REVIEW: The Dark Light by Sara Walsh

Mia is torn between two guys and two worlds in this epic, romantic fantasy.

Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she's concerned, that's about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.

That is, until Sol arrives. Mia's not one to fall for just any guy, but she can't get Sol or the brilliant tattoo on his back out of her mind.

Then Mia's brother goes missing, and Mia's convinced that Sol knows more than he's sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol's not who Mia thought he was and neither is she.

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THE RUN-DOWN 
In Crownsville, and the surrounding towns, boys around the age of ten are disappearing. When Mia's brother becomes one of them she'll do whatever she can to get him back. All she knows is that her brother disappeared in a strange flash of light and that the new student at school, Sol, knows more than he says. With the help of Sol, she'll try to find her brother and discover that everything is not as it seems...

MY OPINION 
This book took me completely by surprise.
Based on both the cover and the synopsis, I was expecting a generic paranormal read.
The cover is the usual paranormal cover.
And in the synopsis we have both a hint of a love triangle and a hot new guy that the main character yearns for, both of these scream "generic paranormal read".

Let's make this clear:
1. This is not a paranormal read 
This is more of a fantasy read than a paranormal read. It not only has a fantasy feel to it, but it's nothing like your usual fantasy novel. Meaning: this is not your generic book.
2. There is no love triangle 
I have no idea who wrote that into the synopsis, but they're completely off the mark.
"Mia is torn between two guys and two worlds in this epic, romantic fantasy."
Mia is not torn between two guys, she likes only one guy. There is a brief "relationship" at the beginning of the book, but that relationship does not carry on into the story and is, in fact, never mentioned again.

Now that we got that out the way, I can say that I very much enjoyed this book. It definitely exceeded my expectations. I went into this book fully expecting the usual paranormal read. Since I have been disliking paranormal reads lately, I thought that this was to be added to the pile. The switch in genre expectations (from paranormal to fantasy) was not the only surprise. The entire storyline was unexpected! 

I know, I know, I'm being extremely vague in this review, but the truth is, I can only say so much without giving away the plot. The surprise in the plot was one of the things I loved most about this book. I do not want to give the surprise away. I loved being surprised, I want you to be surprised too.

IN CONCLUSION 
This was a very unexpected read. I loved the fantasy elements, the imagination in it, and the surprise that came with it.
I definitely recommend this book and am looking forward to what Sara Walsh will write next.

I hereby give this book:

4 Wheels!

Meaning: It was amazing!