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Darkest Heritage #1
Darkest Secrets: Darkest Heritage #1
After years of shuffling between foster homes and inpatient stays, Ronnie has accepted the fact she's the 'crazy girl' who sees things that aren't there. If she keeps quiet about the ghosts only she can see, she can live a semi normal life until she ages out of the system and can disappear without a trace. But when a strange boy shows up at her school and home, she quickly realizes he's part of something bigger—something that promises answers to all of the questions she’s never dared to ask.
Her uncanny ability to see the dead isn’t craziness as she’s been forced to believe, but instead a dangerous power called necromancy—the ability to see and commune with spirits…and even raise the dead. Someone with powers similar to hers is leaving a trail of reanimated corpses right to her front door, and the mysterious community she never knew she belonged to thinks it’s her.
She’ll have to work with them to prove her innocence, but for reasons she doesn’t understand, everyone in her new life treats her like a walking disease—and perhaps for good reason.
Her uncanny ability to see the dead isn’t craziness as she’s been forced to believe, but instead a dangerous power called necromancy—the ability to see and commune with spirits…and even raise the dead. Someone with powers similar to hers is leaving a trail of reanimated corpses right to her front door, and the mysterious community she never knew she belonged to thinks it’s her.
She’ll have to work with them to prove her innocence, but for reasons she doesn’t understand, everyone in her new life treats her like a walking disease—and perhaps for good reason.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2025
2 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Hoffman
26 books144 followersSamantha Hoffman is a thirty-one-year-old author who has always had a passion for both reading and writing. She began writing very young and has since unpublished most of her earlier works as her writing style has continued to develop.
Her favorite genre to write is paranormal romance, but she also likes to dabble in fantasy and horror, as well as having a new love of science fiction. She loves werewolves, vampires, zombies, magic, and anything supernatural.
Her all-time favorite author is Tamora Pierce, who shaped her view of the world, love, and heroines with her writing and storytelling.
Her favorite genre to write is paranormal romance, but she also likes to dabble in fantasy and horror, as well as having a new love of science fiction. She loves werewolves, vampires, zombies, magic, and anything supernatural.
Her all-time favorite author is Tamora Pierce, who shaped her view of the world, love, and heroines with her writing and storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 18, 2025
Received as an arc from book sirens and I leave this review voluntarily
I had a really hard time finishing this book for a few reasons. First because I really just couldn’t connect to the characters, it seemed to be written more for a younger audience I think and I just don’t fit into the age that will enjoy it. The Story was very slow, but also oddly felt rushed as there were a lot of unnecessary details in places that I didn’t think needed it but lacked details where I felt it could have used more information. I was pretty confused for most of the book not really understanding what was going on and then it ended on a big cliffhanger. I just wish there had been more information where it was needed and less where it wasn’t because I have a lot of questions.
I had a really hard time finishing this book for a few reasons. First because I really just couldn’t connect to the characters, it seemed to be written more for a younger audience I think and I just don’t fit into the age that will enjoy it. The Story was very slow, but also oddly felt rushed as there were a lot of unnecessary details in places that I didn’t think needed it but lacked details where I felt it could have used more information. I was pretty confused for most of the book not really understanding what was going on and then it ended on a big cliffhanger. I just wish there had been more information where it was needed and less where it wasn’t because I have a lot of questions.
April 7, 2025
This is book one of the Darkest Heritage series and the main character is seventeen-year-old Ronnie (Veronica) Parker, who lost her mother at an early age, then was dumped by the man she thought was her father and was put through the system and various foster care homes. She is just weeks away from aging out of her current foster home and is trying to make sure she passes all of her high school classes. She hasn’t had much luck with many of her placements when her records show she was placed in a few institutions for saying she could see dead people! She has learnt not to say anything but is still approached by ghosts who want something from her, plus always followed around by cats. That makes school life difficult, as she is seen as a weirdo! Looking out the window in class one morning, she spots a stranger standing outside, seeming to be looking straight at her, not even wearing a coat. He also appears at her home as well, the same day. She mentions it to her foster dad, who calls the police. Her foster mum doesn’t believe her, thinking she has made it up like her ghosts. She has sneaked in a cat that followed her home and is woken up in the night by the cat making noises and looking into a dark corner, only for her to see the stranger looking through her drawers! She screams and her foster parents run in, and the police are called. This time the stranger was seen by the others, so she has proof he exists. When she next spots him outside the house, she climbs out her window to confront him!
