Desolation: Darkness Rising Series, Book 1

I just...I need one more second to process. Wow.I have been looking forward to this book for weeks, and sometimes the excitement and build up can fizzle when the story is actually in your hands. But, nope, not happening here. Holy crud, I absolutely cannot believe this is R.L Caulder's debut novel. This book was...freaking fantastic.R.L. created a paranormal fantasy romance novel and took it next level by writing Desolation with humor, depth, psychological insight, and, well, grit. I know that "grit" is not necessarily the most lyrical sounding description, but man does it fit. Lana, and these men, are deep and authentic and they have been wounded. These are not flowery children living a life of luxury and light, these are survivors; resilient, brilliant, flawed and beautifully broken. But they are determined to spend their lives helping put the pieces of one another back together again into something better despite the cards they were dealt. Despite their trauma, grief and loss. Which, once again, is wonderfully written by Caulder.These characters - Lana, Ash, Zedd, Hale, Luke and Leo - are independently developed and solidified. They could easily exist outside one another on any page and still carry the story, and the plot was captivating. At no point did my interest waiver, and while the foreshadowing was great, I still found myself uncertain of what the next moves would be, or the level of intensity that was going to barrel down on me.I make this sound like a heavy read. It partly is, as would be any story dealing with complex, strong, emotive characters. However, it is also absolutely hilarious, thrilling, endearing and yes, steamy. I loved the snark and wit brought by each character, while simultaneously loving Caulder's softly injected hope and positive growth affirmations amidst the struggles her characters were experiencing. Still blown away by how she managed that balance so well!ANYWAY, I'm off to preorder the next book, because I cannot imagine not finding out how this story continues. Brava, and congratulations on a smash hit of a debut!

This book is the first book by R.L and you would never know it!!The entire book is fantastically written: First the charcter development is out of this world, you get a strong sense from all of them from the very beginning, it really pulls you in to each character and makes them feel real, the multiple POVs help you get a senses from all angles and sets you up for a crazy ass ending that will leave you wanting the second book in the series right now!World Building- R.L does a fantastic job on building worlds that keep everything familiar, but throw a wonderful twist as you get to know the different spaces in her book, they are clearly defined and while they are all different you aren't ever lost in the feeling of it being so alien its hard to imagine, and this lets you get even further enveloped in the storyPlot- okay so stop reading this review and get the books, this plot and storyline is amazing, from the Prologue to the end you are sucked in and kept on your toes waiting for the next tidbit of information to figure out this book, but at the same time you are living the story because the writing style is attention grabbing and wittyAll in all this book really showcase a writing style that is fantastic, you can really feel yourself hanging out with the characters ( and trust me you'll want to because wow are they hot!!) Their will be laughing, screaming, sheet grabbing and some tears!!R.L really blew this one out of the water and I can not wait for the next one, go ahead and pre-order that one and be in suspense with me as well

I absolutely L O V E D this entree into the series. It all centers around Lana, a fierce, witty, snarky, playful, big hearted warrior who will cut you with words if you harm those she loves. She and her guys/BFF's are all turning 21 on the same day. Having been raised most their lives by the same beloved foster mother, they're incredibly close...one unit. Twenty one is a major milestone for anyone, however none of them could've forseen how drastically ALL their lives would change that day. In a world where extremely harsh/dangerous weather killed indiscriminantly, everyone lived each day to the fullest. They'd need their bond to get through the revelations and changes to come. There's tons of action, suspense, snarky comments, magic, past lives, gods and goddesses, steamy scenes and ohhhhhh sooooo much more within these pages. This book does a wonderful job of laying the groundwork to this series and introducing us to these amazing characters. Lana is not the only witty bada$$ warrior queen, and I did so enjoy her befriending another strong female. I can't wait to see where this goes!! Gear up everyone, things are about to get really interesting 😉💗.

I am so sick of stories where the fmc has to be completely independent and ‘badass’ not needing anyone or anything. I find it boring to read because it destroys any emotion in the book and the fmc is always a spoiled brat with a terrible attitude. I DNF this book because Lana was a horrible, self centered tantruming pain in the ass who I could not stand!The writer of this needs to think about how what they’re writing can effect vulnerable, possibly traumatised readers. If someone who has endured life affecting trauma read this book, all it would make them feel is that they should hide what they have been through, and that talking about trauma and dealing with it face on is something to be ashamed of! Why can’t writers just portray a realistic version of what life is like for victims of abuse and trauma? Why are they so determined to create role models in books who are strong and independent to ridiculously unattainable levels??? I find it infuriating that writers feel it is ok to destroy young readers lives by showing them society expects them to keep their mouths shut and be super heroes!!If this book had just made Lana a little more vulnerable and a heck of a lot less of a brat with an attitude problem it could have created such a great model for readers going through or have gone through similar abuse/trauma. Instead it chose to victimise such people.

I really wish we could have half star ratings! This book is a solid 3.5 for me, it’s the first book by this author and is really well written.“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.”I found the MFC actually quite condescending throughout a lot of the book, I think she was supposed to come across as feisty, but it just didn’t read that way to me. It took me till she started coming into her powers throughout the last few chapters for me to start warming to her, but now that she is growing on me, I am looking forward to book 2.Loved the guys and how different each one is, I really enjoyed having the different POV’s through the book. I’m hoping for more character/relationship development in the next book though.This book was a build up book, it started kicking off towards the end which hopefully means book 2 will start off with a bang. I would recommend giving this book a go, the storyline is good and as I initially stated, it is well written :)

Id probably rate it more of a 3.5 but because it made me want to continue the series I bumped it to 4.I enjoyed the plot and look forward to seeing how things continue. I had trouble connecting with Lana and don't really understand alot of the choices she made or her actions. It would have been easier to believe she was a senior in high school rather than a senior in college since she reads and acts like a 16 year old most of the time. Without giving too much away it also didnt make sense to me how she responded to some of the events in the book with her past or even how she responded to some things based on how she feels. I enjoyed getting to know the guys and learning about their pasts. The twins are delightful lol!I do think that Lana will be easier to connect with in book 2 (or at least I hope so).

Well.... What a twist! I actually struggled to put this down and therefore my house has been neglected...I can't wait to start the next book and what's to come for lana and the boys. Is Ash lost forever?

The storyline was fantastic, character building was believable, Zedd is beautiful (and my favourite) and the story has a beautiful flow. It has a very smooth storyline, the one liners made me snort like a hyena, and I can see the relationship build between the guys and Lana, which I love, because it doesn't read as 2D.It comes across as a very light-hearted read, but when it gets down to the nitty gritty, the languages follows through and gives you more depth. For a first book, this has hit a lot of highs and I will continue to follow Lana's story with baited breath.Well done Ranchie!