Title: Darkness
Author: Karen Robards
Series: n/a
Interesting original story, lots of beautiful detail, a solid win for Robards
This book was fantastic! I have only three or four-ish problems with it, and honestly, they’re nitpicking, because it was overall a solid piece of work, in my opinion. I may reveal a few spoilers.
First and most inconsequential, the cover design. It’s beautiful, I absolutely love it–hot pink is my favorite color!–but it 100% clashes with the content and the title. It looks whimsical and seductive and feminine and sexy–which is perfect, for a novel of pure, flowery, cheesy romance. But this is romantic suspense with a sense of harsh reality, and I just think it would have made more sense to do something that included elements of the Alaskan environment, or at the very least made the colors shades of gray, white, and blue. They should have done a foggy, mysterious picture of dark clouds to represent the weather, which played a huge role in the book. I realize the author doesn’t have a whole lot of control over it, and the purpose of cover art is marketing and day-glo is trending, but still, they could have done something a little more relevant to the story.
Second, there were some really weird page breaks. I don’t know if that’s how Robards wrote it, or just how it was edited and sent to print. I don’t remember her using breaks so liberally before, at least not so jarringly. Usually page breaks are used to mark a switch in point of view or scene, but sometimes they’re used as a dramatic pause when the character has a startling revelation or is surprised by something. An in-story cliffhanger, if you will–Sandra Brown has it down to an art–but there’s usually still a change in scene or voice afterward. However, most of these breaks were used as dramatic pauses, but then the text continued in the same scene, in the same voice, and I really think a lot of them weren’t necessary at all. They should have just kept the paragraphs together; as it was, the breaks interrupted the flow, and every time I had to take a moment to mentally regroup and re-immerse myself in the scene that I was tricked into thinking was over.
Lastly, the end was anticlimactic. Their harrowing escape wasn’t harrowing, and pinning the tail on the treasonous donkey was a matter of verifying his identity, then slapping the cuffs on him. I never doubted that they’d make it out alive and unscathed. Everything wrapped up neatly and quietly–and tediously. Nothing caught me off guard, no huge twist that had me going, “Holy crap, I did NOT see that coming!”
Regarding the main characters, Gina and Cal, I liked them and cared about them quite a bit…but I never connected with them on a real, personal level. They remained well-constructed characters in a story to me, and I’m not sure I felt like I’d gotten to know them very well by the end. They didn’t overwhelm me with charisma and personality. It was like…they were the characters they needed to be for the purposes of the story. They said what they needed to say, thought what they needed to think, and did what they needed to do to be relevant to the plot and move it along. Looking back, they seemed like really personable plot devices. Which isn’t fair, because of course the characters had to be relevant and move the plot along, or they wouldn’t have been in the story. But it was almost mechanical, everything they said and did perfectly timed within the schedule of the story.
But aside from those minor issues, I really, REALLY enjoyed this book. The pace was steady, the tone consistent, and everything, from the weather to the wildlife to the landscape to the terrifying close encounters with death, was beautifully described. I believe Robards took a trip to Alaska and did some practical research for this book, and it shows. I had the sense that she knew what she was talking about. While its essential elements have been used before–the person you’re supposed to trust is the one out to kill you, you’re left to your own devices to survive in the wilderness, etc.–Robards put it all together in a fresh way I’ve never encountered before, and what made it so captivating was its sense of originality.
My favorite part was the parachute scene. That kiss was absolutely adorable 😉