He tells her he is looking for someone like her, a necromancer, which she doesn’t understand, having no knowledge of the supernatural world at all. When he asks about her parents, that makes her lack of knowledge a bit easier to understand. He mentions that the High Group will probably want to speak to her, as his mission for them was seeking another of her kind. She doesn’t see him for some days after fining out more about what she really was and speaking to her former neighbour. But come back he does, this time to take her to see the High Group, something she can’t really refuse to do, as he will take her by force if needed. The group are concerned about her very existence and the danger she may become, and he takes her to their HQ, or as he calls it, Juvie for monsters. This place is there to keep those who are a threat to the human world and that might even be forever! You are only freed once they deem you no longer a threat, even this boy, Finn, is still stuck there, but has some freedom when carrying out missions for the board of the group. When the meeting doesn’t go as expected, Ronnie is shown to her room, where her roommate is Tanya, and meets vampire Holly, some of the longer stayers like him. Being a necromancer makes her unwelcome by many in this place and she soon gets sent to the freezing basement to meet another necromancer, Annie, to start getting lessons to learn to control her powers. Finn has also been assigned to be her bodyguard, which he isn’t happy about, as he doesn’t like her kind!
Her lessons may start small with reanimating small animals and learning how to force a spirit to move on, but using her powers has made her a target for someone else like her, who is leaving a trial of reanimated bodies that is leading straight to her. When attacks start to happen, she is blamed, as clearly the people behind these attacks want her. When another happens and the lives of some of her only friends are in danger, she makes a decision that make come back to bite her, to save them whether they want it or not. She wanted to prove to the High Group that she wasn’t a danger, but it seems like someone wants her for the very nightmare all other supernaturals hate about her kind! What follows is a shocking discovery about who is behind everything and just exactly why they want her and what they believe she can help them do. She knows Finn didn’t want her to save him and was angry that she allowed the attackers to take her, but she knew that he would look for her. Many other supes left at juvie for monsters blamed her for all the attacks and the danger she was placing them under. She had to figure out what the attackers wanted her for, but who was behind it, their leader, was a complete shock and worse than anything she could ever have imagined was part of her life. The ending brings about another surprise for Ronnie and will lead into the next book of the series, as she learns more about her powers and isn’t quite as scared as she once was anymore. Her confidence in herself is growing and that could make her deadly, but also stronger and loyal to those who have befriended her.
I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout, and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
He tells her he is looking for someone like her, a necromancer, which she doesn’t understand, having no knowledge of the supernatural world at all. When he asks about her parents, that makes her lack of knowledge a bit easier to understand. He mentions that the High Group will probably want to speak to her, as his mission for them was seeking another of her kind. She doesn’t see him for some days after fining out more about what she really was and speaking to her former neighbour. But come back he does, this time to take her to see the High Group, something she can’t really refuse to do, as he will take her by force if needed. The group are concerned about her very existence and the danger she may become, and he takes her to their HQ, or as he calls it, Juvie for monsters. This place is there to keep those who are a threat to the human world and that might even be forever! You are only freed once they deem you no longer a threat, even this boy, Finn, is still stuck there, but has some freedom when carrying out missions for the board of the group. When the meeting doesn’t go as expected, Ronnie is shown to her room, where her roommate is Tanya, and meets vampire Holly, some of the longer stayers like him. Being a necromancer makes her unwelcome by many in this place and she soon gets sent to the freezing basement to meet another necromancer, Annie, to start getting lessons to learn to control her powers. Finn has also been assigned to be her bodyguard, which he isn’t happy about, as he doesn’t like her kind!
