An offer of help to defeat Sebastian comes from Damien, the purest fallen. Who's Damien? You might know him better as the devil, aka Lucifer. Uh, yeah, that guy. Seems he's not just a pretty face, but the only fallen who has no hope of changing sides to become one of the Faithful. His job was, is, and always will be to sow despair among humankind. Then, as God has commanded, take back that despair and leave a little hope in its place. The meeting ends, but not as Samantha and Ethan thought it would. Sam is taken by an Exiled and held prisoner.
Has anybody ever told you not to make a deal with the devil? Really bad idea. There is always a price to pay and the price will be steep. Deals will not be stacked in your favor and will always be painful. But hey, Sam is a stubborn teenage girl, albeit eighteen years old, who can't seem to stand being told not to do something. When Sam wakes up, she's chained to a stone wall, being forced to listen as an Exiled tells her exactly how self-centered and selfish she has been behaving. Of course, she is only 18, her life as she knew it was sort of a lie, but Sam is over doing the whole "pity me" thing. She's about to get a new trainer, disappoint more than a few people and hurt one beyond endurance.
Before she can even wrap her head around everything, she has to deal with being the one the world is counting on to maintain balance. She doesn't want the job, not really. Sam wants everyone to tell her what to do, who to trust and they can't. She needs to figure these things out for herself. Her actions drive someone very close to her to make a deal signed in blood that will drive home some very painful realizations.
Hughes has outdone herself in this second installment of the Torn series. Darkness Betrayed is an amazing piece of work. She has nailed to perfection the attitude of the selfish teenager who goes about things without serious regard for how her actions and thoughts will impact those around her. The truth about the betrayal in Torn is revealed (not saying who in case you haven't read that one yet), but trust lost is hard to get back.
New characters are introduced, again, some you're going to love to hate, some you'll feel sorry for. Companions are lost in battle and hard lessons are learned. Sometimes, if you pound hard enough, the lesson does penetrate and take hold. Just don't expect anyone to feel sorry for you that you had to learn that lesson the hard way.
I loved Darkness Betrayed. I found myself empathizing with the characters, wanting to smack Samantha upside the head and tell her "wake up and smell the coffee." I (seriously) wanted to nail Damien to the wall and tell him "enough with the apples already." My chest felt heavy and I wanted to cry at the end. I had to ask Hughes "please tell me there's a book three coming." Yes. There is. Oh thank goodness.
Love, sacrifice, forgiveness, deceit, and treachery all combine in a beautifully crafted story. Well written, nearly perfect editing again. I want to tie her down to her computer then beg and grovel until she finishes the next one. This promises to be one of those series you recommend to your friends who enjoy the same books you do. Introduce them to this author; they'll thank you for it. 4 stars
I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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