‘Into Darkness’ by Hayley Barrett is an action-packed and sometimes chilling tale of a young girl’s journey into a truly great unknown.

Alexandra, daughter of a judge and girlfriend of Marcus, a highly-ranked guard in the city in which they live, starts off the story sentenced to just short of a year’s stay in Elder Grey Detention Centre, a place that only tales of horror stem from. The reason for her sentencing is minor compared to those who are already “prisoners” in Elder Grey – she participated in a party that Marcus basically forced her into having, but he is not willing to give up his position and power in society, so he has her take the fall, and she, being in what she considers love with him, blindly goes along with his wishes.

After she is sentenced, revelations start to occur, including the fact that her father, the judge, is not really her father at all. He is even one of the ones who sentenced her to her stay in Elder Grey. This revelation, among others that occur throughout the story, paint Alexandra as a victim of circumstances beyond her control.

Will is one of the guards sent to help her get to Elder Grey safely. This seemed ironic since no one at Elder Grey in any position of power that truly mattered seem worried about her safety in the least. Even though their time together starts off on quite the wrong foot, Will and Alexandra find common ground and have their share of battles, both with each other, and which they fight together. The ups and downs of their relationship, from one in which she hates him, to one in which she isn’t quite sure what to make of him, to one where she can’t imagine life without him once they have to separate upon her entrance into Elder Grey is written very well, and made the plot flow very nicely. It was also nice to see her relationship develop with Will as she fought against emotions for him since she had been promised to be married to Marcus, a man who, it is learned as the novel progresses, sees her as more of a way to have the personal gains he seeks than a woman whom he can love and treat properly.

Alexandra makes friends along the way, even in Elder Grey where she thinks everyone will be against her. Some whom she thinks would never help her turn into allies, while others stay foes, but all the while, there are twists and turns along the way to make readers guess at what might come next.

It did take me a while to get into the novel. I became much more invested in reading when Alexandra made it to Elder Grey. Some of what happened there reminded me of how a stint in prison might have gone in The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, since Alexandra had not really committed much, if any, kind of crime, but she was mixed in with people who had committed murder and other unspeakable acts. Besides taking a while to get into it, however, I enjoyed the story and the ending posed a nice transition into what will hopefully be another adventure for Alexandra and her friends.

You can find ‘Into Darkness’ by Hayley Barrett here.