The Darkening

The Vampire Trials #2

by Storm Song

An alternative cover for this ASIN can be found here.
I became the face of the human revolution over night.
After I ended the trials, possibly forever, the Governors vanished taking my mother and leaving no traces behind.

The city is on fire, and although I’d love to sit back and watch it burn there’s a new problem at hand.
The Governors plan to use a magical device to throw the entire country into an even more barbaric version of the Vampire Trials.

My supernatural mates and I may be the only ones standing in between the world, and complete self destruction.
As time dwindles and we try to gather the magical artifacts before them, mysteries of my life begin to unravel.

I realize that in a magical world where nothing is as it seems, neither am I.
I’m tested beyond my breaking point and I begin to question whether holding on to my humanity is even worth it.

It's become so much bigger than my freedom alone. Now the weight of humanity rests on my shoulders, but as more supernatural things start to happen around me I start to question-

Does that weight even belong there?

Genres: Vampires, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, New Adult, Supernatural

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2020

About the author

Storm Song is a romance author of color who thinks smut can change the world too. She believes everyone deserves to see themselves as the hero of the story, especially if the story has a little spice.

When she isn’t writing she can be found playing video games, smoking the devil’s lettuce, and otherwise causing mayhem wherever she goes.

Wanna learn more? Head to her website www.stormsongbooks.com or catch up with her on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook @authorstormsong.

Reviews

[kay! · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was significantly better than the first book.



This series is so outlandishly ridiculous that it's enjoyable. The writing is just- let me be blunt - terrible. The run-on sentences... the spelling errors... I highly doubt this was even edited. However, the writing was vastly better in this book than in book 1. I honestly want to keep reading this author's works to see her improvement.

Not to mention the ending actually made me widen my eyes! The one character I actually tolerated died so that's lovely. That being said, I liked the addition of Xander. Scarlett's relationship with him actually DEVELOPED and wasn't sudden like the other 4.

If you don't take these books seriously, these are short, ridiculous but kinda enjoyable reads.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh, another short book :(

The Vampire Trials: The Darkening gave me one hell of a cliffhanger. I was sort of prepared for it since I was doing a buddy read but damn.. I have no idea what to say. The gang is still at it and they are out for revenge. Scar's mom has been taken and she and the guys have to fight their own fathers for revenge.

Yet, there's something else. We are learning a lot more about the gang - especially when it comes to Scar. At this point, I don't know if we know who her true dad is.. but I'm wondering if we are going to meet him? Not sure. Then there's Drax.. and damn that guy.

Besides that, we get a new boy to look at: Xander. I, of course, knew he was going to somehow join their little harem. Not sure why he came into the picture.. but I'll just go with the flow on it. I'm also hoping that a certain someone isn't truly dead right now and will somehow come back. Again, hoping so much for all that. Plus, I really need the gang to kill these damn heartless Governors.

[Lily Martinez-rios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very great. A lot of spelling mistakes though.

[❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final page of the book says “Get book three NOW,” with a amazon preorder link that lists the book releasing in September. Honestly given the ending and how horrible it was, the whole get it NOW part is really pissing me off. Scarlett chooses her mom over Colt and one of the Governors kills him. I’m guessing there has to be or will be some way to ‘bring him back,’ probably something connected to Scarlett being a half demon. I’d like to know more on this because her being a supernatural kinda came out of nowhere. And why is she just learning about this now and manifesting powers now?! I have more questions than answers but at the same time I hope the next book is the last one. While I liked the concept of the first book the series overall is not as exciting as I’d hoped. Everything is so fast paced it’s hard to stay on track and the character/relationship development is practically invisible. We also find out Scarlett played right into the Governors’ hands, obtaining the artifacts so they did not have to. The end was also a bit of a jumbled mess given that she just added Xander to her harem, a merman, which kinda came out of nowhere but whatever. She also just pulls a hunter she dreams of onto this plane of reality along with his dagger, one of the artifacts sought after. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it I’m just pissed about the horrible ending. I do appreciate the fast pacing of the book however I wish there was more development along the way, it’s like the only times life slows down for them is when they’re having sex.

