The In-Between Place

The premise of Dark Child was appealing, though its execution left much to be desired. It started off very slowly and couldn't keep my attention - to the point where it took me two weeks to finally finish reading it. I wasn't invested in any of the characters and there was virtually no character growth; Kat was far too passive and willing to accept whatever she was told, the love interests (because of course there had to be a love triangle) were subject to the typical hero and bad boy archetypes, and the villain didn't even seem that bad. It wasn't until halfway through the book, when the unalil were introduced, that the action picked up and I became interested enough to read to the end. Unfortunately, the ending was quite abrupt: nothing was really resolved, leaving me with a feeling of disappointment and more questions than answers.

Despite this, Dark Child possessed a few redeeming qualities. Shape-shifters and vampires are quite prominent in paranormal fiction, and West managed to provide a fresh take on these supernatural beings and the legends and lore surrounding them. If I hadn't been told that Dark Child was originally released in five episodes, I wouldn't have guessed it: there were no obvious breaks or awkward transitions.

Overall, while Dark Child was much different from The Mortal Instruments, it was very similar to many other paranormal novels that I've read: cliched, enjoyable at times, and completely forgettable.

This review can also be found at The In-Between Place. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.