bookishbrunette

After reading several mixed reviews of this book- I was hesitant to start it! But when I did, I was pleasantly surprised to be giggling on all of page TWO, and thinking, "WIN!" when Skye and her friends start talking about the coming zombie apocalypse during her birthday party! "I'm holding out for a hot zombie," "Yeah, or, like the hot scientist who finds the cure." "Or the hot government agent who's assigned to protect you from the international terrorist who plans to wipe out the nation with the world's first zombie virus weapon of mass destruction."Hehe!!! I loooove this: One- because it's her birthday party, and Two: because it's very much a conversation my friends and I would have at a gathering of any sort! Anyzombiewhatever... Moving on!Skye steps out for some air, where she encounters a gorgeous guy... Of course. At this point I'm thinking that this guy is either going to be the villain or the romantic interest. Predictably, she is instantly attracted to him. But, what intrigued me was what he says to her after she tells him that she hasn't made a birthday wish, "It's not too late," he said. "You've still got half an hour to change your life."Ooooh! Right?!?!Coincidentally, Asher (the guy outside her party) and his cousin, Devlin, start attending Skye's school the following week! We've got two guys- ONE chick... *sigh* but oddly enough I thoroughly enjoyed this particular love triangle/battle of wills between Devlin and Asher!Devlin and Asher are as different as night and day. Asher is flirty, cocky and dangerous, in contrast to Devlin's sweet, calm confidence. What intrigued me the most was that where as the romance factor was mostly focused on Asher- and that's who I would have USUALLY been pulling for... but I was SO Team Devlin (for MOST of the book)!At this point I know that one of them HAS to be the 'villainous' one... That's just HOW it works! But which one? Have I been completely fooled? Am I way off point? If so... Kudos to to Ms. Davies, because that doesn't happen often!About 1/3 of the way in, I find myself tiring of the general bit of 'nothing-ness' going on... UNTIL they go on a ski trip and around the camp fire, Asher tells a 'story' about a Rebel and a Guardian of an elder race of greater beings falling in love, having a baby and being shunned by their respective sides. WE of course know that these are Skye's parents- but she doesn't figure it out until Devlin and Asher take her up to the roof of her school and reveal to her their WINGS!Asher is a black-winged, Rebel and Devlin a white-winged, Guardian. Both sent here to watch over Skye as she comes into adulthood. There has never been a child born to a Rebel and a Guardian before, so no one knows what she will become... But BOTH sides want her.Then Devlin's little blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel girlfriend/mate shows up out of the blue... and I call party foul! I wasn't made aware of this chick so I get to switch teams! And this may have had a little something to do it with it too, "He [Asher] had taken my face into his hands and the rest of me into the darkness of his wings, and he was kissing me and I was kissing him and we were kissing eachother in my little bedroom, in my little house, in my little town, while the mountains soared into the sky."Uh yeah...A Beautiful Dark had a KILLER ending... Made complete with forbidden love, two HOTTER than hot male love interests, a hidden past and an unknown future. I am dying to read the next one!4.5 stars!!