Official Review: The Dark Kin by Daniel James Miller

Christinar81 · Post by **Christinar81** » 08 Apr 2015, 18:52

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dark Kin" by Daniel James Miller.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The Dark Kin by Daniel James Miller is a fantasy/Sci-fi novel about shifters and vampires. The book takes place in a rural lakeside area where a community of shifters live secretly among Mundanes (normal humans). The story centers around Ellie, a wolf shifter, her friend Sam, a mundane, and their families. Ellie and Sam are investigating some strange occurrences near the lake where Sam is a Park Ranger. One man died under suspicious circumstances and now another person is missing. A clue by the lake leads Ellie to talk to an Elder Council member, who reveals what monster is terrorizing their community. It's up to the community of shifters and their mundane friends to figure out who released this monster into their community and stop them. In addition to the adults, their children are also a large part of the story. The group of young friends take it upon themselves to help investigate what is happening in their town. This leads to the very dramatic and nail biting climax of the book.

The beginning of the story starts a little slow, as the author gives the background of the characters and how they fit into the storyline. After that point the story really picks up and I found it hard to put the book down. One of the main things I loved about the book is how the story is told by several different characters. Where most books have one or maybe two characters telling the story, this author was able to add a whole new dimension to the story by showing it through the eyes of several characters.

The author has an incredible talent for describing things. From the locations to the characters, the author was able to make me feel like I was there watching everything as it's happening. The shifters in this book are an array of animals including wolves, bears, a puma and even a gorilla shifter. The way the author describes each animal from the way they look to their body movements, is amazing. He is able to be very descriptive without making the book sluggish to read.

I also loved the way the author built the character's relationships and how they interacted with each other. The scenes with the children took me back to when I was a child. The siblings bicker and fight, but no matter what they always have each other's back. The adult character's relationships were very realistic. Their friendships and the way they must be respectful to those in command were very relatable to my own life.

The book could use another round of editing. Even though there were little mistakes here and there, it did not take away from the amazing plot and writing. I would recommend this book for all teenagers and adults. Anybody who enjoys a good plot with a lot of drama, would appreciate this book. Even though there are a ton of other shifter and vampire books out there, Daniel James Miller was able to bring a new twist and feel to the storyline. He was able to get me excited about reading another vampire/shifter book.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, for a great storyline and very believable characters. I enjoyed reading this book immensely. I hope that the author writes a sequel to this book. He left enough of a storyline to add a few more books to the series. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more books from this author.

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The Dark Kin
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Post by **bookowlie** » 13 Apr 2015, 11:16

Great review! The plot sounds very interesting.

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 22 Apr 2015, 01:46

Do you think someone who has never read a vampire book would like it? I like fantasy books but I've never read any vampire books.

Christinar81 · Post by **Christinar81** » 22 Apr 2015, 14:46

The book is mainly about shifters. Vampires only play a small role. The author does a really good job explaining the shifters and everything about them. So it doesn't matter if you haven't read about vampires or shifters the author made the story easy to understand and follow. If you enjoy fantasy books I think you would like this book.