{Review} A Brush of Darkness by Allison Pang

ISBN #: 978-1439198322

Page Count: 343

Copyright: January 25, 2011

Publisher: Pocket Books

Book Summary:

(Taken from back cover)

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn't at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as-sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus's whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart - and there's no one she can trust to save her.

Mandy's Review:

Now this is a fantasy book that I can get behind! I absolutely loved Abby. Her sarcasm and dry humor were right up my alley and I found myself laughing at her too many times to count. Had Abby been real, her and I would've become fast friends.

Abby's life changed more than she realized six months prior. She knew she was a Touchstone, a human who enables an OtherWorld creature to be permanently "grounded" in this world, but she never realized she was more. Her other abilities showed themselves during her helping Brystion figure out the specifics of his sister's disappearance. Surprisingly, as a Touchstone, Abby possesses very limited knowledge about the OtherWorld. She should have had better training.

Brystion is definitely sexy, but that's partly due to how Abby imagines him to be. Brystion's true self is not-so-sexy and I was a little grossed out that Abby had sex with him in his true form towards the end. He turns out to be not so trustworthy, which disappointed me although his sneakiness is probably more in line with his true nature ... so I understand his actions, I just don't like them.

Phineas, Abby's unicorn, is a little disgusting but funny too. He was definitely not what I pictured a unicorn to be and that's what I liked the most about him. I'm glad he had a "rough" edge about him rather than being syrupy sweet.

The author has done an excellent job of giving all of the characters their own personalities. Each one stood out as individuals, but they blended together well to form this wonderfully entertaining story. Overall this was an excellent start to a promising series. I almost declined to read this series when asked about them, but I am so very glad I did. I cannot wait to see what happens in the second book!


*A paperback copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.