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Always Darkest (Arbitratus) Paperback – June 21, 2017
- Print length273 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJune 21, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 0.62 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101681604469
- ISBN-13978-1681604466
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Don't expect inspirational fiction, at least not in the usual sense. This is the first installment in a pop-culture-savvy, humor-tinged urban fantasy series reminiscent of the eternally running CW show Supernatural." ~ Seven Days VT
"Always Darkest is a unique combination of epic fantasy and contemporary romance, which is an intriguing recipe guaranteed to delight its unsuspecting readers." ~ Authors Talk About It
From the Author
From the Inside Flap
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
~William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Scene I
"In the beginning was theWord and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the light shineth inthe darkness and the darkness comprehended it not."
That's when things got complicated.
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Crimson Cloak Publishing (June 21, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 273 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1681604469
- ISBN-13 : 978-1681604466
- Item Weight : 12.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.62 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,986,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #41,312 in Urban Fantasy (Books)
- #58,320 in Paranormal Fantasy Books
- #65,217 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Jess and Keith Flaherty are one of those married couples sitcoms never get right. They have been together for over twenty years and still can’t get enough of each other’s company.
They live in the beautiful mountains of Vermont with their two children, three cats, a dog, and an immortal guinea pig. Jess has worked in newspaper and art publishing, freelance writing, cake decorating, and in addition to writing and editing, she works as the Program Manager and Educational/Vocational Specialist for a therapeutic home/transition program for young adults. She enjoys playing the ukulele badly, reading, and binge-watching unhealthy amounts of TV.
Keith spent many years as a chef and business manager, and now works with Jess in residential mental health as the program's Culinary Services Manager. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry, reading, or cooking something his family will think is amazing.
As a couple, Jess and Keith love to cook together, go hiking, and spend time together and with their boys. Of course, they also love writing together. Their first book, Always Darkest, was recently called “A very different story,” and “A solid fantasy novel,” by fantasy icon, Piers Anthony, and fans have compared their style to a combination of Douglas Adams, George R.R. Martin, and Christopher Lamb.
From fantasy, to horror, to romance, to humor, if you check out Jess and Keith’s work, you won’t be disappointed!
Jess and Keith Flaherty are one of those married couples sitcoms never get right. They have been together for over twenty years and still can’t get enough of each other’s company.
They live in the beautiful mountains of Vermont with their two children, three cats, a dog, and an immortal guinea pig. Jess has worked in newspaper and art publishing, freelance writing, cake decorating, and in addition to writing and editing, she works as the program/house manager for a residential transition program for young adults. She enjoys playing the ukulele badly, reading, and binge-watching unhealthy amounts of TV.
Keith spent many years as a chef and business manager, and now runs a quaint country store. In his free time, he enjoys writing poetry, reading, or cooking something his family will think is amazing.
As a couple, Jess and Keith love to cook together, go hiking, and spend time together and with their boys. Of course, they also love writing together. Their first book, Always Darkest, was recently called “A very different story,” and “A solid fantasy novel,” by fantasy icon, Piers Anthony, and fans have compared their style to a combination of Douglas Adams, George R.R. Martin, and Christopher Lamb.
From fantasy, to horror, to romance, to humor, if you check out Jess and Keith’s work, you won’t be disappointed!
Customer reviews
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- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star4 star72%17%11%0%0%17%
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- 5 star4 star3 star2 star1 star1 star72%17%11%0%0%0%
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers praise the writing quality, describing it as descriptive and lyrical. They find the characters well-developed and the heroine relatable. The book is described as an engaging read with a fun storyline that explores grey areas. Readers appreciate the pacing and immersive reading experience.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers praise the book for its engaging writing style. They find the author's descriptive prose and witty quotes to fit each chapter enjoyable. Readers appreciate the references to Star Trek and other sci-fi. The dialogue and character development are also praised.
"...The authors have crafted a solid narrative with lyrical prose to describe the angelic and the demonic, for example, a demon wields “a difficult..." Read more
"...is amazing, the characters are well defined and again, the author is so descriptive you will have a mental picture of what they look like...." Read more
"...Oh I really liked all the little references to other things, like Star Trek or other Sci-Fi stuff here and there...." Read more
"...biblical prophesy trope on it's head, shifts it sideways and asks a pertinent question: What if you don't think being born to fulfill a prophesy is..." Read more
Customers enjoy the well-developed characters and relationships. They find the heroine, the Girl of Prophecy, to be a great character who struggles with life.
"...Malin Alina Sinclair, the girl of prophecy, is a great heroine, struggling with the life of a teenaged girl in the modern world while slowly falling..." Read more
"...The story line is amazing, the characters are well defined and again, the author is so descriptive you will have a mental picture of what they look..." Read more
"...Secondly, I really enjoy books with well developed characters. Characters that you get to “know” and become involved with...." Read more
"...The way it is written, the characters, the plot, and the span of the story made this an amazing saga...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it engaging and fun, with a unique story that explores grey areas. Readers also enjoy the relationship between the two main characters and their conundrum.
"...This is a paranormal romance of epic proportions, exciting and a great read. Highly recommended!" Read more
"...A wonderful book that I plan on giving to several people as Christmas presents. Highly recommended!" Read more
"...The quotes at the beginnings of the chapters were also fun to read, although I couldn’t always figure out how they were related to the current..." Read more
"I loved this book. It really makes you think about your own beliefs of good and evil, angels and demons...." Read more
Customers enjoy the storyline and find it engaging. They appreciate the overall story ideas and how the book weaves together different sources in a wonderful work of fantastic fiction. The characters, plot, and narrative are well-crafted with lyrical prose. Overall, customers describe the book as a paranormal romance of epic proportions that is exciting and highly recommended.
