Wednesday, May 21, 2014

REVIEW: Destruction by Sharon Bayliss



Title: Destruction

Series: The December People #1

Author: Sharon Bayliss

Genre/Age Range: Contemporary, Fantasy, Adult

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Release Date: April 14, 2014

Links: Goodreads


David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.

Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.








Sharon Bayliss is the author of The December People Series and The Charge. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening). She only practices magic in emergencies.



Links: Website + Goodreads + Twitter + Facebook






 My Review


I have major mixed feelings about this book. For the most part, I loved it. However, there was one major, MAJOR flaw with it that nearly ruins the entire thing for me. However, let me talk about the positives first.

I’m really happy that this book wasn’t a young adult novel. Don’t get me wrong, I love young adult fiction. But seeing more adult elements to a book dealing with teenagers was a refreshing change. I also loved how in depth Bayliss explained her characters. They were all very complex characters, but not complex enough to throw you off or confuse you. Though they were complex, they were very unique and distinct characters which were developed very well.

I also really liked how in-depth Bayliss was about explaining the magic and the use of it. For her, it wasn’t enough to simply say “then this was done.” There was a full explanation of some of the bigger uses of magic, including why, how, and where it was done. I’ve read many paranormal books that leave you guessing about how or why things were done, so it was great to get all of the details. It let me truly understand the characters’ actions.

The part that really bothered me was dealing with an assault that happened. I cannot give too many details about it without ruining the story, but let me just say that it was not dealt with in a real-life manner. As a victim of a similar type of assault, I was disgusted with how it was brushed aside and the assailant was not brought to justice. However, I will say that this character had a key role in another aspect of the story. I’m hoping that in the next book of the series, this character will get what they deserve and the victim of the assault will get their justice.

Destruction was engaging from the very first page to the very last. I would recommend it to any mature paranormal reader, though some of the more adult scenes may be too heavy for younger readers who may otherwise be interested in this book. I enjoyed this book, but must say that certain things must be addressed in the second book for this reader to continue the series.

The Rating: 4 stars!




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