I had heard excellent things about A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang and it turns out that everyone was right. I loved it! I was quite impressed with the fresh and complex world Pang created. The reader is dropped directly into the story and left to figure things out without any excessive infodumps. That style doesn’t always work, leaving the reader too confused, but I think this author pulled it off nicely. The heroine, Abby, was relatively new to the OtherWorld, giving the author an easy way to pull the reader into the world without it feeling clunky.
Abby was in a bad place mentally six months ago and did something rash. She signed a contract making her the TouchStone of the Protectorate in return for seven years of agelessness and a wish granted upon fulfillment of the contract. She also got an enchanted iPod thrown in for good measure. She had no clue what she was getting herself into and the situation is made worse by the fact that the faery she’s contracted to, Moira, hasn’t bothered to teach her much about the new world she’s a part of. When the book opens we see that Abby has been holding down the fort alone for the past couple months. Moira left her a vague note and disappeared. As Abby finds herself pulled into a search for some missing succubi she finds her lack of knowledge getting her into one bad spot after another.
I really liked Abby. Her personality made her very approachable for the reader. She had some baggage that made her insecure and vulnerable, but she didn’t let it turn her into a whiner. She didn’t let people get close too easily and she tended to lie to herself, but who could blame her? She was witty and occasionally self deprecating and had an easy charm to her. She was fully aware that she was in over her head, but she did her best to keep her chin up and brazen her way through it. She found herself in hot water again and again, the last one to realize how she had messed up, but I think she handled herself very well. She had her moments of ignorance and obliviousness, but she never strayed into the TSTL territory.
Brystion was another surprise. He was brooding and sexy and had his jerk moments (often in the beginning), which I expected, but he also was surprisingly thoughtful and sad. He struggled with his feelings of inferiority and unworthiness. His worry over a future between them rang true for me. Hooking up with someone like an incubus is not going to be easy. They may have laughed about him being a walking orgasm and may have teased each other about the his powers of seduction, but the reality of what he is and what he does is not something to take lightly. The author did a great job with making him likable and sympathetic, despite some of his more mercenary qualities. Actually, maybe because of those very qualities. It’s hard to fault someone for intense loyalty.
In addition to Abby and Brystion, Pang created a wonderful set of secondary characters that gave us a glimpse of many different creatures in the four paths. I loved quite a few of them, including Phineas, the adorable little unicorn, but I could have quite cheerfully beaten the crap out of Robert. Man, that angel was a giant douche. I could do with less of him in the next book. I liked that the author managed to make each of Abby’s friends have a bit of depth to them. That’s quite an impressive feat considering how many characters there were and that the main characters were never shortchanged.
Pang has a very readable voice that made the pages turn quickly. She easily shifted between funny and serious without ever jarring the reader. This one didn’t end on a cliffhanger but not everything was wrapped up at the end. I am quite eager to see what she has in store for us in the second book.
Favorite Quote:
“Throw me a goddamned rope!” I wasn’t sure if he could hear me, given the howl of the wind, but he signaled my words with a shrug.
“I tried to bring one, but it couldn’t come through the *bleep*.” His voice was husky, a midnight fury laced with the metallic edge of bullets. He paused. “Hold on! I’ve got something here, but it won’t be quite long enough, so you’re going to have to time it with the waves.”
“You’d better not be talking about your dick. I mean, you’re well hung and all, but it’s a Shadow Realm, not Fantasyland,” I snorted, trying not to laugh.
Rating: A
A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang
January 25th 2011 by Pocket
Series
GoodReads Reviews
Samantha’s Review
Amazon || Barnes & Noble
About Catherine
Hopefully the next book is good too
I do tend to pick those who suffer from 2nd book syndrome
I am sad to say that I tend to do that too. I’m reading the second book now, so we’ll see.
Congrats on a great review Allison! Well earned.
Allison Pang has a really fantastic voice. I rarely connect with the humour in books, but I think you hit the nail on the head with reason why it works so well in this case. The humour is balanced with a lot of other emotions that are just as real and forceful. It never overshadowed the story. Plus, it feel genuine for that character to use humour as a protective element (as opposed to the humour being simply part of the author’s narrative style, if that makes sense?). I found the actual plot, while quite different that other UF, still predictable. The mystery unravelled for me much quicker than it did for the characters. That aside, I’m really looking forward to book #2.
That makes total sense. I was surprised by some things in the story, but on the whole I figured it out way before the characters too.
An A read! That’s awesome to see as I’ve had this on my TBR for a while. I even have a signed copy from Ms. Pang that I bought from her at RWA, too! Score!
Thanks for the review, Catherine. You’ve made me more eager to read it now!
I hope you enjoy it!
Another series for the wishlist, nice review Catherine, thank you! Looking forward to your review of book 2.
There’s always a new series waiting to tempt you, isn’t there? I hope you enjoy it when you read it.