(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Life for a female slave is one of hardship and unspeakable sorrow, something Luna knows only too well. But not even she could have foreseen the terror that would befall her one sultry Mississippi evening in the summer of 1807.

On her way back from a visit to see the African woman, a witch who has the herbs Luna needs to rid her of her abusive master’s child, she attracts the attention of a deadly being that lusts for blood. Forcibly removed from everything she knows by this tormented otherworldly creature, she is sure she will be dead by sunrise.

Dark Genesis is a love story set against the savage world of slavery in which a young woman who has been dehumanised by its horrors finds the courage to love, and in doing so, reclaims her humanity.

I’ve been putting off doing a review for Dark Genesis for two weeks now.  It’s not because I’ve forgotten the plot lines and character names and have had to re-read it or because it’s so horrible I don’t have the energy to write a review.  No, it’s because of how amazing it was.

Words really don’t do this book justice.  It evokes so many different emotions in the reader from happiness to despair and everything in between.  I’m not the sort of person that cries over books frequently, but believe me when I say the waterworks were on for this one, especially at the end.  Just when you think you know what’s going to happen, the author sends a huge plot twist your way that you’re desperate for the next book.

Dark Genesis is a book with a strange sort of beauty.  A. D. Koboah’s descriptions and vivid imagery are absolutely unmatched; you’re instantly transported to Luna’s world.  Yet the topic that features in her book, slavery, is anything but beautiful.  Koboah didn’t flinch away from all of the horrors slaves like Luna had to face and one of her greatest strengths was how she portrayed the effects of such treatment even years afterward.

On the topic of Luna, she is an incredible character.  She’s now one of my favourite heroines ever not only because she was such a strong woman but because she had to go on a long journey of self-reflection to become that woman.  The time she spent with Avery really did change her, even if the scars from her years of enslavement were still beneath the surface.  Avery too was a very flawed character and you don’t really realize the depth of his sorrow until the end of the novel.  He’s not your typical vampire the same way Luna isn’t your typical heroine.  I won’t go into much more detail than that because I don’t want to spoil all of the good parts for you.

The plot remained relatively fast-paced despite being a mainly character-driven novel.  That in itself would have been quite impressive if not for the fact that there were so many plot twists.  Believe me, you may be able to predict some of the twists but most will blindside you in a good way.  I read Dark Genesis two weeks ago and I’m still reeling from that final twist at the end of the novel!  It’s hard to believe that this was A. D. Koboah’s first novel.  I don’t expect this level of awesome from many established authors, yet here I am writing this review.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t like vampire novels.  If you like any sort of character-driven novel or even just plain historical fiction, go and download Dark Genesis this instant.  It’s free on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as an ebook so it’s not like you’re losing anything by taking a chance on this wonderful novel.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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