a Black woman slave who falls in love with a White master. This story took me on a roller coaster ride that mixed all of the things that I love. I couldn't stop reading this until I finished it. The paranormal elements were steeped in African tradition and there was this connection to slavery and America that was interwoven in an intriguing manner. I was taken aback by the truthful showing of the brutality of slavery but ...more

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Aug 27, 2015 Emma Harlow rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: heroine-is-black, romance-is-interracial, snooze-fest, disappointment, what-plot, spn-creature-human, vampires, slavery, heroine-is-lovable, hero-is-a-sweetheart

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 01, 2013 Mstcat rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, own

I read Dark Genesis last March before I started regularly reviewing books. I was captivated by this story and couldn't put it down but I feel like I need to re-read so that it's fresh in my mind before I write a thorough review. I do recommend it however, especially since I've read similar books more recently that makes this one stand out in terms of how well it was executed. New review coming soon! ...more

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