drey's library

I really enjoyed the combination of mythology, paranormal, and post-apocalyptic New Orleans in Kelly Keaton's (aka Kelly Gay) first YA urban fantasy. The heroine, Ari, is a seventeen-year-old orphan looking for answers--who's her birth mother? Why did she give Ari up? And what exactly is it that makes her so weird?What she finds takes her to "New 2", the now privately-owned former city of vampires and magic where misfits gather and an ancient Goddess lurks. And Ari discovers there's a curse on her line that is passed from mother to daughter, from forever and a day ago. Determined to be the one who beats the curse, Ari makes a stand. Only, is she strong enough to win? Especially when she doesn't know what she is, and her opponent is a very very strong Goddess?If you're a fan of the genre, you'll love Darkness Becomes Her. Ari is stubborn and headstrong, and refuses to budge on her principles. The band of misfits she finds in New 2 are basically background, except for Sebastian (the boy--there's always a boy) and Violet, a little girl with fangs and a pet alligator. Or was it a crocodile? I forget. But I love Violet.The action starts at the beginning, and doesn't stop till the end, when Ari once again stands up for herself--and makes enough sense to sway the adults to her way of looking at things. Along the way she learns a bit about trust, and a bit about love. I will definitely pick up the sequel--A Beautiful Evil comes out in February 2012.