Author: Sarah Dalton
Genre: young adult, paranormal, mystery, horror, ghosts, thriller, suspense
Published: October 2013
Publisher: Createspace
I always thought my demons came out in the day, rather than at night. I’ve never been scared of the dark. I’ve only ever been scared of real things: getting ill, having injections, physical pain… death. Those are my monsters, not ghosts or vampires or whatever else can hide under your bed at night.
I was wrong.
The dark makes everything worse.
When 17-year-old Mary Hades is admitted by her parents to a psychiatric unit, her worst nightmares are confirmed. How can she get better in a place that fills her with dread? Her friendships with the other patients — her wacky roommate Lacey, her protector Mo, and the mysterious, green-eyed Johnny — begin to fill her with hope, until she realizes that people in the hospital are dying without explanation. Something sinister stalks the corridors, and it’s up to Mary to stop it. But the closer she gets to the answer, the more perilous her situation becomes, and Mary discovers the only way to get out alive is to confront the things that scare her most.
Sarah Dalton is the author of the Blemished Series. Her fiction has appeared in Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. She grew up in the countryside of Derbyshire.
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He's right. I'm not afraid of the darkness. I'm not afraid of anything. I finally realise what my daylight monsters were, they were my own fears of being ill, of losing control.
* * *
When I jumped into My Daylight Monsters, it reminded me of Kelley Armstrong's The Summoning - Mary Hades being sent to a psychiatric ward of some sort after seeing ghost or something. She meets sane people inside. There's a lurking darkness inside the ward/hospital. It's really blending in quite well minus the whole paranormal stuff going on in The Summoning.
My Daylight Monsters try to be that thrilling horror novel. I have to commend it for trying. Mary sees things, she fears them. She was brought to the loony bin because of it. They tell her about the things that are bound to happen.
The book started with a really typical scenario (okay, maybe not sooo typical), Mary enters the psychiatric ward, meets new people, tries to adjust, and faces odd things. The story flows really well. It started pretty slow for me. It wasn't scary or all that thrilling. Mary's adjustment to the ward disappointed me. It feels that she immediately accepted everything, if not, she simply accepted a lot of things that came with entering the ward. It just seems so wrong.
Mary Hades is a pretty good heroine. She had that bravery in her. She had the ability. She had the curiosity. It just disappoints me, as I said earlier, how she easily trusts. I guess that's her flaw. And in my opinion, Johnny's presence, someone Mary met in the ward, balanced that off nicely. For me, Johnny is Mary's guide. He was there to lead Mary off to what she needs to know and what she needs to do. He's there to point things out to Mary, even her own personal faults. Lacey, on the other hand, is the first friend Mary made. Lacey together with Mo is Mary's door to adjusting and understanding some of the things that went on in the ward. They are Mary's partners in crime. The three of them are really work together.
My Daylight Monsters try to be that thrilling horror novel. I have to commend it for trying. Mary sees things, she fears them. She was brought to the loony bin because of it. They tell her about the things that are bound to happen.
The book started with a really typical scenario (okay, maybe not sooo typical), Mary enters the psychiatric ward, meets new people, tries to adjust, and faces odd things. The story flows really well. It started pretty slow for me. It wasn't scary or all that thrilling. Mary's adjustment to the ward disappointed me. It feels that she immediately accepted everything, if not, she simply accepted a lot of things that came with entering the ward. It just seems so wrong.
Mary Hades is a pretty good heroine. She had that bravery in her. She had the ability. She had the curiosity. It just disappoints me, as I said earlier, how she easily trusts. I guess that's her flaw. And in my opinion, Johnny's presence, someone Mary met in the ward, balanced that off nicely. For me, Johnny is Mary's guide. He was there to lead Mary off to what she needs to know and what she needs to do. He's there to point things out to Mary, even her own personal faults. Lacey, on the other hand, is the first friend Mary made. Lacey together with Mo is Mary's door to adjusting and understanding some of the things that went on in the ward. They are Mary's partners in crime. The three of them are really work together.
There is, of course, the involvement of romance but not too much just yet. It feels more like a glimpse of what to expect on the actual books in the series. And it really pumps me up to see more of Mary and Mo and how their relation could further develop and deepen.
The climax of My Daylight Monsters is perhaps the real highlight of this book, aside from introducing Mary and very great instinct. It was very thrilling. After having that pretty slow beginning, when things just started stirring up and you know that Mary and the rest would start digging things up, I just had to read through everything really quickly. When things started getting exciting, it never stopped. It's doesn't let you breath. You just go through everything in one go. It's gripping. It's thrilling. This balances off the slow start.
Overall, My Daylight Monsters is a good prequel to Mary Hades (which I'll read soon).It sets things off well. I get to know Mary Hades, her ability, the people around her, and just how exciting this series could be. This is a really GOOD READ :)
The climax of My Daylight Monsters is perhaps the real highlight of this book, aside from introducing Mary and very great instinct. It was very thrilling. After having that pretty slow beginning, when things just started stirring up and you know that Mary and the rest would start digging things up, I just had to read through everything really quickly. When things started getting exciting, it never stopped. It's doesn't let you breath. You just go through everything in one go. It's gripping. It's thrilling. This balances off the slow start.
Overall, My Daylight Monsters is a good prequel to Mary Hades (which I'll read soon).It sets things off well. I get to know Mary Hades, her ability, the people around her, and just how exciting this series could be. This is a really GOOD READ :)
* * *
What I Like: (1) Mary Hades, (2) Lacey and how Mary got to know her, (3) the development of Mary's relationship with Mo, (4) the thrilling climax, (5) that beautiful and moving ending, (6) the picturesque writing
What I Didn’t Like: (1) the slow start, (2) how Mary easily accepted everything, (3) how Johnny had to point out everything to her, (4) the expected thread the story had
~this book was provided in exchange for an honest review~
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