Book Review: Black Fall by D.J. Bodden

I LOVED this one!

I enjoy supernatural tales and have read a lot of them. It’s getting tough to for me to find original plots and characterizations of different creature types as a result. I don’t usually mind – there’s a comfort level in reading things that feel familiar – but it’s always a delight when I find something that feels fresh and engages me from the get-go. Black Fall did just that.

From the opening pages, I was drawn into this world. It’s a YA, but primarily due to character-age rather than to the scenarios and situations confronting the protagonist. Jonas is a great character, full of the amalgamation of bluster and self-doubt that epitomizes (in my opinion) the best teen characters (and actual teens). He starts out a fairly sheltered kid (albeit one with an odd life) but grows into a commanding presence throughout the course of his discovery of the world that exists behind the world he thought he lived in. It’s a journey full of secrets, lies, deception, and realizations that things are nearly always more complicated than they seem. It played out beautifully because it was overlaid with action, adventure, and humor – all blended together with self-realization in a way that felt natural and unfolded in a furious turning of pages.

I see there are two more books – I cannot WAIT to dig into them. This one ends with dangling bits and possibility, both of which would spur my curiosity even without the endearing connection I felt to all of the characters (particularly the triumvirate of Jonas, Eve, and Kieran). This was a great find!

I received an advanced review copy for free through BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.