Review: Darkborn by Alison Sinclair

Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes, Trilogy. Lightborn next in series
Pages: 352
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Roc Trade
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
Physician Balthasar Hearne, of the Darkborn, opens his door to a woman who is pregnant. Darkborn must live in the dark. In light they are burned to ash. Lightborn are the opposite and are melted by the dark. Balthasar cannot turn her away without killing her, so he asks her to stay. She gives birth to twins who seem able to live in both light and dark. Balthasar's wife, Telmaine, arrives home to find that her husband has been beaten and is close to death because of the twins. When she arrives at her home she finds the assailants leaving. The assailants has kidnap her daughter. She and Baron Ishmael di Strumheller, her escort home, heal her husband with magic. Once the danger for her husband is gone they set out to find their kidnapped daughter and fight the danger posed by unknown forces.

Feelings:
The book is in third person and every time the story switches points of view from one character to the next there is a heading to tell the reader which character is narrating. I found this useful but wished it wasn't necessary. I liked the story and thought it was an interesting idea. I will probably read the next in the series but it is not high on my list. While I enjoyed the story, it was an easy read and not very thought provoking. It did not ask the reader to engage. I like to engage with what I am reading and not be subjected to it. I liked both Telmaine's internal conflict and the external conflict of the Hearne family and the assailant. The characters in the story were interesting which is what made me finish reading the book and which will likely have me looking for the next in the series.