Thank you to Raye Wagner and Lela Grayce for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

Unless . . .

One day, a mysterious stranger rescues her from a fight and offers her the unattainable: a safe haven with other demigods. But Dahlia fears a new residence can only be a temporary reprieve. It can’t end well — not for her or the others.

After all, it’s impossible to change who she is."

Thank you to Raye Wagner and Lela Grayce for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I'm drifting in and out of a reading slump lately so this one took me a bit to get through, but it's such a wonderful book. This short story is all about Dahlia before she was, well, Dahlia. It's heartbreaking but powerful and further proof that Raye Wagner is probably a Goddess herself and has just come to Earth to tell us mortals fantastic stories about her friends.

Plot:
Timid. Afraid. Alone. These are not words you would think of when talking about Dahlia, daughter of Eris. When you meet her in the Sphinx series, she's loud and confident and doesn't take crap from anyone. She's fiercely independent but also incredibly protective of the ones she loves. In Daughter of Darkness, Dahlia is living in foster care because her adoptive parents got divorced. She's bullied in school, verbally and physically. She has no one and thinks that she is no one, undeserving of love and friendship despite those being the things she craves the most. This is Dahlia before she becomes Dahlia, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. When she gets rescued from a fight by a drunk Irish stranger, she gets offered the last thing she could have imagined: a safe haven with other demigods like her. With her history, she doesn't think things will end well at this conservatory, and goes in wary of things not ending well- for herself or for others.

This story absolutely destroyed me and made me love Dahlia even more than I already did. I couldn't believe that this was the Dahlia that I knew and cared for from the main Sphinx books! But seeing her origin story (for lack of a better word) and seeing how she grows from this scared girl into who she is today was such a treat. Short stories are usually really hard to kind of essentially cram everything you want into less than 100 pages, but Raye Wagner has such a talent for these kinds of stories. She was able to set up Dahlia's backstory leading up to the day she met Roan so well and I was able to get such a clear picture of the growth that she experiences once she meets Xan and goes to live at the conservatory. I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Dahlia and Xan and how much he helps her basically get out of the slump she lives in. He's such a positive force in her life and I cannot get enough of their relationship. They feel more like brother and sister than cousins with the way he not only teaches her how to fight and defend herself, but also helps her to realize her self worth and make her stronger both inside and out.

Nothing in this feels rushed or like it was just shoved in there just for the sake of the plot. Everything flows so well and by the end, you're left with a smile on your face because of how nicely everything wraps up. You want more, obviously, but are satisfied with what was written because of how well it was delivered to you. I can't praise Raye Wagner enough for her talent of once again delivering a solid story, even if it was a short one!

Characters:
Again, this is a short story, but boy oh boy was there some character growth in this one. Dahlia starts off thinking she's a nobody who doesn't deserve love and can't even protect herself from school bullies. Not only was it difficult to read about how she really saw herself, it was just impossible to believe that the strong, sassy, independent Dahlia I knew and loved was once like this. There were times where I wanted to hug her because her feelings have mirrored those that I (and I'm sure many others) have felt in the past. I definitely had no issue connecting with Dahlia from the very first page, and I really feel that this is a character that many others will be able to relate to. Well, minus the whole being a demigod thing, of course. Dahlia experiences a huge emotional growth spurt once she meets Xan and goes to live at the conservatory. She goes from having basically no self-esteem to being able to tell herself that she's not worthless and actually meaning it. She's able to stick up for herself and find things that she's good at and it was so wonderful to see her transformation from beginning to end.

Xan was fantastic, as always. As I stated above, I especially enjoyed seeing the relationship between him and Dahlia and how he takes her under his wing and helps her grow. He watches out for her without question and even though Dahlia was wary of him at first, it was obvious that she not only wanted but needed the protection that Xan provided her. I also couldn't get enough of his Irish dialect! It came out so strong in this story (even more so than in Son of War) and it was great to be able to read because I always felt that his way of speaking was more American-ized in the main Sphinx series.

It was cool to see some other new demigods introduced as well. This story takes place in the late 60's so it's well before we see almost any of the characters in the Sphinx series. Despite them having small parts (again, this is a short story), they were written very well and I was definitely able to form opinions about each of them. It's no surprise, however, because Raye Wagner always does a great job at writing about her characters, whether it's a full length story or a short story like this one.

Writing:
I'm pretty sure that I say this in every review that I do of a Raye Wagner book but the writing was wonderful. I always know that when I sit down to read one of her books that I'm in for a treat. Her way of writing is so enjoyable and easy to read, and it's so much fun to just sit down and get lost in the world that she's created. The world of the Sphinx series is huge and is continuing to grow and it's one that I will never get tired of diving into head first. Her world building is solid and the growth is consistent, the characters are lovable and are always changing and evolving with each new book/story, and the writing itself is just fun. I never thought that I would be so into Greek gods/goddesses, but Raye Wagner has drawn me into the deep and beautiful mythology and now I can't get enough of it!

As usual, Raye Wagner has written a story that is sure to draw in new readers and remind current readers why they love her books so much. Dahlia's story is an important one and I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone, regardless of whether or not you've read a book in the Sphinx series. With relatable characters and a message that is sure to resonate with everyone that reads it, Daughter of Darkness is an unforgettable story that you'll want to read over and over again.