Her lessons may start small with reanimating small animals and learning how to force a spirit to move on, but using her powers has made her a target for someone else like her, who is leaving a trial of reanimated bodies that is leading straight to her. When attacks start to happen, she is blamed, as clearly the people behind these attacks want her. When another happens and the lives of some of her only friends are in danger, she makes a decision that make come back to bite her, to save them whether they want it or not. She wanted to prove to the High Group that she wasn’t a danger, but it seems like someone wants her for the very nightmare all other supernaturals hate about her kind! What follows is a shocking discovery about who is behind everything and just exactly why they want her and what they believe she can help them do. She knows Finn didn’t want her to save him and was angry that she allowed the attackers to take her, but she knew that he would look for her. Many other supes left at juvie for monsters blamed her for all the attacks and the danger she was placing them under. She had to figure out what the attackers wanted her for, but who was behind it, their leader, was a complete shock and worse than anything she could ever have imagined was part of her life. The ending brings about another surprise for Ronnie and will lead into the next book of the series, as she learns more about her powers and isn’t quite as scared as she once was anymore. Her confidence in herself is growing and that could make her deadly, but also stronger and loyal to those who have befriended her.
I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout, and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
March 14, 2025
I just finished this book and it's an understatement to say that I'm full of emotions. What kind of emotions? All sorts of emotions.
Ronnie is a necromancer who lives without even knowing it and thinks she's crazy because she sees ghosts. But that soon changes when a mysterious person named Finn enters her life and lets her know that the world is not what she thinks. Ronnie soon learns that there are werewolves, vampires, necromancers, fairies and all sorts of things and that she's actually not crazy but belongs to a mysterious world that she didn't even know about. And then all hell breaks loose. Ronnie has a father she didn’t know about and he has plans of it’s own.
I loved the book. I like that at the beginning we see and get to know Ronnie's character and what kind of person she is. You can really feel her sadness because she never belonged anywhere and her insecurity. I was personally saddened by how much she wanted to belong to her adoptive family, and the woman who raised her put up a wall between the two of them. Unfortunately, that's something that many people can identify with. On the other hand, we see how much more secure and stronger she becomes. And I won't even talk about her and Finn. I do hold a little grudge against Samantha for not giving us a little more opportunities to see and feel their connection. But there were parts that definitely brought a smile to my face.
The book is written simply like all of Samantha's books and that's exactly why I like to read them. It doesn't use any difficult terms and anyone can easily read it. I also like that the books are long enough, not too long, that the reader can't wait to finish. The optimal number of pages that contain everything is enough to keep the reader engaged without boring and drawn-out parts of the content. Once again, praiseworthy. And the main question is what now? Now we have to wait for the second book and hope that it comes out soon enough so that we can continue to enjoy everything that is open to us in this part.
In any case, big thanks to Samantha Hoffman and BookSirens for allowing me to read this book, which I genuinely enjoyed. My review is voluntary and has not been influenced by anyone.
Ronnie is a necromancer who lives without even knowing it and thinks she's crazy because she sees ghosts. But that soon changes when a mysterious person named Finn enters her life and lets her know that the world is not what she thinks. Ronnie soon learns that there are werewolves, vampires, necromancers, fairies and all sorts of things and that she's actually not crazy but belongs to a mysterious world that she didn't even know about. And then all hell breaks loose. Ronnie has a father she didn’t know about and he has plans of it’s own.
I loved the book. I like that at the beginning we see and get to know Ronnie's character and what kind of person she is. You can really feel her sadness because she never belonged anywhere and her insecurity. I was personally saddened by how much she wanted to belong to her adoptive family, and the woman who raised her put up a wall between the two of them. Unfortunately, that's something that many people can identify with. On the other hand, we see how much more secure and stronger she becomes. And I won't even talk about her and Finn. I do hold a little grudge against Samantha for not giving us a little more opportunities to see and feel their connection. But there were parts that definitely brought a smile to my face.
The book is written simply like all of Samantha's books and that's exactly why I like to read them. It doesn't use any difficult terms and anyone can easily read it. I also like that the books are long enough, not too long, that the reader can't wait to finish. The optimal number of pages that contain everything is enough to keep the reader engaged without boring and drawn-out parts of the content. Once again, praiseworthy. And the main question is what now? Now we have to wait for the second book and hope that it comes out soon enough so that we can continue to enjoy everything that is open to us in this part.
In any case, big thanks to Samantha Hoffman and BookSirens for allowing me to read this book, which I genuinely enjoyed. My review is voluntary and has not been influenced by anyone.