"...The authors have crafted a solid narrative with lyrical prose to describe the angelic and the demonic, for example, a demon wields “a difficult..." Read more
"...The story line is amazing, the characters are well defined and again, the author is so descriptive you will have a mental picture of what they look..." Read more
"...I really enjoy Sci-Fi fantasy type books and this is definitely a fantasy book. Secondly, I really enjoy books with well developed characters...." Read more
"...I won't ruin the ending, but I can say it was the perfect place in the story to break it into a second book, even though leaving it there made me..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find it engaging and immersive, drawing them in from the first page.
"...I like the quote the book ended with. I liked the pace of the story...." Read more
"A well written and engaging first novel. I'm a fan of contemporary fantasy and the book delivers an all around fun read...." Read more
"...witty quotes to fit each chapter create a reading experience that is immersive and tailored to fit the story...." Read more
"Loved it! It's highly engaging and brilliantly written. I can hardly wait for the sequel!" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2020Above and below, humor and imagination abound in this great novel that kicks off a series. Demons and Archangels, Knights Templar, the Catholic Church hierarchy, ancient wanderers cursed to live until the end of time, and a beautiful child of prophesy all combine in this wonderful work of fantastic fiction. The authors have crafted a solid narrative with lyrical prose to describe the angelic and the demonic, for example, a demon wields “a difficult power …to function over the background noise of all Creation, many chains of events large and small, conducting the symphony of the unfolding universe.” The writing is solid and the story moves at a great pace to its climatic conclusion, leaving just enough room for the sequels.
Current pop cultural references make this a “laugh out loud” read and provide a connection to today’s audience. Well defined characters drive this love story including the Biblical Gatekeeper living under the Church’s protection into his third millennial, and a collection of demons born in the wrong era condemned before Christianity could save them, a group less interested in evil and more interested in playing hooky and dodging “work” commitments on earth, a much nicer place than hell. However, for horror fans the truly evil do lurk in the pages, including Lilith and her sister, backed by an army of stupid devils and monstrous demi-gods from pagan religions.
Malin Alina Sinclair, the girl of prophecy, is a great heroine, struggling with the life of a teenaged girl in the modern world while slowly falling for a “college boy,” who, surprise, just happens to be a refugee from the pits of Hell. This is a paranormal romance of epic proportions, exciting and a great read. Highly recommended!
- Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017Though not normally my subject, I bought this book after I met the author and saw how excited she was about it. Once I opened it I had a hard time putting in down. You will become immersed in the story. The author is so descriptive that you can completely picture all of the places she describes. The story line is amazing, the characters are well defined and again, the author is so descriptive you will have a mental picture of what they look like. A wonderful book that I plan on giving to several people as Christmas presents. Highly recommended!
- Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018Always Darkest Review (Spoilers)
Well written!
First off I really enjoy Sci-Fi fantasy type books and this is definitely a fantasy book. Secondly, I really enjoy books with well developed characters. Characters that you get to “know” and become involved with. Characters that you grow to love or to hate. This book absolutely has that. Of course, my favorite character is one of the main characters, Ben. My second favorite character is Chris. I have to admit the other main character, the girl, Mal, is annoying to me but she’s young and so maybe she’ll develop as the books go along. Maybe it’s because she shifts so readily from one person to another? I guess that’s not unlike a teenager. Plus, I think for someone who is supposed to be the descendant of Christ, who is God, she’s kind of selfish. Also the angels and their in-fighting etc is weird since it’s heaven but again it’s all pretend so it’s just a matter of separating fact from fiction in ones mind.
I really like how the authors took myths from many different sources and wove them together within the story line. I see a little of everything here from Harry Potter to the Seventh Seal. I’m not sure that is intentional but I enjoyed it and see it as authors that are well read and well versed in different areas of the fantasy genre. The quotes at the beginnings of the chapters were also fun to read, although I couldn’t always figure out how they were related to the current chapter. I like the quote the book ended with.
I liked the pace of the story. It’s hard to make it feel like time is passing in a story, different seasons etc but I had a sense that time had passed in this story, that’s hard to do right.
I liked the overall story ideas and really am curious as to what will happen next!
Things that I thought could be better. The transitions from one scene to another, like when you have to go back a few pages to see what you just read to figure out where you are now kind of a thing. They weren’t always smooth, there’s probably a better way for me to say that.
I don’t usually like horror stories so some of the fighting scenes were a little gory for me.
So all in all I think it’s a good book and I’m curious to see what happens to Ben, Mal and the gang. Oh I really liked all the little references to other things, like Star Trek or other Sci-Fi stuff here and there.
The overall story is a love story, romantic love, family love, and the love for ones friends...
You should definitely give it a read if you enjoy the fantasy genre!
- Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2018I loved this book. It really makes you think about your own beliefs of good and evil, angels and demons. The way it is written, the characters, the plot, and the span of the story made this an amazing saga. I won't ruin the ending, but I can say it was the perfect place in the story to break it into a second book, even though leaving it there made me angry as I wanted to read more. I cannot wait until the next book is out.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2018A well written and engaging first novel. I'm a fan of contemporary fantasy and the book delivers an all around fun read. Most impressively, it turns the biblical prophesy trope on it's head, shifts it sideways and asks a pertinent question: What if you don't think being born to fulfill a prophesy is more important than your free will? Looking forward to the next installment in the series.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2018I enjoyed this book. It was a mix between "Good Omens" and "Supernatural". It was very well written and the characters well developed. My favorite was reading about all the angels and their personalities. I also enjoyed reading the relationship between the two main characters and their conundrum. I'll be waiting for the second book to find out what happens next.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2019This unique story was a very fun read that explores the grey areas between good and evil. With unique characters, great description, and writing— definitely do not pass up this read. I need to know the rest of Mal and Ben’s story.