Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1)
Synopsis:
There’s always been something a bit off about Perry Palomino. Though she’s been dealing with a quarter-life crisis and post-college syndrome like any other twenty something, she’s still not what you would call “ordinary.”
For one thing, there’s her past which she likes to pretend never happened, and then there’s the fact that she sees ghosts. Luckily for her, that all comes in handy when she stumbles across Dex Foray, an eccentric producer for an upcoming webcast on ghost hunters.
Even though the show’s budget is non-existent and Dex himself is a maddening enigma, Perry is instantly drawn into a world that both threatens herlife and seduces her with a sense of importance. Heruncle’s haunted lighthouse provides the perfect catalyst and backdrop for a horrific mystery that unravels the threads of Perry’s fragile sanity and causes her to fall for a man, who, like the most dangerous of ghosts, may not be all that he seems.
Darkhouse is the start of the paranormal adventure of two ‘not so perfect’ protagonists. Perryis a 22-year old receptionist who had her fair share of low points in her teenage years plus weird stuff happening all her life. She is a woman who has major issues of insecurities. And then we have Declan, Dex for short. He is intense, weird and hard to classify (by Perry’s own words). And quite good looking (again, according to Perry).
I love how the book showed the normality of the characters. Yes, it’s a paranormal story and the heroes have some weird stuff going on. But how often do you read about a heroine who snores and drools on her shoulder while sleeping in a car? Or a hero who spits saliva while shouting in a girl’s face? Yep, they’re quite normal. These heroes are endearing in a way that they weren’t made perfect by the author. Psychologically they’re both struggling but sane enough to survive the paranormal horrors they faced and will be facing next time.
The first chapter was perfect! What a way to start a thriller. And by the 5th chapter I was already hooked. It was thrilling and intriguing. Nice plot to start a series. The book got me so absorbed especially in the scenes where they were in the lighthouse. Lots of suspense there! I love how Perry and Dex dealt with their issues here, setting aside their fear and deciding to confront it by returning to the Darkhouse. Like Perry, I didn’t trust Dex at first. His character is so mysterious I really find it hard to describe him. But by the end of the book he had won me over especially with the heartfelt speech he gave to his boss(which is one of my favorite parts of the book, by the way).
When i decide to read a series i really don’t expect much on its first book and this is no exception. I gave Darkhouse 3.8 stars because, 1) it didn’t really blow me away. It was very good, but not that great. And 2) I can’t rate it higher because I honestly think this series will get better in the succeeding books. And there’s always too much going on in the first book, with the world building and other stuff. So the story is usually not as good as the other books.
Overall, it’s a very good book. Again, it didn’t blow me away, but good enough to make me want to read the next book. In fact, that’s what i’m going to read after this review.
I would definitely recommend this to old paranormal romance readers. It’s like a fresh view of Pnr stories. A definite breakaway style from the usual genre. And I would also like to recommend this to those readers who want to try reading paranormal stories. This is a perfect way to be introduced to the genre.
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