March 6, 2025
Darkest Secrets is a good YA fantasy focused on a FMC who is a necromancer who doesn’t understand what she is and has barely tapped onto her vast powers. In steps evil father bent on controlling her and s hidden group who wants her first to keep evil father away or to neutralize her if needed to save the world. No pressure or anything. The book is a fun quick read with done unexpected revelations that set this up nicely for a second book if the author chooses to write another. Overall I don’t feel she bender well with her core group despite strides in thst direction there is still mistrust and secrets. Also thr father served a bit unhinged and we don’t get much backstory beyond his stilted perspective. Overall tho the book is a decent read and I recommend it.
March 12, 2025
Ronnie was a normal girl or she thought... When you loose your mom. Grow up in an adopted normal family and get your world flipped upside down. Then realize there's a world of supernatural people and power in the world that exist. To find out your one of them. You get taken in and shown the ropes. Then kidnapped by your evil biological father just to prove your not like him. What more can you do or can go on in this life? Read the book to find out it's a must read I don't wanna spoil it all can't wait to read the rest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2025
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The writing is done well, and the story line is definitely a different take. Which I enjoyed very much. The main problem for me is that I like my books to have lots of action and the start to this story was a little slow to keep me engaged. The author did a nice job of fleshing out the characters and I did find myself liking Ronnie and her possible love interest Finn. If you are looking for a well written young urban fantasy that is not your run of the mill cut out, you will enjoy this new series.
April 26, 2025
A main character who has the ability to see and commune with ghosts? sign me up! I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. while the first half of the book was a bit slow paced, the second half made up for that. I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know what happened. and those plot twists were fantastic.
I also kept thinking about how this book reminded me so much of The Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong and Shadow Falls by C.C. Hunter, so if you like either of those series, you would absolutely love this one.
I also kept thinking about how this book reminded me so much of The Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong and Shadow Falls by C.C. Hunter, so if you like either of those series, you would absolutely love this one.
February 25, 2025
This book was wonderful. It is so well written and comes at the paranormal from a different direction. I found it to be very original. Finn and Ronnie are two lost and lonely souls that manage to stumble their way together and recognize a kindred spirit in each other. There is no telling what will develop in their worlds but I’m hoping they tell their author to let them have each other.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
March 5, 2025
What secret’s Ronnie holds, leaves the reader on a high at the end of the book looking for the next in the series. An interesting read, with a necromancer being the main character, very different to other supernatural books I have read. Great world building, intrigue, variety of supernatural support characters which are very different. Action with romance woven in there too what else do you need.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 16, 2025
I loved this story and the craziness that becomes Ronnie's life. She goes from thinking she might be a bit crazy to finding out she is not crazy and that the supernatural exists and she is a part of it. But of course things are never easy or straight forward and get a great story with lots of drama, surprises and great characters. Finn and Ronnie are so cute and had me laughing and groaning. But I was entertained and hooked to the end.
February 20, 2025
I enjoy the story. Good world building and interesting characters and relationships among them. I really love the main character..she is do strong. Lots of action twists and turns adds to the story. Pleasurable read… Definitely. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 23, 2025
We have a mystery. Ronnie has thought she was crazy because she could see ghost and talk. When she meets Finn she learns there is more to her. What will happen when she becomes part of another world that don't really accept her?.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 2, 2025
This is a good paranormal book especially if you don’t mind that guy’s walking behind you lol I really enjoyed reading it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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March 13, 2025I was so intrigued with the main character being a necromancer. Action, romance, great world building, and well written. Great YA fantasy.
March 13, 2025
"Darkest Secrets: Darkest Heritage #1" by Samantha Hoffman is an electrifying blend of mystery, supernatural intrigue, and self-discovery that kept me hooked from start to finish. Ronnie’s journey, from struggling with her ability to see ghosts to uncovering shocking truths about her past, is both thrilling and deeply emotional. Hoffman’s writing is immersive, balancing fast-paced action with rich character development, making every twist feel both unexpected and inevitable. The eerie atmosphere, gripping plot, and relatable struggles make this book unforgettable. I loved every moment of it and can't wait to dive into the sequel!
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