The Dark Lines Book Two: When Darkness Falls

Blake was adopted after his birth mother abused him and gave him away. His adoptive mother has always been great to him but he never told her the reason way his birth mother beat him, that he has psychic abilites. Always a loner, Blake meets Faith who has abilites like him, and they become fast friends. Blake and Faith know that the shack near Faith's home is evil and it is rumored that people who enter the shack mysteriously disappear. They must try to figure out how to defeat it before other people in their small town disappear.

This is the second book in a series, but When Darkness Falls could easily be read alone as its own book. I had not read the first book and was able to follow the story without any trouble at all.

The plot was good and the characters well developed, this was the case in some places more than others. The attention to detail of how someone who had gone through Child Services would feel and react to their surroundings was in some places unique and true, in others a little overused, mostly when plot points were needed to explain away why something was happening that may have felt out of place otherwise. Once you know why someone is closed off, the repetition becomes a little much, but is still manageable.

The story is your typical teenage saga show more of fighting evil that is trying to take over your town. The difference here is that everyone has some kind of psychic power or is given the power by the evil entity that is out to get the hero. It would have been a little easier to believe if a handful of people had these gifts, but every few chapters another would pop up and it began to feel somewhat out of the realm of possibility. Not really a problem either, since a story of fighting evil with psychic powers is considered to not really be in the realm of possibility anyway.

For the most part I enjoyed reading. The section where I assume they are rehashing the previous book was a little difficult to get through, since a lot of that interaction felt forced onto the readers, as if every action and reaction, every thought and word had to be explained away and given excuses for. There were many very well described moments within the pages as well, mostly dealing with the feelings left behind after being given up by an abusive parent and what it is like to grow up with those feelings. Overall, I enjoyed reading because I was interested to see how the story would turn out.

Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. show less

When Darkness Falls started off good, but my main problem with it was that there was too much exposition through dialogue (and a lot of it was repetitive). Consequently, I felt detached from the characters because they weren't individual; they lacked a voice of their own. They all seemed to talk the same way and felt more to me like cardboard cutouts than actual people.

The concept for this book was a good one, but more showing, less telling, and better fleshing out of the characters would have given it the depth it deserved.

I normally cannot start a series out of order. However this book was very easy to read and get into. It could be a stand alone book. Its a great "good vs. evil" story with lots a twists that keep you guessing! That characters are all very likeable and you find yourself becoming attached to them!

This was an overall good read. It was fast paced and had an interesting premise. Blake has powers and hasn't come to terms with using them. He isolates himself, until he finds Faith who can understand him. The two feel they have to come together to save their town. It was suspense filled, interesting, and I am looking forward to the rest of this series!

Interesting twist to the “Good vs Evil” stories.

Blake was severely abused by his natural mother as a child. Luckily a wonderful woman took him and adopted him, treating him as her own.

Because of what had happened when he was young, his natural mother making everyone think he was crazy, he learned how to be happy alone and shut out the rest of the world, even blocking his mind from others.

While at school he meets a new girl, Faith, who lets him know he is not alone with his abilities. He makes a few new friends and learns what evil things are happening at “The Shack” and that it has happened before.

His new friends help him learn how to battle the evil that is at the shack and the mysterious disappearances that have been show more happening.

Lots of twists and turns along the way. Loaded with suspense and action. show less

librarything early reviewers book.

I really enjoyed this book. i was a bit worried coz with it being book 2 but it dosn't read as part of a series.

The main characters are likeable and well rounded and the story is engaging. Although the main character is a boy i think this would appeal more to teen girls. Classic good vs evil story.