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The Darkness #1
Darkness Within
Tragedy strikes the Roseburg family and leaves Mike struggling to help his wife, Mia. After losing their only child in an accident, Mia is far from emotionally distraught…instead, she continues on like their son is still alive.
Four months passed since the accident…
Mike begins to work with a psychiatrist to help his wife with her delusions when a darkness begins to haunt them. As this dark presence becomes violent, making itself known, Mike wonders if the illusion of their child that his wife is seeing is something far more demonic.
With the dark force looming over them, Mike is left questioning his own sanity as he tries to unravel what is real and what is not.
Soon he realizes…
Something is dreadfully wrong.
Four months passed since the accident…
Mike begins to work with a psychiatrist to help his wife with her delusions when a darkness begins to haunt them. As this dark presence becomes violent, making itself known, Mike wonders if the illusion of their child that his wife is seeing is something far more demonic.
With the dark force looming over them, Mike is left questioning his own sanity as he tries to unravel what is real and what is not.
Soon he realizes…
Something is dreadfully wrong.
195 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 27, 2015
14 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Candis Vargo
19 books39 followersGrowing up on an old dirt road in the middle of nowhere, as a child Candis used her love for books as a way to escape reality (and her brother constantly trying to kill her—literally). She blames her love of all things Horror on being born on Friday the 13th and will always find joy in scaring her friends.
You will find a little piece of her in every book she writes. She loves a good happy ending, but most of the time she prefers one she never saw coming.
When she’s not writing or reading, she can usually be found chasing her children around. She currently lives in Rome, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. And her fat cat.
You will find a little piece of her in every book she writes. She loves a good happy ending, but most of the time she prefers one she never saw coming.
When she’s not writing or reading, she can usually be found chasing her children around. She currently lives in Rome, Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. And her fat cat.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 20, 2015
Book – Darkness Within (The Darkness #1)
Author – Candis Vargo
Publication Date – March 10, 2015
Genre – Psychological Thriller
Type – Part of Series
Cliffhanger – Yes
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Complimentary Copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts - Story
So, when I read a “mind fuck” psychological thriller, I always guess ahead of time how long it will take me to figure out the twist.
This one?
It took me a bit, but not as long as I thought it would ---- the hints were all there but for some reason, I overlooked them until it was almost staring me right in the face.
What a work of art when the author can twist a story so that all else doesn’t matter to you except for the outcome of a book.
Gripping is another word I would use to describe this story because you don’t want to put it down until you figure out what is going to happen and as soon as things start making sense and you think a rainbow will appear after the storm….BAM – the author hits you with a surprise!
Re-Cap
Mike struggles hard to help his wife after her accident in which their little boy was killed.
With the aid of a therapist, Mike learns how to start breaking through to his wife that their son is dead. But along the way, he starts to see things that before he thought was only his wife’s imagination.
Follow his journey while he comes to terms about the husband he was before and the husband he is trying to be now.
Reason for Reading – Author Request
Story Rating – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Steam Rating – N/A
Angst Rating – 4.25 out of 5 Stars
Writing Rating – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Would Read More from Author? DEFINITELY
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
Author – Candis Vargo
Publication Date – March 10, 2015
Genre – Psychological Thriller
Type – Part of Series
Cliffhanger – Yes
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Complimentary Copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts - Story
So, when I read a “mind fuck” psychological thriller, I always guess ahead of time how long it will take me to figure out the twist.
This one?
It took me a bit, but not as long as I thought it would ---- the hints were all there but for some reason, I overlooked them until it was almost staring me right in the face.
What a work of art when the author can twist a story so that all else doesn’t matter to you except for the outcome of a book.
Gripping is another word I would use to describe this story because you don’t want to put it down until you figure out what is going to happen and as soon as things start making sense and you think a rainbow will appear after the storm….BAM – the author hits you with a surprise!
Re-Cap
Mike struggles hard to help his wife after her accident in which their little boy was killed.
With the aid of a therapist, Mike learns how to start breaking through to his wife that their son is dead. But along the way, he starts to see things that before he thought was only his wife’s imagination.
Follow his journey while he comes to terms about the husband he was before and the husband he is trying to be now.