Hi hello and welcome to day twelve of 12 Days of Bookmas 2016! This was created by Hailey in Bookland so be sure to go check out her links listed at the end of this post and get in on all of the amazing book related fun. Today is the final day and I will be talking about my top twelve books that I read in 2016! As before, many of these may be repeats (cough True Born cough) but I really enjoyed many of these books and I just love sharing them with everyone! Let's get started!

Seventeen-year-old Hope Nicholas is done running. Apollo’s curse has ruled her entire life, limiting her choices and robbing her of the things that matter most. But she refuses to live in fear any longer. In fact, she’s ready to do whatever it takes to break the god’s power over her existence.

When the goddess Artemis instructs Hope to impersonate a demigod and infiltrate a conservatory to get access to the Olympian library, she doesn’t hesitate. As she sees it, there’s nothing left to lose.

But once inside, Hope discovers the only way to get what she needs is to work with her sworn enemies. As the lines between demigod and monster are crossed again and again, Hope has to dig deep for the courage to accept her fate or fight for the freedom to save herself."

Thank you to Raye Wagner for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review!

Oh. Emm. Gee. I absolutely loved this book! Curse of the Sphinx set a nice foundation for Hope and her world, but Demigods and Monsters just blew it out of the water! Hands down, this is my favorite of the two. There was so much action, more amazing Greek God lore, a bit of a romance, and some really amazing characters. I could not get enough of this book and it has left me dying for more!

Hope is done running and is even more done with Apollo's curse. When she's instructed by the goddess Artemis to impersonate a demigod and infiltrate a conservatory in order to gain access to the Olympian library, she doesn't hesitate. What more does she really have left to lose? But when she finally gets inside, she realizes she has to work alongside her enemies in order to save herself. With the lines between demigod and monster constantly blurring, will Hope be able to remove the curse or will she remain under Apollo's whim forever?

Let's just jump right into the characters, because they were my absolute favorite part. Hope has grown significantly since Curse of the Sphinx and she's even stronger now, both physically and also in a mindset sense. Her decision to break the curse of Apollo is not taken lightly, and she knows how dangerous it could be for her. But she's incredibly smart and is constantly on guard, never giving up her search for answers. I was so incredibly happy to see how much she grows throughout this book, and she's solidified her place as my favorite character. Athan, once again, is still not my favorite. He brought an element of stress to the story and, again, rubbed me the wrong way. I could never tell if he was being sincere or was just being "typical" Athan, as he has plenty of history with some of the other demigods and it's not all good. Xan on the other hand was fantastic. He was snarky, but was a character that you really couldn't help but love. Also, that accent just made him so much better. I loved that he was so protective of Hope, but understood that she wasn't comfortable with having a relationship at the moment. Which, back to Hope again for just a second, I liked how she was very honest with her feelings and told Xan that she wasn't quite ready for a relationship just yet and didn't allow herself to be drawn into a love triangle with her, Athan, and Xan. Again, just another element that adds to how much I love her. There were several other new demigods introduced, such as Dahlia, Endymion, Thenia, Obelia, and the Sons of Apollo, Ty, Prax, and Tre. Out of all of them, Dahlia was fantastically fun, strong, and sassy, kind of like Hope. We even get to read about some of the Gods along the way, and that was a really exciting experience. I wasn't sure what I was expecting from them, but they were quite interesting to read about while they made their brief appearances. The characters really took the story to the next level and I just really genuinely loved them all, both good and bad!

Just as a small side note, I don't trust Priska. Not one single bit.

Also, Apollo is insane! Powerful, scary, and majorly creepy all at the same time.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and how it gives you some answers to questions from the first book, and expands upon the already established world. It's still crazy to think that in this world, people are aware of the existence of Gods and demigods! I really liked that element of the story, however. In the first book, I found myself confused by it until I realized that it really was true, that people knew of the Gods/demigods existence. But now, I think it's really cool and adds a bit more to the story. Of course, exposing the demigods is frowned upon, as Hope accidentally does it at one point and gets slightly fussed at. Hope impersonating a demigod was so stressful to follow. I was so afraid that she would be exposed at any minute, especially once the three brothers (Ty, Prax, and Tre) showed up. I wanted to badly for her to get the answers she was looking for, but also to be safe as she is the Sphinx that the demigods are currently hunting. From start to finish, the plot of this book was so well-developed and I found myself unable to put it down once I got started. There's just so much more to this than the first book and I was so excited to have more backstory on some of the Gods and their children. One thing that piqued my interest was when Hope discovered that there were a few Goddesses that did not have any children, even thought she knew that to be false. It made me wonder just how much of what she had been told was true, and how much of it was lies. Also, the history between Athan and Xan has me dying to know just what happened between the two of them! There is so much depth to this story, but it also wraps up some things that you may have been questioning or confused about.

Demigods and Monsters is filled with so much amazing writing that you'll find yourself drawn into Hope's world with absolutely no problem. It was so descriptive and beautiful, and it's so easy to just sit down and lose yourself within the pages. There was a ton of Greek mythology, and even some actual Greek, in this book and I absolutely devoured it. I loved learning more about the Gods and especially the backstory on some of the monsters in the world. Raye Wagner's writing is as captivating as a siren song- once you read it, you'll fall in love and find it impossible to put down. There was so much more to this book and I just couldn't get enough. The ending had me flailing about and I am so ready for Myths of Immortality!

This was such an amazing continuation of the Sphinx series and to say that I loved it is an incredibly large understatement. It has amazing character development, writing that can only be described as otherworldly beautiful, and an ending that will leave you breathless and begging for the next one!