zombiiex's review
4.0
I reviewed the prequel a couple of weeks earlier saying that i couldn’t wait for more adventures with Peyton and overall, i did enjoy this short read. I did feel like i was still in a prequel for like half of this short story. I mean, i’m glad we got more into Peyton’s drinking addiction, it is auch an interesting aspect of this series, but i felt like the whole “ghost” storyline was a bit rush in the second part. I wanted a bit more of it and i wanted to let the horror sink ii for a little while
longer. I mean, we hear about what’s happening in the house without really witnessing much of it. Since it’s the first book of the series, i’m gonna say it was just to introduce use to Peyton’s world and hopefully in the second one, we’ll get more horror. And i also hope we’ll stay away from some of the classics. No more ouija board. I want something fresh and fun. The prequel did a fantastic job giving us this creepy vibe and i want to see it continue in the rest of the series because i didn’t really get the same feeling with this one.I love the characters, they were all very enjoyable and fun to read. Oliva was a favorite of mine, i hope we’ll see more of her. The relationship between these two girls is fantastic. i’m all in for a good, strong, female friendship.
Even if i didn’t enjoy this first instalment as much as i expected, as much as the prequel, i did have a good time reading it. I will be reading the rest of the series, it’s hard to find an entertaining horror book, so i’m not letting this one go.
The Darkness Within : 3.5/5
longer. I mean, we hear about what’s happening in the house without really witnessing much of it. Since it’s the first book of the series, i’m gonna say it was just to introduce use to Peyton’s world and hopefully in the second one, we’ll get more horror. And i also hope we’ll stay away from some of the classics. No more ouija board. I want something fresh and fun. The prequel did a fantastic job giving us this creepy vibe and i want to see it continue in the rest of the series because i didn’t really get the same feeling with this one.I love the characters, they were all very enjoyable and fun to read. Oliva was a favorite of mine, i hope we’ll see more of her. The relationship between these two girls is fantastic. i’m all in for a good, strong, female friendship.
Even if i didn’t enjoy this first instalment as much as i expected, as much as the prequel, i did have a good time reading it. I will be reading the rest of the series, it’s hard to find an entertaining horror book, so i’m not letting this one go.
The Darkness Within : 3.5/5
emilykatereads's review
2.0
As the first book in this series, other than the prequel, this was really underwhelming. I loved the prequel and was excited to get into this series, but it lacked what the prequel had me anticipating.
This novella brings us into Peyton's life as an alcoholic and her journey to becoming sober through her AA meetings. The supernatural creeps back into her life and Peyton needs to make a decision about her abilities.
What this book did well was give us an interesting character and unique situation to follow.
However, I have a more extensive list of what this book didn't do well.
First off, the continuity from the prequel into this first book was really weird. In the prequel, Peyton already is working on lessening with the alcohol and had hit rock bottom already. But this book begins with her, again, hitting rock bottom with alcoholism. Next, beforehand when she weens herself off the drink, the struggle with the dead and spirits is intense. It makes it so much more realistic that she'd turn to drinking to cope. But in this book we go from her hitting rock bottom to suddenly 30 days sober with no instances of her seeing the dead being a problem meanwhile she lives over all these dead bodies . Why was this such a big thing in the prequel, an issue that manifests daily, suddenly turned into a localized issue in this book?
In my opinion, the prequel should have been the first book of the series because it introduces us to Peyton and her situation so much smoother and better. The jump from the prequel to this book is just very bumpy, and then we don't get much character development or description of her issue in this one. It's as if readers are expected to know, whereas if this is the first book of the series, readers should be able to start here without having expected to read the prequel. Like, I can read The Fellowship of the Ring without needing to have read The Hobbit and I still get a great experience with the first book. The prequel is just extra, but shouldn't be providing the more useful introduction.
Continuing from that, the actual paranormal element in this novella was lacklustre. We go more than 50% of the book before we get any supernatural aspects to our story. The beginning dragged on, and for being approx only 70 pages, you can't afford to have information that isn't necessary.
My next issues are more specific instances of word choice and comments made. The first one was the choice to use OCD as an adjective. Mental illnesses shouldn't be used as adjectives for things other than describing the actual mental illness. Peyton thinking her friend cares more about cleanliness does not automatically make her "OCD." Next is when Peyton jokes that Olivia must be gay because she doesn't date and Olivia was offended. Sexualities aren't jokes, and then the fact that Olivia was offended this suggestion displays a negative connotation to if someone were actually gay. This isn't okay. It's 2018, how about we let people mind their business over their dating preferences, and not act like being gay is an insult.
