Oliver Twist and TV's Supernatural come together in this upper-YA urban fantasy series about biblical prophecy and time travel, set in the streets of modern-day Los Angeles.

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Aidan's childhood ended the night he saw a demon kill his mother. That same night his little sister Ava was claimed by the darkness. Every three years since then, with the rise of the full moon, Aidan has tried desperately to protect Ava from the demons. Ava and Aidan are hardly alike, but they both share otherworldly abilities. Aidan can see demons, ghosts and spirits, he can speak ancient languages, and he draws power from Jewish symbols like the Star of David.

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In a desperate attempt to save his sister on the eve of her twelfth birthday, Aidan reaches out to Sid, a magician and time-traveler who comes across as a charlatan but runs a halfway house for runaways and orphans with special powers. Aidan, Ava, and his best friend and tech-wiz Jax move in to the strange house, which Aidan hopes will be a safe place for his sister. While struggling to unlock his powers and save his sister, he meets two girls who compete for his heart. Along the way he discovers that he's the son of the prophet Daniel, who travelled through time to impregnate his mother, and that Aidan and Ava's very existence is threatening the balance of the world.

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DARKNESS BRUTAL is the first book in the series, to be followed by DARKNESS FAIR and DARKNESS SAVAGE, and preceded by a prequel novella called DARKNESS REBORN.

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Rights Sold:

World English to Amazon/Skyscape; Turkey, Indigo Kitap

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Reviews:

"In a world where children are the tools of both good and evil…Rachel deftly weaves together myth and magic to bring us a young hero with one foot planted firmly in a terrifying supernatural world and one in our own." – J. K. Cheney, author of THE GOLDEN CITY

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"Marks has written a wonderfully fresh take YA and urban fantasy, two genres that are bogged down with tropes…Aidan's voice is perfectly teenaged and snarky, and he feels real… Marks has a knack for writing characters who are manipulated by forces beyond their control, but who are not passive in the slightest." – Beth Cato, author of THE CLOCKWORK DAGGER"Rachel A. Marks has a way of telling her tale that made this a book I couldn't put down. [DARKNESS BRUTAL] is a great mix between character-driven and plot-driven scenes, between swoon-worthy Y.A. romance and heart-pounding supernatural danger." – Merrie Destefano, author of AFTERLIFE

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"An urban fantasy lover's dream!" – YA Highway

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"A well-written start to a new series, an intriguing take on the demons vs. angels theme, with characters that I grew to love." – Books, Bones and Buffy