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The highlight of R.D. Vallier's award-winning career was when her 6th grade teacher threatened to call CPS over a story about a runaway and a magical wolf. She avoided government capture, but continued creating dark tales in secret. Now she's living the cliche as a storyteller in the remote wilderness, handcrafting an off-grid homestead with straw and mud and whatever she scrounges from the landfill. She holds degrees in wildlife management and hard knocks, only feels at home on the road, and believes humanity illuminates the most brilliantly during darkness.
Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite
Darkshine is the first volume in The Darkshine Series by R.D. Vallier. Miriam always felt like something wasn't quite right in her life. While she is married to someone who - from the outside - seems to be the ideal husband, people do not see the neglect and abuse Miriam has to deal with. One day she discovers her husband's dark secret. It could destroy his political career, and gives Miriam a very good reason to run away. During this, she discovers that there is more to her life and that magic does indeed exist. The only problem is that there are two magical beings - both attractive men in their own way - and Miriam has issues with knowing which of them tells the truth.
R.D. Vallier created an interesting plot in Darkshine and filled the pages with likeable and not so likeable characters. Miriam's husband is only one of the problems the protagonist has to deal with. She is on the run from more than just her husband, and has to find out who she really is and what she wants from life. This novel is an exciting story with magic about a woman who has to find her way while two different sides fight for her attention and affection. Whether she makes the right decision in the end is another question. Not everything is as it seems. I enjoyed the fact that there were some interesting plot twists, e.g. the one about the tattoo on Miriam. I didn't see that coming. It's a good start to a series, and one can only hope that the author will be able to keep up this level of quality.
