Reviewed by Nikyta
Title: The End of Darkness
Author: Shea Balik
Series: Druid’s Curse #1
Heroes: Ryley & Eirik
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 199 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 15, 2019
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Ryley Duggan resented his family for forcing him home on his twenty-first birthday to perform another stupid fire ritual, instead of letting him go out and get shit-faced like normal people his age. He’d never believed in the stories his grandmother told him about the reason behind what they were doing. That was, until he walked outside to the bonfire to see bloodcurdling creatures that no Hollywood studio had ever come close to replicating, killing his family.
Since an early age, Eirik had one job, to protect the descendants of the one who’d cursed him and his friends. It hadn’t been what he’d ever imagined for his life, but after nearly a millennia Eirik had learned one thing, life never went as planned. Never had that been truer than when he’d rescued Ryley from certain death.
Now the two must learn to work together to save humanity. Will all be lost? Or will they discover a way to heal their hearts by opening themselves up to love?
WARNING: Unseelie monsters run amok in this story!
Review:
I was pleasantly surprised by this one! I started out not really know what I was getting into because while I had read the blurb a while ago, I didn’t really remember what it was about but once I passed chapter one, I was sucked into the story. So far, I love the idea behind this series and that Ryley is a Druid that’s being hunted by the Fae and their monsters. I love that Eirik comes to his rescue and how Ryley instantly hates Eirik for not being able to save his family. It was interesting seeing Eirik struggle with being calm in the wake of Ryley’s rage but that’s why I loved Eirik and he was so fierce and protective, too! I just loved him so much, he literally melted my heart. The relationship that Ryley and Eirik build during their time together was really sweet, though. I loved that Eirik was so patient and I loved that Ryley struggled with what’s happening and how he now has this burden of keeping his family’s traditions alive. Once I really got into the story, I couldn’t put it down!
But this one did start a bit rocky for me because I’m not a huge fan of authors who have prologues (in this case it’s really chapter one) start before the rest of the story happens. I don’t know why but it’s always so jarring for me and when I realized chapter two happens two days before chapter one, I almost didn’t bother continuing but I’m glad I did because things got better after that, no more ‘time hops’ or ‘flashbacks’. However, while that was my biggest pet peeve, I will say Ryley annoyed me quite a bit. He was adamant that he was an adult and all that because he’s twenty-one but yet, he acted like a child most of the time. It really pissed me off that he grew up as he did but yet had no idea about his history or culture. That, to me, is beyond ridiculous because even when you don’t want to know something or care about it, hearing it and seeing it happen over and over again for twenty-one years, you should at least retain some of that information and Ryley never did. It really annoyed me that he had no idea about his history at all and just showed how selfish and self-absorbed he was.
All in all, though, I did enjoy this one even if I didn’t like Ryley all that much. I did love Ryley and Eirik together and adored Eirik beyond belief. I can’t wait to see what happens next and hope we don’t have to wait long for the second book.
Overall Impression: I really liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
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