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A review by avoicefromthelighthouse
A Broken Darkness by Premee Mohamed
3.0
Hot take: the sequel is way better than the first book.
But okay, I have such a conflicted relationship with this series. I want to love them, and I did go out and buy the sequel right away, so clearly something's working. I love Johnny and Nick's banter, I love their horrifying but ultimately addictive relationship, and I love the evocations of different cities with such rich detail. And, of course, stellar monster content.
But there's just some sloppy editing that throws me out of the story over and over again. (I don't actually think this is Mohamed's fault; I think it's her editor's). By this I'm referring to repetition of the same information, or contradicting things already revealed. (There's one scene, in particular, where Johnny reveals something and Nick is all 'ANoTHeR LiE?!" when actually, that exact piece of info about Johnny's deal was revealed to us already in book 1. #nospoilers). Nick also has the same kinds of thoughts over and over and over again. And that clearly IS intentional - to dive into moral conundrums and character introspection. But I do find that sometimes it gets too heavy handed. Minor flaws, though. I'm still obviously very invested in this story!
Also, Nick needs to stop wandering off. Seriously Nick, why do you always go for a walk? WHY?
But okay, I have such a conflicted relationship with this series. I want to love them, and I did go out and buy the sequel right away, so clearly something's working. I love Johnny and Nick's banter, I love their horrifying but ultimately addictive relationship, and I love the evocations of different cities with such rich detail. And, of course, stellar monster content.
But there's just some sloppy editing that throws me out of the story over and over again. (I don't actually think this is Mohamed's fault; I think it's her editor's). By this I'm referring to repetition of the same information, or contradicting things already revealed. (There's one scene, in particular, where Johnny reveals something and Nick is all 'ANoTHeR LiE?!" when actually, that exact piece of info about Johnny's deal was revealed to us already in book 1. #nospoilers). Nick also has the same kinds of thoughts over and over and over again. And that clearly IS intentional - to dive into moral conundrums and character introspection. But I do find that sometimes it gets too heavy handed. Minor flaws, though. I'm still obviously very invested in this story!
Also, Nick needs to stop wandering off. Seriously Nick, why do you always go for a walk? WHY?