*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This novella brings us into Peyton's life as an alcoholic and her journey to becoming sober through her AA meetings. The supernatural creeps back into her life and Peyton needs to make a decision about her abilities.
What this book did well was give us an interesting character and unique situation to follow.
However, I have a more extensive list of what this book didn't do well.
First off, the continuity from the prequel into this first book was really weird. In the prequel, Peyton already is working on lessening with the alcohol and had hit rock bottom already. But this book begins with her, again, hitting rock bottom with alcoholism. Next, beforehand when she weens herself off the drink, the struggle with the dead and spirits is intense. It makes it so much more realistic that she'd turn to drinking to cope. But in this book we go from her hitting rock bottom to suddenly 30 days sober with no instances of her seeing the dead being a problem meanwhile she lives over all these dead bodies . Why was this such a big thing in the prequel, an issue that manifests daily, suddenly turned into a localized issue in this book?
In my opinion, the prequel should have been the first book of the series because it introduces us to Peyton and her situation so much smoother and better. The jump from the prequel to this book is just very bumpy, and then we don't get much character development or description of her issue in this one. It's as if readers are expected to know, whereas if this is the first book of the series, readers should be able to start here without having expected to read the prequel. Like, I can read The Fellowship of the Ring without needing to have read The Hobbit and I still get a great experience with the first book. The prequel is just extra, but shouldn't be providing the more useful introduction.
Continuing from that, the actual paranormal element in this novella was lacklustre. We go more than 50% of the book before we get any supernatural aspects to our story. The beginning dragged on, and for being approx only 70 pages, you can't afford to have information that isn't necessary.
My next issues are more specific instances of word choice and comments made. The first one was the choice to use OCD as an adjective. Mental illnesses shouldn't be used as adjectives for things other than describing the actual mental illness. Peyton thinking her friend cares more about cleanliness does not automatically make her "OCD." Next is when Peyton jokes that Olivia must be gay because she doesn't date and Olivia was offended. Sexualities aren't jokes, and then the fact that Olivia was offended this suggestion displays a negative connotation to if someone were actually gay. This isn't okay. It's 2018, how about we let people mind their business over their dating preferences, and not act like being gay is an insult.
*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
zombiieex's review
4.0
I reviewed the prequel a couple of weeks earlier saying that i couldn’t wait for more adventures with Peyton and overall, i did enjoy this short read. I did feel like i was still in a prequel for like half of this short story. I mean, i’m glad we got more into Peyton’s drinking addiction, it is auch an interesting aspect of this series, but i felt like the whole “ghost” storyline was a bit rush in the second part. I wanted a bit more of it and i wanted to let the horror sink ii for a little while
longer. I mean, we hear about what’s happening in the house without really witnessing much of it. Since it’s the first book of the series, i’m gonna say it was just to introduce use to Peyton’s world and hopefully in the second one, we’ll get more horror. And i also hope we’ll stay away from some of the classics. No more ouija board. I want something fresh and fun. The prequel did a fantastic job giving us this creepy vibe and i want to see it continue in the rest of the series because i didn’t really get the same feeling with this one.I love the characters, they were all very enjoyable and fun to read. Oliva was a favorite of mine, i hope we’ll see more of her. The relationship between these two girls is fantastic. i’m all in for a good, strong, female friendship.
Even if i didn’t enjoy this first instalment as much as i expected, as much as the prequel, i did have a good time reading it. I will be reading the rest of the series, it’s hard to find an entertaining horror book, so i’m not letting this one go.
The Darkness Within : 3.5/5
longer. I mean, we hear about what’s happening in the house without really witnessing much of it. Since it’s the first book of the series, i’m gonna say it was just to introduce use to Peyton’s world and hopefully in the second one, we’ll get more horror. And i also hope we’ll stay away from some of the classics. No more ouija board. I want something fresh and fun. The prequel did a fantastic job giving us this creepy vibe and i want to see it continue in the rest of the series because i didn’t really get the same feeling with this one.I love the characters, they were all very enjoyable and fun to read. Oliva was a favorite of mine, i hope we’ll see more of her. The relationship between these two girls is fantastic. i’m all in for a good, strong, female friendship.
Even if i didn’t enjoy this first instalment as much as i expected, as much as the prequel, i did have a good time reading it. I will be reading the rest of the series, it’s hard to find an entertaining horror book, so i’m not letting this one go.
