Knights of The Borrowed Dark
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Puffin!
Denizen Hardwick is an orphan, and his life is, well, normal. Sure, in storybooks orphans are rescued from drudgery when they discover they are a wizard or a warrior or a prophesied king. But this is real life—orphans are just kids without parents. At least that’s what Denizen thought. . . .
On a particularly dark night, the gates of Crosscaper Orphanage open to a car that almost growls with power. The car and the man in it retrieve Denizen with the promise of introducing him to a long-lost aunt. But on the ride into the city, they are attacked. Denizen soon learns that monsters can grow out of the shadows. And there is an ancient order of knights who keep them at bay. Denizen has a unique connection to these knights, but everything they tell him feels like a half-truth. If Denizen joins the order, is he fulfilling his destiny, or turning his back on everything his family did to keep him alive?
This book...it's just...bloody brilliant! I loved it and I'm SO GLAD this is the first in a series! I have a feeling this series is going to be big, this is unlike anything I've read recently! It's so original and imaginative and I was completely blown away by it!
The opening is seriously creepy, and then you know...there's a load of other creepy bits, which send a bit of a chill up the spine if I'm honest! The entire atmosphere of the book felt very grey to me, like I was reading and everything had a grey, dark tinge to it, if that makes sense? There's some brilliant pages that are all black with a couple of words that add to the atmosphere of the scene brilliantly and really, really made the goosebumps on my arms come out and say hi!
It's fantastically written, the descriptions?! I loved them! "the shadows of the tunnel came with it, hanging from its throat in cobweb curls" I mean how freaking awesome is that description!? There's loads more like it as well and I fell in love with the writing. The vibe is dark, the book is atmospheric which engulfs you in the world of the book, it's fast paced and original and funny and full of action and just completely brilliant! The book grips you and draws you in to the world and you become completely obsessed with it and what's going on in it!
The history/lore to the Knights is rich and fascinating and you want to know more and more about it, as well as the creatures they fight! They where fantastically creepy as well, but at the same time, I'm oddly eager to see more of them!? The action scenes have you biting your nails and cheering on the good guys, the plot twists blow your mind and have you shrieking. There's a brilliant cast of characters, Jack, Darcie (I would totally be Darcie, I kinda want her job!), D'Aubigny, Abigail, Grey, Denizen and his aunt and so on. They're a great bunch and all work so well together, and each brings something to the story! Grey gives you a good chuckle for example! I loved his relationship with Denizen! Denizen I liked because he's refreshingly skeptical about everything, he doesn't believe in dreams and he's not the sunshine and rainbows characters you usually see, things have been tough for him and he's developed accordingly. He's just very realistic in his reactions and everything! He's going to be a great main character, I can tell!
Knights of The Borrowed Dark is a fantastically refreshing addition to the genre, and it's going to delight and maybe even slightly terrify at the same time, depending on who's reading! I just can't get over it, I loved it and I'm excited to dive back in to the world and see what the author is going to come up with next!