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I felt this was better then the first. It was slower and we got the chance to learn about the characters. I liked the hunt for the artifacts and how we learnt about her and her powers the same time she did. I wonder if her powers can help Colt or even cure her mum? I also liked the darker side of the characters coming out proving that being a super natural isn't always great.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh meh

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh i swear this chick - i despise the word slut but like she legi jumps on every cock presented to her - & spoiler

If her true nature is half that of bo dennis then that may explain or at least excuse it but i mean i know its an rh but this is what non rh reading people picture when they hear about rh they think its just shallow gang bang weird slut shit when most of it is just like having 3 soulmates this book series however. My god. The dudes are besides happily boning her at her beck and call actually have depth and seem to want a proper relationship family type deal but scarlett is just being dragged into things and then using it as an excuse to ride discosticks everychance she gets and like i just shes an idiot. Even if i ignored her shallow bs and shit personality.

I really tried to give her the benefit of the doubt in the last book and assumed most of it was due to not great writing but nope the writers purposefully made her a slutty mary sue moron.

And god ive read some mental smut in my time so theres not a heap that exactly shocks me but god some of it was so eye roll laugh at how dumb or gag at how fkn gross i mean christ ill be honest i heard a gross old mans voice in my head telling her to have some self respect like you know its bad when you disagree with the same creeps who tell young girls not to wear shorts or tight dresses because its distracting to their pedo perv selves.

But alas here we are and that combines with all the other flaws from the first book which i reviewed including grammar spelling stupid plot is stupid seems like it was written by a highschooler and all these apparent hardened 21 ish or older characters somewhat seem to be acting like highschoolers when it suits them and like... its reaalllll weird and annoying.

I think its bad because it cant decide what it is its liek a teen pretending to be an adult and you just feel embarrassed for them and its jarring seeing them switch from like im a child! Wahh to im a big steong tough independant adult like its as cringy as ariel arguing with triton that shes not a kid anymore when shes legit 16 and its like shut up you baby youre naive af.

Ugh idk i just ive made it this far so im gonna finish the last book but i reserve the right to hate it afterward.

Also this book ended on a cliffhanger a real fucking annoying one so if i werent binging this series in a span of 48hrs id fkn hate the series even more.

And i sincerely hope the nxt book cleans up the shit ahow and doesnt drive it into the ground even more because my god. If were sticking to the losing one star every book itll end up being a 1 and like christ its been SOOOO long since ive had that unfortunate pleasure that frankly ill be making sure noone whose sanity i care about picks up this authors books in future.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall 4.5 stars

Note: I received this book from the author and I voluntarily give this review, it is my honest opinion.

Storm is a genius. The Darkening is the second book in the Vampire Trials series and I loved it even more than the first. It's dark, snarky, funny and has a lot of hot guys what's not to like.

Scarlett has grown more confident in her role as the face of the rebellion, she has gone through training, learning new things, and even goes on missions. However she is still quite the mess, Scarlett is nowhere near a perfect person and she had to go through a lot of dark things during the trials and that has changed her in ways she hasn't even begun to figure out. Scarlett has become a morally gray character and I have to admit that in her situation and after what happened to her in the first book, her character really couldn't go in any other direction. I love that Scarlett owns her messed-up point of view and she recognizes the darkness that is growing in her plus her snarky attitude makes Scarlett a character that it's easy to empathize with.

Things with the rebellion are looking good until Scarlett and the boys realize the governors aren't done yet, they have something major up their sleeves and it looks up to Scarlett and her guys to stop him. However weird things start to happen and Scarlett starts to have questions about her past. The plot moved along smoothly and I was highly interested the entire time, I finished the book in one day and loved every single second of it.

I only have a couple of issues with the book, when a certain event happened it kinda seemed like it was overlooked and one character had a drastic personality change which kinda makes me sad because I like him before, this new version... I don't know, I guess I will have to see what I feel about it in time.