The Darkness Within : 3.5/5
chloelouisejones's review
3.0
After reading the prequel to this book, The Leak of Madness, I would’ve liked to have learned a bit more about Peyton but I didn’t! I also found the storyline lacking. I was expecting a darker twist than what happened, it was all a bit as expected. Plenty of typos and repetition of paragraphs/sentences again. Needs more thorough proof reading. An alright novella but I want to feel/read more in the next!
bookwyrmbella's review
4.0
The story started out slow but by the end it picked up and was enjoyable. I was glad that Peyton finally accepted her purpose. It was great that she braved her fears to help her new friend. The two new characters were enjoyable and Olivia was more likeable this time too. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys light ghost stories.
candacerobinsonauthor's review
5.0
This is the second book I have read in this series. Well, technically this is the first book and the last one was a prequel. Anyway, what I'm a big fan of is that I can read these novellas quickly. I don't have to spend weeks with my slow-reading to get through it. I loved being in Peyton's head once again, and thank goodness she's cleaning up her act.
Peyton's life feels incredibly real, like she's an actual person with problems. Throw in a bit of the paranormal, and you have me entranced. The ghosty side is awesome! The only thing I missed was Jake!!!! But don't worry, even though he was missed by me, the book kept me glued to the pages!
Alice's writing is excellent, and I can't wait to see what's next for Peyton!!!
Peyton's life feels incredibly real, like she's an actual person with problems. Throw in a bit of the paranormal, and you have me entranced. The ghosty side is awesome! The only thing I missed was Jake!!!! But don't worry, even though he was missed by me, the book kept me glued to the pages!
Alice's writing is excellent, and I can't wait to see what's next for Peyton!!!
whatmeworry's review
3.0
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com. I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in return for a review.
Despite myself, I really enjoyed the first book (book 0) in the ‘Soul Seekers’ series. This second book (book 1) didn’t grab me as much. It’s not terrible, it just lacks the slightly crazy spark of energy that made ‘The Leak of Madness’ such fun.
Plot-wise it’s very similar. Heroine Peyton, a feisty young woman with a drink problem and the curse of being able to see ghosts, battles her drink problem and sees ghosts. In this instalment her personal story has moved on a bit, which was a plus. As alcoholic protagonists go, she’s not exactly up there with Lawrence Block’s brilliant Matt Scudder. It was good to see her story moving on though.
Whereas the first book was largely about her trying to get hold of drink, this one sees her trying to avoid it. She joins a local AA group and through that meets Adele. Adele has demons of her own, both the drink and a ghost which is haunting her home. You know how in Agatha Christie’s Poirot books it becomes almost a running joke that whenever the Belgian detective goes on holiday someone dies? I worry that the ‘Soul Seekers’ books are going to end up feeling like that, but without the glorious archness that make it work for Christie. Peyton just seems to happen across supernatural stuff that needs sorting out rather than actively looking for it. That passivity makes her a bit less engaging as a character than she might be otherwise. I'm hopeful that things will improve in the later books as she embraces her abilities.
It’s all very readable and the characters are entertaining enough. Besides Peyton, we get her friend Olivia (returning from the first book), haunted Adele and a local psychic called Sylvia. I suspect Sylvia might become part of the Soul Seekers team. Her wisdom of all things supernatural made a good counterpoint to Peyton’s confused naivety.
Like the first book it’s not really scary at all. In fact the supernatural element seems curiously underplayed. Peyton talks a fair bit about seeing ghosts, but the reader never really sees her do it. Instead Black tends to focus on the non-supernatural elements of her life. These are quite well written but lacking in tension or real drama. As a result it almost feels like half a book. Almost as if it was intended to be co-authored, but the other writer hasn’t gotten around to adding in the spooky bits yet. What's more, things all feel a bit easy for Peyton. This applies to both her personal battles as well as her encounters with the undead. She never really has to struggle, which is a shame as she's an engaging character and I'd like to see her pushed a bit harder.
I will persevere with the series, as Peyton is a fun character to read, but I’d like to see more scares. There’s nothing wrong with what is there, just an absence of detail and focus on the ghostly side of things. If Black can improve on that, and up the sense of peril a bit, I think the series could be really entertaining.
Despite myself, I really enjoyed the first book (book 0) in the ‘Soul Seekers’ series. This second book (book 1) didn’t grab me as much. It’s not terrible, it just lacks the slightly crazy spark of energy that made ‘The Leak of Madness’ such fun.
