Review Briefs: Darkness Within and Magic Within by Sara Fitzgerald

Darkness WithinDarkness Within
by Sara Fitzgerald
YA Paranormal
September 5th 2011

Summary

Once Samantha learns her family secret, her life is in terrible danger—and her unlife may just be beginning.
 

My Review

I really wanted to like Darkness Within. It just feel flat for me. I didn't quite understand how Samantha could be so oblivious to the family secret (really secrets). I couldn't comprehend how she could just do something one day later and how everything just feel into place as it did. I also didn't like how pulled in she was to the vampire. There was also a pretty strong case of insta-love and the kind where they would do anything for each other. That type of romance never really works for me. The plot just felt forced.

Was it all bad? No. I really liked the brother/sister relationship between Josh and Samantha. I liked Nancy. I liked the ideal overall for the plot and the potential that was there. I also wanted to know how the story would end and if all the main characters would make it out alive. I also loved that this was pretty clean. There were a few milder swear words.

Content: Some violence and some mild swearing.

Source: From the author, which did not affect my review in any way.


Magic WithinMagic Within
by Sara Fitzgerald
YA Paranormal
February 2014 by Champagne Books

Summary

Nancy, a purple-haired witch, has never fit in with the kids in town. She has always felt something was deeply wrong with her. When Josh, her best friend, is attacked by a werewolf, Nancy seeks a potion to save him from the werewolf curse within him. But Josh’s fate--werewolf or human--is his to decide, when the potion is injected during his transition at thefull of the moon.

Nancy, too, must make a choice. Her mother, her best friend, and a
steadfast young man all see the magic within her. Can she finally accept who she is and give love a chance?
 

My Review

I enjoyed Magic Within more than the first book, Darkness Within. There were still some plot holes (why did we never really get the end of Samantha's challenge?) and things that didn't make sense to me, but I liked this story better overall.

Josh was an interesting character. I liked how he fit in the pack in a way and I liked that the romance developed over a little bit of time. It did still seem rushed, but I also got that there were extraneous circumstances. I liked having Nancy's and then Josh's POV's, going from the town to out in the wild. I also liked how the story built up and even when you think the characters are scott-free, they really weren't. 

I did want more depth, more consistency in the characters, and a more realistic plot. Having said that, it was still an enjoyable story and I can see potential for enjoying future books by this author.

Content: There were a few milder swear words.

Source: From the author, which did not affect my review in any way.


Have you read either of these? If so, what did you think?

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