Reason for Reading – Author Request
Story Rating – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Steam Rating – N/A
Angst Rating – 4.25 out of 5 Stars
Writing Rating – 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars
Would Read More from Author? DEFINITELY
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
January 27, 2017
After the death of her young son. Mia continues to act like he’s still alive. Her husband, Mike, is at the end of his rope. Nothing will convince her otherwise and he feels like he’s going crazy.
To save his marriage and his sanity, Mike goes to a psychiatrist and she has something she wants him to try with his wife. Not long afterwards strange things start happening. Something is haunting them, something dark and dangerous.
You may think you know what’s happening since we’ve all read books or seen movies with this plot. I thought I knew what was happening. Then I didn’t. Then I did. And so on.
The author kept me guessing and the story got creepier as the darkness got more violent.
I knew Mia was crazy. Then I thought Mike was crazy. It about drove ‘me’ crazy trying to figure things out.
While I was reading the end I knew what was coming. Then I didn’t. Then I did.
The entire book had be jumping back and forth between knowing and not knowing what was going on. It was as if the author put me in Mike’s shoes, and I was as confused and scared as he was.
This is a creepy story and I recommend it to anyone looking for a paranormal thriller with a great mystery thrown in. Just be prepared to think you do… Then you don’t… Then you do…
I received this book for my honest review.
To save his marriage and his sanity, Mike goes to a psychiatrist and she has something she wants him to try with his wife. Not long afterwards strange things start happening. Something is haunting them, something dark and dangerous.
You may think you know what’s happening since we’ve all read books or seen movies with this plot. I thought I knew what was happening. Then I didn’t. Then I did. And so on.
The author kept me guessing and the story got creepier as the darkness got more violent.
I knew Mia was crazy. Then I thought Mike was crazy. It about drove ‘me’ crazy trying to figure things out.
While I was reading the end I knew what was coming. Then I didn’t. Then I did.
The entire book had be jumping back and forth between knowing and not knowing what was going on. It was as if the author put me in Mike’s shoes, and I was as confused and scared as he was.
This is a creepy story and I recommend it to anyone looking for a paranormal thriller with a great mystery thrown in. Just be prepared to think you do… Then you don’t… Then you do…
I received this book for my honest review.
March 10, 2015
I stepped out of my comfort zone with reading Young Adult, and Fantasy books. This book sounded like it would interest me even though it wasn't in my normal category of reading. I have to say this genre is "Horror" and it sure did leave up to it's name. Reading the parts where things would appear and scare the poop out of Mike, in turn scared the poop out of me. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would pop out of my chest.
The main character is Mike. Mike is a hardworking constructor, who tries extremly hard to bring money in the house to put food on the table for him and his family. His wife Mia got into a car accident. When the accident happen they both lost someone precious to them, their child Eli. Mia has been seeing "Eli", and Mike just can't take the pain of it so he finally seeks help.
Kris gave him a few ideas on how to help his wife see reality. The first step was to acknowledge Eli being there. The second step was to eat off Eli's plate so Mia would think he really ate. But after that strange things started to happen. A black mass figure started to appear scaring the crap out of Mia and now he is starting to see it. The darkness started to follow Mike around, and slowly he starts going crazy thinking the people that was helping him was really against him. He thought those people were controlling the darkness and putting it on him.
Towards the end, he decided that they were against him. He wanted life to go on, he sold his house and his motorcycle and decided to just go wherever the road takes him. But he has this weird dream which brings him back to his home.
I am glad I stepped out of my normal reading genre and read this book :D!
The main character is Mike. Mike is a hardworking constructor, who tries extremly hard to bring money in the house to put food on the table for him and his family. His wife Mia got into a car accident. When the accident happen they both lost someone precious to them, their child Eli. Mia has been seeing "Eli", and Mike just can't take the pain of it so he finally seeks help.
Kris gave him a few ideas on how to help his wife see reality. The first step was to acknowledge Eli being there. The second step was to eat off Eli's plate so Mia would think he really ate. But after that strange things started to happen. A black mass figure started to appear scaring the crap out of Mia and now he is starting to see it. The darkness started to follow Mike around, and slowly he starts going crazy thinking the people that was helping him was really against him. He thought those people were controlling the darkness and putting it on him.
