**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Brayden's Darkness is the first book in the young adult Darkness Series by S.L. Abbott. This is the first book I have read from author S.L. Abbott and I have to say I was digging the way the book got progressively darker as it went on. By the end, I was totally surprised by the direction the story had taken. In a good way! The darkness series looks like it previously had different covers, but in 2019 it got a cover redo, and the new cover is beyond beautiful! This book has a very mysterious vibe going on, that coupled with fae magic, ancient lore, and a romance, and you have a ya fantasy lovers dream. I really enjoyed this one, and with the book ending the way it did, I am even more excited to continue on with the series.

Brayden's Darkness is the story about Evren, our main character. She lives in a small town and she has always kept to herself. But one night, at the start of our story, she goes to a bonfire where she meets gregarious Cason and intense Brayden. There is a bit of love triangle in this book, but it becomes pretty clear where Evren's interest lie, so I wouldn't really consider this to be a true love triangle, at least not in this book. I know which side I fall on, and to be honest it is a pretty easy decision for me. (As I think it will be for most readers) See my pick in the spoilers

Brayden all the way! He is great. Though I do wish that Cason's character was developed a little better to make him more complex. He fit very easily into the stereotype hidden bad guy, and it was pretty easy to pick that out really early on, so I was never a Cason fan.

I loved the magical setting, and the mysterious magical abilities that both Cason and Brayden seemed to have. Not too much is explained about the source of these abilities or how they work. I do wish we had a bit more explanation early on in the story. We learn a little more about Cason and Brayden as the story goes on, but at the start everything was very mysterious. It led to slow and kind of confusing start for me. But I will say that my interest in the book grew the more I read about it. And then when we were at the 75% mark of the novel, things took a darker and more interesting turn. Honestly, the last portion of the book, though a bit confusing as well, was twisty and surprising and darkly delightful. I cannot wait to see where the next book is going to take us. I hope we start to get some more answers, because there is only so much being kept in the dark that I can take as a reader, but I think that book 2 is going to answer many of the unanswered questions that we have from book one concerning the magic system, and concerning all three of our main characters. I want to learn more about them all. If you are a fan of dark magical romances, then the Darkness Series by S.L. Abbott is a good series for you to check out.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs