Today I am going to review the entire trilogy of Gods & Monsters by Kelly Keaton. Worry not, there wont be any spoilers for those who haven’t read the whole series. I will be just briefly talking about the plot, characters, and stuff.
The Darkness Becomes Her trilogy by Kelly Keaton follows Aristanae, a girl who has for a long time been uncertain about her origins. Having been adopted at a young age, she has no clue about her birth parents or why there is a sense of discomfort deep within her. One day she ventures into the forbidden area of New 2 – where everyone isn’t quite normal – with the purpose to find more about herself. What she discovers is far from anything she could’ve ever imagined. Regardless of how much she wants to deny the truth, it all makes sense and she must learn to accept the choices made for her. But here too, amidst the whispered glances, she sees a kind of wariness in others. As the book progresses, faces of demons from history loom before her. One wrong decision and New 2 is once again reduced to dust. And this time it will be all her fault.
A Beautiful Evil and The Wicked Within pick up after heart wrenching cliff hangers. A War. Many Losses and A New Threat. People who once stood by her are being flung off the game board and soon she must be strong enough to escape a prison that no one has before. Filled with lots of shocks and surprises, the trilogy is a piece of wonder and addiction. Ari is not only being pitted against a God far more experienced than herself but must also face the rigid heads of New 2 when the Hands of Zeus, a relic integral to establishing peace in New 2, goes missing.
I read these books months back and didn’t get a chance to review them. But they are so terrific and not many people know about it, so I just want to hold a banner and scream how awesome this trilogy is. Firstly the plot – brilliant concept! Who would’ve thought that Kelly Keaton could take a villain of mythology and bring out her side of the story. Not many people give that kind of importance to the anti heroes and so Kudos to the author for even thinking of such a perspective. All three books were very well thought out and there weren’t any draggy sequences. When New Orleans was destroyed years ago, three founding families came together and rebuilt it as New 2. But the secrets of the three founding families has made it a “weird personnel only” area and even the Government has washed their hands off New 2 & its inhabitants. Ari is really brave for even stepping foot into such a place but soon she grows close to a family of youngsters there – Sebastian, Violet, Crank, Henri and Dub. I think building a house of kids and teens who work for each other was another plus point of the novel. They really help her figure things out.
The romance in the novel revolves around Ari and Sebastian. Which made the third book all the more disheartening. Ari makes a huge mistake and we as readers are left clutching what is left of a shattered heart and mind. Yeah, that’s how much drawn I was to the trilogy. Sebastian’s grandmother who is the head of one of the families is a rather annoying and meddlesome character. I really adored Violet and her fascination with gowns, masks. She made me think of a cute little crocodile, for some reason. The book focuses on Pandora’s story too as well as that of some Greek Gods. I have loved New Orleans ever since The Originals and this book had tons of that, so thumbs up! With a new take on mythology and fantasy, Kelly Keaton deserves a standing ovation for a job so brilliantly done. Overall, one of the best trilogy I’ve read in a long long time.
Ratings – 5 stars on 5.
Mia
The Life Stories 