Plot-wise it’s very similar. Heroine Peyton, a feisty young woman with a drink problem and the curse of being able to see ghosts, battles her drink problem and sees ghosts. In this instalment her personal story has moved on a bit, which was a plus. As alcoholic protagonists go, she’s not exactly up there with Lawrence Block’s brilliant Matt Scudder. It was good to see her story moving on though.
Whereas the first book was largely about her trying to get hold of drink, this one sees her trying to avoid it. She joins a local AA group and through that meets Adele. Adele has demons of her own, both the drink and a ghost which is haunting her home. You know how in Agatha Christie’s Poirot books it becomes almost a running joke that whenever the Belgian detective goes on holiday someone dies? I worry that the ‘Soul Seekers’ books are going to end up feeling like that, but without the glorious archness that make it work for Christie. Peyton just seems to happen across supernatural stuff that needs sorting out rather than actively looking for it. That passivity makes her a bit less engaging as a character than she might be otherwise. I'm hopeful that things will improve in the later books as she embraces her abilities.
It’s all very readable and the characters are entertaining enough. Besides Peyton, we get her friend Olivia (returning from the first book), haunted Adele and a local psychic called Sylvia. I suspect Sylvia might become part of the Soul Seekers team. Her wisdom of all things supernatural made a good counterpoint to Peyton’s confused naivety.
Like the first book it’s not really scary at all. In fact the supernatural element seems curiously underplayed. Peyton talks a fair bit about seeing ghosts, but the reader never really sees her do it. Instead Black tends to focus on the non-supernatural elements of her life. These are quite well written but lacking in tension or real drama. As a result it almost feels like half a book. Almost as if it was intended to be co-authored, but the other writer hasn’t gotten around to adding in the spooky bits yet. What's more, things all feel a bit easy for Peyton. This applies to both her personal battles as well as her encounters with the undead. She never really has to struggle, which is a shame as she's an engaging character and I'd like to see her pushed a bit harder.
I will persevere with the series, as Peyton is a fun character to read, but I’d like to see more scares. There’s nothing wrong with what is there, just an absence of detail and focus on the ghostly side of things. If Black can improve on that, and up the sense of peril a bit, I think the series could be really entertaining.
onemamareads's review
4.0
3.5 stars
A very interesting story about a young woman, Peyton, who is drowning the voices of ghosts by drinking herself into oblivion everyday. She is a strong character, dealing with the voices of ghosts on her own, scared to reveal the truth to anyone. She lives in fear of her abilities, of the dark spirits, of losing Olivia (the only person she has left).
It begins, once again, with Peyton waking from a drunken blackout, an unknown man beside her. Regret written all over her, and disgust with herself, her home and her whole situation seeping out of her tired mind. Peyton admits to her alcoholism and begins the hard road of recovery. She also admits to Olivia her reasons for drinking and the two of them work together to find a way to help her fix up her life (the alcoholism and her untidy home), then they consult a psychic to work on her connection with the spirit world.
This novella paints a sad portrait of an alcoholics life. It is vivid, sad, tortuously real. Every regret is palpable, but as a reader you understand Peyton's need to drown out these dark and horrifying voices. It is a quick read, full of potential, with interesting characters and a unique plot. I am continuously interested in finding out more about Peyton, how she came to see and hear ghosts, how she plans to fight the dark ones, what her future holds. I really found myself sucked into the story.
A very interesting story about a young woman, Peyton, who is drowning the voices of ghosts by drinking herself into oblivion everyday. She is a strong character, dealing with the voices of ghosts on her own, scared to reveal the truth to anyone. She lives in fear of her abilities, of the dark spirits, of losing Olivia (the only person she has left).
It begins, once again, with Peyton waking from a drunken blackout, an unknown man beside her. Regret written all over her, and disgust with herself, her home and her whole situation seeping out of her tired mind. Peyton admits to her alcoholism and begins the hard road of recovery. She also admits to Olivia her reasons for drinking and the two of them work together to find a way to help her fix up her life (the alcoholism and her untidy home), then they consult a psychic to work on her connection with the spirit world.
This novella paints a sad portrait of an alcoholics life. It is vivid, sad, tortuously real. Every regret is palpable, but as a reader you understand Peyton's need to drown out these dark and horrifying voices. It is a quick read, full of potential, with interesting characters and a unique plot. I am continuously interested in finding out more about Peyton, how she came to see and hear ghosts, how she plans to fight the dark ones, what her future holds. I really found myself sucked into the story.
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