It looks like things are just getting started in the Darkening. I finally have the answer to some of the questions I had in the first book but now I have so many more. Plus this book ended on a cliffhanger that destroyed me, it has to be fixed in the next book or I will pretty much lose my shit. I love this series, it's full of good world-building, interesting characters, steamy, great commentary, and has an interesting plot. I can't wait for the next book in the series until then I will entertain myself with the other books Storm has or soon to be published books.

[danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will say that I was disappointed. There was no flow at all in this book. The characters were all over the place and it felt very disconnected. Scarlett became more independent and tough which I did like since that makes sense but all the other characters felt like they were thrown to the side. There was no development for the boys besides Drax but that is pushed aside very quickly. The relationships that Scarlett has with each of the boys is never discussed, which to me makes no sense. I would think she would try and figure out what they are to each other and their group relationship. I did like Xander and Scarlett’s dynamic. Similar to the first book, the pacing felt very rushed and the sex scenes were very dull. I will not be reading the next book in this series. Maybe in the future I will read Storm’s other books but I do wish that she works on the pacing and character development.

[Evelyn Dotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett and everyone are back to continue their fight. Scarlett’s power makes an appearance a few times but she is still no closer to figuring out what she is. She sees the governor’s still have her mom and they plan to bring the trials worldwide. To do this, they need certain items buried in secret locations. Scar and her crew manage to procure a map to help them locate the items. They finally figure out what she is and it shocks everyone. Now, she has to get her mother and there will be a sacrifice made during the process. She is still close to her princes and loves all of them. They love her as well. Drax is definitely more than just a vamp and it is not a good thing! I received this as an ARC and am leaving a voluntary review.

[Hanna Boven · Rating 1 out of 5]

The world building is bad...
The characters are poorly written...
Even the steamy scenes which were advertised as great orgies between humans and vampires are dissappointing.
There are a lot of spelling mistakes and the storytelling is repetitive...
Scarlet Johnson (sound familiar?) is a mean, unlikeable character, who does not so much carry trauma as is just f-ed up inside...
Some things felt copied (e.g. Moving pictures of witches - Harry Potter anyone?) and just overall cliché...
The vampires are not hot, like at all...
The enemies to lovers trope felt too rushed..
Things and events aren't explained properly and just rushed over...

If you have read the synopsis and thought: hm, sounds interesting: don't do it to yourself. If I could give this -5 stars, I would

[Maranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such good world building

Again, the book does not disappoint when it comes to world building. I’m so fascinated with the world that Storm has built. I can’t put down the books. I’m always wanting more. More love interest. More spice. More action. This second book had a bit more grammar mistakes than the first. It’s not something that’s too upsetting but just make note of that if you get thrown off by those tiny mistakes.

I gave 4 stars for the spelling mistakes and the heartbreak at the very last chapter. It just felt wrong. I was needing more between the two characters. I have faith that everything wraps up nicely in the next book. I honestly love this series and it’s such a quick read as well.

[Natasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

These are short books that contain no plot whatsoever and is so confusing that I find myself staring at my wall saying what was the point?
The whole book is them searching for the artefacts and (of course sleeping with them in between life and death situations) and then it ends with the enemy just getting everything he wants and killing one of the love interests.
It feels like the point of the whole book is to be smutty but then it’s all the same scenarios with each guy. Idk I expected for the second book that two of the guys would be there at the same time or something to change the smut scenes from the boring and tedious “ I got turned on by him being vulnerable and he ate me out and came in me” that’s it, that’s every sex scene and then they fall asleep ????

[Aprile · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY HEART ***spoilers***

This book. Oooh it’s good. I love that the harem is building in this book. Most books I read the harem is set right off the bat. Or you know who is going to be in it at least. I love the character development and think it is a well written sequel to book 1.
I gave this 4 stars for two reasons. I feel like the intimate scenes go by very quickly. I wish these were drawn out a bit more. And my favorite character of the harem dies. I won’t say the name. But UGH. I cried and had to take a 2 day break before I started book 3. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Stunning Series!!!!!

