Book Review
Title: Dark Reflections
Author: Kelsey Ketch
Genre: NA/Dark Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: I haven’t read much new adult dark fantasy so when I was offered the chance to review Dark Reflections I jumped at it because it sounded very interesting. The opening to Dark Reflection was definitely dark as we are introduced to our protagonist Alana Jones, who is a vampire as she awakes to find she has killed her latest donor, Xander and has to get rid of his body while she lives with another vampire, Charissa. Alana has been a vampire for over a year but tries desperately to deny her nature but it has led to the many deaths of the men and boys Charissa kidnaps. Charissa is apparently an ancient vampire trapped inside a mirror by a witch doctor and went Alana bought the cursed mirror, Charissa bit her meaning she is now able to possess Alana’s body at night. Alana works as an artist to support herself and Charissa even though she doesn’t want to as well as selling some artefacts but on a trip to the mainland she runs into a boy who happens to become Charissa’s next donor. Cole believes it is a prank but we can see that Alana only has some snippets of memories from the night before when Charissa was in control and Cole only knows her as Charissa, but he isn’t happy when she refuses to release him.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Cole has been trapped on the island with Charissa and Alana for over a week and twice he has attacked her. The first time she told him on the 5th day he would be released from his bindings and that he should kill her so it would all be over then, or at least until Charissa possessed someone else but Alana doesn’t really care about that as the sixteen deaths are threatening her sanity more and more each day. Alana also has an attraction to Cole that she is trying to deal with while trying to keep him alive long enough to get off the island once and for all. We also get numerous scene of Alana interacting with Charissa’s other victims and how they ended up on the island and how more than once she has tried to befriend them only for them to die in the end so she stopped trying but that doesn’t seem possible with Cole. As the pair try and find some normalcy in their routine Alana can’t explain why she is the way she is because it would make her seem even more crazy than she already seems.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Cole is attempting to get the boat up and running on the island and he has also become aware of the two personalities within Alana’s body and believes she has multiple personality disorder or something similar when the truth is far darker than that. Alana is very interesting to follow but the tiny snippets that we see of when Charissa is in control give some glimpses to what she does and where she goes but everything is really taking on Alana’s mind. As time moves on, Alana learns that Cole’s uncle, Clive Bowen is looking for him and as he found one of Alana’s artworks in his hostel lockers he bought all of her works and it seems that Charissa actions might be catching up with her as people are investigating the 11 murders in the past years which is amazing for Alana as she might be able to get rid of Charissa that way but she and Cole also seem to be building a small friendship between them. However, things might be getting dangerous when Cole removes one of Charissa’s diaries from the library, a place he has been banned from entering along with Alana’s room. So far, I was really enjoying the novel and I can’t wait to see what happens to both Cole and Alana as the story progresses but I am waiting for her to tell him the truth of her situation so they can start finding a way to break the curse binding Charissa to Alana’s body.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, the pair begin to get closer and they even tell each other about families which was nice, especially since Alana hasn’t had a real human connection that hasn’t ended in death since before Charissa brought her to the island. Cole is also proving to be an asset to her as he is trying to figure out to get off the island but that won’t help Alana since she needs to get rid of Charissa first but she still hasn’t told Cole about being possessed by a vampire yet but given their developing bond I don’t think he will think she is crazy as he has seen the two distinct personalities for himself. However, we are aware Xander lasted the longest and he was only Charissa’s donor for two months, and with every day that passes it is more and more likely Cole will end up dead before either of them can get off the island and away from Charissa. Cole and Alana become closer but after Charissa steal $5,000 from Alana they have an argument which Cole happens to walk in on.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Charissa is able to take control of Alana even during the day but she fights back to save Cole. Afterwards she tells him the true story of why he is on the island and he explains that some of the previous donors have been trying to figure out the mystery surrounding her and one managed to translate a scroll that possibly related to Charissa’s origins and the way to break the curse is definitely housed in the library somewhere they just have to find it. However, the fact that Charissa seems to be getting stronger is concerning as she can now control Alana’s body during the day and previously kept her asleep for one day and two nights so their time might be running out to do something about her. During the day they search for the library for the cure to Alan’s curse and we learn a lot more about Charissa and her origins and even I feel a little sorry for this woman. Until one day they find the missing diary they have been looking for, the one they are sure will hold the answers they need.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Charissa is taking advantage of Cole’s ability to wake Alana from the slumber she puts her soul in when she is in control. She tries to force Cole to give in to what she wants but he constant refuses her which drives her mad. However, she has been learning about Cole’s history and uses it as a way to bring out the darkness in him and even confesses that she would love to turn him into a vampire and harness that darkness inside of him. When she realises that Cole isn’t going to break that easily she turns her anger and hostility towards Alana, knowing that she is his weakness and I am wondering if both of them will stay strong enough to get rid of Charissa once and for all. The diary doesn’t contain any information of use, almost like Charissa didn’t put it in there. However, Alana remembers seeing a Bible in a pawn shop being sold by a woman who practices Voodoo and she has a lightbulb moment. She blackmails her regular buyer for the woman’s contact information in the hopes she can save Cole who has basically given up hope but Alana is fighting with everything she has to save them both.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Alana finds the woman who provides her with a charm to allow Charissa to continue sleeping while she meets with a man that evening who might have the information she needs about getting rid of Charissa once and for all. It turns out the man is meeting is also a vampire and the one who warned her about the mirror in the first place. He tells Alana the truth of what happened the night Charissa was trapping in the mirror and gets her everything she needs to get rid of Charissa once and for all. As payment for his help Alana willingly lets him feed from her and he gives her one final warning that she might not survive the reversal but it has to be done tonight so she and Cole can be free but I am wondering whether Cole will listen to Alana and stay away while she performs the reversal. I don’t want to talk much about the ending but what happens next and when we learn the true identity of the mysterious vampire helping Alana I was jumping for joy at the fact Charissa finally got what she deserved even if it wasn’t in the manner I was expecting. The first half of Dark Reflections was pretty slow but it really picks up after that and it was divine. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a slightly different take on the vampire genre.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy from YA Bound Blog Tours.
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