Title: Destruction (The December People #1)
Author: Sharon Bayliss
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Release Date: April, 2014
Format: E-book
Acquired: ARC from Netgalley
Pages: 250
Date Finished: July 16, 2014
Goodreads Description
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.
My Review
Destruction was a really fun read! It sounded really dark from the description, but it was lighter than I expected despite the heavy topics. The story was delivered through David Vandergraff who was funny and confused and a cheater. I really thought I was going to hate him, but I ended up really liking his character. His wife was hilarious and handled things exactly the way you would expect when her husband shows up with two kids he had with another woman. The kids were also really well written. David has the two surprise children he brings into the family and three children with his wife. The story of them all coming together in one house was so fraught with missteps, it seemed very realistic.
The plot was not the strongest I’ve read, but it was interesting and there was a surprising amount of action. It also had several twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The characterizations more than made up for any other shortcomings.
I don’t normally comment on cover art, but this one was stunning. It’s what made me stop and read the description on Netgalley. Really good covers have a way of drawing you in, and this one definitely did the trick.
I highly recommend reading Destruction. It was different from a lot of other urban fantasy I’ve read and after reading so many, that is saying something.
Special Thanks…
I’d like to give a shout out to Netgalley, Curiosity Quills Press and Sharon Bayliss for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Bibliophage 