This is the second book in the series and let me tell you it throws in so many twists and turns throughout it. It is gripping and full of suspense and drama. It is an have you on the edge of your seat type book. It has fascinating characters that are stunningly developed. They are growing and allowing us to see them in new lights. Yes, the story ends in a cliffhanger but the ride getting to the next book in the series is superb. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

[Sabrina Dalton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ordered all three books in the series, the first was just so fast moving and absolutely no character development. I figured I bought all three books, I will just push through and read the second. There were so many spelling errors. Like the first book it was not good. The idea of the story is good but the author needs to add more depth to the characters. At the moment there is no desire to read the third book.

[C.M. Chafin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the ending, but the rest was a bit hard to follow. It could've used quite a bit of editing. Definitely more plot based than the first, but felt like all the lores of Vampire Diaries, Hunger Games, and Resident Evil were pulled into this one. Still going to read the third. Was almost a stand-alone book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where do I begin??? Because I literally don’t know?? This book picks up where we left of at the end of the first with Scar and company trying to locate the Vampire Governor’s form order to throw a wrench in their plan. In order to do this they must locate several artifacts so they have them and not the Governor’s. But all won’t simply be that easy. And as time goes on Scar learns more about herself and the secrets her mother and father had kept from her all these years.

I throughly enjoyed this book. I loved getting to know the boys and Scar more and getting some answers while also having more questions as well. I can’t wait to read the third and see what happens next!

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs some work on the editing. Overall the series is good and such a fast read so far that pulls you into the story. There is of course the usual spicy parts, which were not as much in this book of the trilogy, but still present. It is a mild spicy for this book, but still worth the read. Looking forward to book three to see how it all ends.

[Emily Franzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first book! So much mystery, action and emotion. The relationships develop, and one has to learn to fight his true nature. The ending will bring you to tears, but it is so worth it. Can't wait for more!

[K. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly written sequal. Great character development and world building. The story itself is amazing and I for one have no idea where this will go. Patiently awaiting the next book in the series, definately looking forward to it.

[Jessica Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picks up roughly where we left off on book 1 and I was hooked to this series! Book 2 is just as good as book one and I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it at gone midnight and woke my poor partner up while screaming “Noooo” due to the very big cliffhanger!
Can’t wait to read book 3!

[Channy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wtf

Omg this book was amazing! Scarlette and crew continued their fight against the governors, and some big secrets were revealed. Then the ending left me going WTF! Well done on this one, what a great read!!!

[Makayla Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Book Ever

Literally in tears after finishing this book. I'm crying. Such a wonderful series can't remember the last time I was this invested in a series. Maybe Harry Potter? Either way! Fantastic! Going to the next one now!

[Kirsty Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel

This felt much more original and interesting than the first book! It picks up basically where you leave off in the first and ends on a fantastic cliffhanger that is compelling me to read the next book!

[Jacquelyn G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I was kind of disappointed that there weren't that much of trials to be had. I was expecting some sort of supernatural Hunger Games. Don't get me wrong, the action was definitely entertaining but not what I thought would happen.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book ☹ I can't even remember all of the reasons why, but it wasn't holding my interest. It was a bit scattered and I wasn't following or buying into the plot. I really wanted to love it. Just wasn't doing anything for me.

[Ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty bland in terms of text quality but the perfect beach read if you're looking for something light and steamy to read on a lazy afternoon. Kind of curious about how the cambion/demon thing works for Scarlett.

[Rachel Reads Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who wishes The Hunger Games had been #WhyChoose

Great story, very interesting world building, and HOT guys. I don't know how I'll survive until book 3! But somehow i will

[Galina Sulaiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vampire trials

No, just flipping no! I can't stand it when a author takes one of my favorite characters and kills them. It wrenched my heart out and spit out my soul.