Darkness Watching (Darkworld #1) by Emma L. Adams | UK New Adult Paranormal Book Review

Darkness Watching (Darkworld #1)
Emma L. Adams
Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural
Age Group: Upper Young Adult/ New Adult
Publication Date: 30th September 2013
Number of Pages: 387
Source: Xpresso Blog Tours & Author

Add to your TBR shelf:	Grab yourself a copy now:
	Amazon UK Amazon US

Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she’s losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits– and the darkness is staring back. 

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere – little knowing that it isn’t coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world. 

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life – but demons still stalk Ash, and their interest in her has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she’s looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is. 

In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be..

Author Bio

Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy and paranormal for young adults. She was born in Birmingham, UK, which she fled at the first opportunity to study English Literature at Lancaster University. In her three years at Lancaster, she hiked up mountains, skydived in Australia, and endured a traumatic episode involving a swarm of bees in the Costa Rican jungle. She also wrote various novels and short stories. These included her first publication, a rather bleak dystopian piece, and a disturbing story about a homicidal duck (which she hopes will never see the light of day).

Now a reluctant graduate, she can usually be found in front of her writing desk, creating weird and wonderful alternative worlds. Her debut novel The Puppet Spell, published in 2013 by Rowanvale Books, is a fantasy tale for young adults and the young at heart, inspired by her lifelong love of the fantastical, mythology, and video games. Emma also writes supernatural fantasy novels for older teens and adults. Her next book, Darkness Watching, is the first in the upper-YA/New Adult Darkworld series, and will be published in September 2013 by Curiosity Quills Press.

Author Links:
Website: http://emmaladams.weebly.com/
Blog: http://throughthegateway.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ELAdams12?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ELAdams12
Goodreads profile: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6563991.Emma_L_Adams

Darkness Watching is a fantastic story set in the UK about a new University fresher, Ashlyn, who sees super creepy purple eyes staring at her in the most inconvenient places. Her first encounter of the mysterious eyes is during one of her college exams and her mind is set alight with thoughts on what they could be and whether anyone is able to see them. However, the eyes are soon the least of Ashlyn's troubles and University applications take over Ashlyn's time. As time pass, Ashlyn's starts to lose all hope of being accepted by any of them, but then she finally receives an acceptance letter from Blackstone, a rural small town University with the perfect English Literature course.

As Ashlyn settles in to the joys and not so happy aspects of being a University fresher, she also starts to learn more about the purple eyes which have continued to stalk her since that day. As events unfold she starts to mistrust her new friends and questions those who are suppose to be helping her. In the end though, not everything is what is seems and maybe her suspicions about someone where true...

Darkness Watching was such an enjoyable read and a lovely paranormal University fresher set story, not something I've come across before, especially not set in the UK. Emma L. Adams manages to capture the fresher lifestyle perfectly and doesn't spoil the story by involving lots of the mad partying and drinking. I'd certainly say this is an Upper Young Adult story due to the University lifestyle however the content was not as 'adult' as most New Adult novels which I actually liked about it. There the odd swear word and reference to sexual content but nothing you wouldn't hear in a high school playground. (Or was that just my school :-S).

The supernatural content to the Darkness Watching story was also interesting and as the story develops and I found out more and more about Ashlyn's abilities and heritage, I got more and more gripped by the story. The final few chapters were my favourites as the twists and turns just kept coming and I wasn't sure how the book was going to end. Definitely recommend for all paranormal and fantasy fans.

Grand prize giveaway

Prize (open internationally): One paperback copy of Darkness Watching

a Rafflecopter giveaway