Title: Dark Desires
Publisher's Blurb:
Iron and fae aren’t friends. But Tasha has no choice but to be in the human realm: her very life is at stake.
High School isn’t much safer than Faerie, though. Cliques, falling in love and navigating day-to-day activities are dangerous enough without the added dread of being unmasked as being otherworldly.
But when something happens and everyone reveals their true selves, Tasha has a choice to make: will she save them from the curse upon them and reveal her true nature, or will she let them die and stay safe?
My Review:
Ronel was kind enough to send me an electronic copy of the book to review, and at 5000 words I was able to find the time for it (longer works are causing me trouble, so this was perfect!). Dark Desires is a YA romance, which puts it rather out of my usual area, but the author has made an interesting story by combining elements of teen romance with the mythology and even the terror of the faerie world. Although the story is short, it does an excellent job of conveying a sense of a complex world that we can only glimpse. It also presents us with a heroine who turns out to be a great deal stronger than anyone expects!
This is a strong story--strong enough that even though I'm usually too cynical for YA romance (indeed, any romance stories), I was quickly engaged in this one and read it with interest and enjoyment.
Now, author Ronel Janse van Vuuren has dropped in to talk about the story and being yourself.
Everyone feels insecure about who they are at one point or another. Even the fae.
Tasha feels insecure about her looks. She had tried to be shorter, rounder, mortal. She believes that it is her barely disguised otherworldly looks that causes the other girls to dislike her.
And it’s most probably true: who wants to be around someone who is physically perfect?
Which leads back to everyone being insecure about who they are.
When masks fall away – the event that pushes Tasha to face herself – everyone gets to be free and happy about who they are. For the first time they can all embrace who they are, who they were born to be. The repercussions of this event isn’t examined in this story… Mm, maybe a sequel should follow?
The lesson, though, is that we all try to hide or change things about ourselves that we feel insecure or ashamed about, but we should remember that we were born a certain way and that means we are on the right path.
Something which empowers Tasha and helps her to accept herself and those around her by the end of “Dark Desires”.
Lady Gaga knows this powerful truth – she sings it in “Born this Way”. Tasha knows it. And now you do, too.
About the author:
Award-winning author Ronel Janse van Vuuren mainly writes for teens and tweens, though she is known to write mythology-filled short stories for anthologies aimed at older readers. Her dark fantasy works, usually full of folklore, can be viewed on her website and on Goodreads.
Ronel can be found tweeting about writing and other things that interest her, arguing with her characters, researching folklore for her newest story or playing with her Rottweilers when she’s not actually writing.
All of her books are available for purchase from major online retailers.
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Connect with Ronel online:
Goodreads
Amazon author page
Ronel the Mythmaker, Website of Dark Fantasy Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren:
Thanks for having me! And I'm glad you enjoyed the book :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by!
DeleteVery well said, Ronel, about embracing the how we look and the way we were born. And it's a good reminder that everyone has insecurities, even faes. Congrats on your release!
ReplyDeleteYeah, you'd think the fae would have more confidence, but apparently even they have to go through the teen years :p
DeleteThank you :-)
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