Towards the end, he decided that they were against him. He wanted life to go on, he sold his house and his motorcycle and decided to just go wherever the road takes him. But he has this weird dream which brings him back to his home.
I am glad I stepped out of my normal reading genre and read this book :D!
March 27, 2015
I rather enjoyed reading the book, I loved the new psychological aspect of it and it made the story something unique. I figured out the end sooner than I was supposed to though so with that it kinda dragged, and while I really liked the psychological aspect of it, and that she dumbed it down for someone that doesn't study psychology, I feel like I missed a lot of stuff because it was focused on it and at times cryptic where it never really cleared up. I mostly had this problem with the end. It wrapped up nicely and then the last few chapters came and I'm not really sure what happened even though I read it multiple times. I don't know if it was all a dream and it hasn't happened yet or everything was an illusion or what happened.
January 31, 2017
I really, really liked the plot, but the writing style was a little hard to get into. I dunno why exactly, it just seemed kind of...detached? I DID finish the story because it was good enough that I wanted to know what happened, but it was just hard to get totally sucked in so it took me longer than it normally would to finish a book.
October 7, 2018
Strange book! I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
I didn't think that it was constructed very well. Just when something would seem to be making sense, the story would do a 180 degree turn and change again. It was Kat enough to keep you reading, but it never tied up any of the loose ends. The characters SEEMED OK, but weren't really OK. I finished the story with more questions than answers. I feel like I wasted my time on this "story."
I didn't think that it was constructed very well. Just when something would seem to be making sense, the story would do a 180 degree turn and change again. It was Kat enough to keep you reading, but it never tied up any of the loose ends. The characters SEEMED OK, but weren't really OK. I finished the story with more questions than answers. I feel like I wasted my time on this "story."
October 24, 2018
Twisted
Mike is trying to help his wife Mia cope with the loss of their son Eli, while trying to maintain his own sanity in the process. Things aren't what they seem and people aren't who they claim to be and Mike and his family is the root of it all. I really enjoyed this book. The author has you thinking one thing and something totally different occurs. I loved it!!!!!
Mike is trying to help his wife Mia cope with the loss of their son Eli, while trying to maintain his own sanity in the process. Things aren't what they seem and people aren't who they claim to be and Mike and his family is the root of it all. I really enjoyed this book. The author has you thinking one thing and something totally different occurs. I loved it!!!!!
December 30, 2019
Oh, the grammar...
The plot was good. It was full of twists and turns. The grammar, on the other hand, was hard to look past. Incorrect tenses of words, pronouns not capitalized when they should be, run-on sentences, random periods in the middle of sentences... It made getting through the story rough.
The plot was good. It was full of twists and turns. The grammar, on the other hand, was hard to look past. Incorrect tenses of words, pronouns not capitalized when they should be, run-on sentences, random periods in the middle of sentences... It made getting through the story rough.
September 13, 2018
If you love ghost stories this is a book for you. Plenty of hints to keep you guessing! Grabs you right from the start. Read it in one sitting it was that good i couldn't put it down.
Free complimentary copy from the author through voracious readers only.
Free complimentary copy from the author through voracious readers only.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2018
I thought the book was really good. I never thought the way this book ended. It took me by surprise.
July 21, 2015
Interesting plot line! Being a psychology major, I LOVE psychological thrillers. This book was a good read, although I was confused by the addition of the paranormal aspect. I think it could have delved into more psychological thrills without the paranormal part. Since I figured out the ending in the beginning of the story (around the 5th chapter or so) the rest of the read was forced just to find out the ending. Overall, it was a well written book.
May 7, 2015
Creepy! This book was really good. I enjoyed it! I can see how losing your child would be so devastating it would be herd to wrap your head around it. Get for a scary book though. I couldn't quite decide how this book would end. It is sure worth you trying it because if you like thrillers, you will like this one. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
January 16, 2016
Awesome
This was a great book.. It was very sad also but what people really go through. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.
This was a great book.. It was very sad also but what people really go through. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews