Matt finds The Lies That Hide Within (review)

 

THE LIES THAT HIDE WITHIN 

(The Darkness Duology Book 2) 

by Megan Boley

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Built for vengeance. Not teamwork. Not trust. Certainly not romance. 

But the end of the world doesn't care about her comfort zone...

Strap in once again, survivor. Megan Boley is back with the blistering conclusion to The Darkness Duology, and The Lies That Hide Within is a deliciously dark cocktail of post-apocalyptic mayhem, shadowy conspiracies, steamy tension, and knife-edged banter.

It's fair to say things aren't going will at the end of the world - resistance’s messengers have gone missing. Ritualistic killings are creeping closer. And somewhere in the woods, something is watching. Penny’s got a theory though and it’s not a good one. She's convinced the murderous cult she failed to erase is still out there, licking its wounds and ready to burn the world (again). 

Naturally, she’s hell-bent on finishing what she started. But one woman versus an insidious death cult with biotech backing? Even Penny... voted "most likely to stab someone in the face"... knows she can’t do it alone. 

Enter Mal. Her commanding officer. Her walking headache. Her very large, very growly, extremely inconvenient maybe-love-interest. She needs manpower. He needs her to follow orders. Neither of them plans to play nice. 

Hopefully you get the picture, and if you've read book one you'll know that Boley is a great fun author to read. Cue: barbed flirtation, tactical bickering, and emotional whiplash...

Plus we get future Tesla *sorry* the equally morally-bankrupt megacorp: Pharmatrox. 

Yep, if you like your villains with a corporate logo and a side of science-gone-wrong, prepare to get happy!

There's a lot packed in here: simmering romance, shocking twists, tick and tick. All woven into a cat-and-mouse narrative where everyone’s wearing a mask and the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

It even gets a little steamy. Not smut, but enough heat to fog up your tactical goggles. 

Wanna see a pic of Megan Boley, the dystopian and urban fantasy author (and, alas, a former redhead). 

Jump back to my review of The Darkness All Around Us here: REVIEW 

Check here Socials: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/meganboleyauthor TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@metal_meg

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Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö1/2

(4.5 A smart, funny, brutally great way to round off the two books) 

BUY THEM HERE: Amazon link

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Matt feels The Darkness All Around Us (review)

 

The Darkness All Around Us 

by Megan Boley

Reviewed by Matt Adcock  

Step this way for a brutal, pulse-pounding descent into dystopian horror that grips and pleases as it rips your heart out. 

Megan Boley's The Darkness All Around Us is a full-throttle, nerve-shredding journey through a world where survival is an act of defiance and the line between humanity and monstrosity blurs with every blood-drenched step forward. If you like your dystopian fiction with a razor-sharp edge, a touch of Resident Evil-esque bio-horror, and characters who carry their trauma like a loaded gun, then buckle up, this one hit's hard. 

Boley brings a world drenched in shadow, in a future where corporate greed has mutated into something far more monstrous, the novel throws us into the ruins of a society ravaged by unchecked scientific ambition. Pharmatox, the omnipresent pharmaceutical juggernaut, has been playing God with genetics, and now the world is paying the price. 

Humanity is splintered, what remains of civilization clings to the edges, while unspeakable horrors lurk in the wastelands beyond. Enter Stella, a scientist with a past as dark as the world around her. Haunted by guilt and the weight of past mistakes, she’s thrust into a desperate fight when her closest friend is taken by Pharmatox for “research.” 

What follows is a relentless, high-stakes infiltration into the belly of the beast, where every corner holds a new nightmare, and trust is as scarce as clean air. Boley really knows how to craft characters that feel raw and real.

Stella isn’t some invincible action hero, she’s flawed, broken, and barely holding herself together. Her journey isn’t just about survival; it’s about redemption, about clawing her way back to something worth living for. Alongside her is a ragtag band of misfits: a snarky teenage scavenger who’s seen too much, a rogue scientist who knows too many secrets, and a former Pharmatox enforcer who may or may not be trustworthy. Their dynamic crackles with tension and gallows humour, offering rare moments of light in a world gone pitch-black. 

I loved the pacing, it's relentless. Every chapter drags you deeper into the abyss, each moment of reprieve shattered by another horrifying revelation. The horror here isn’t just in the grotesque mutations and corporate-controlled monstrosities, it’s in the loss of self, the fear of what we’re willing to become when the world demands it. 

I also admired how Boley wields tension like a scalpel, slicing through any illusions of safety. The action is brutal, cinematic and desperate. Fights are scrappy and visceral, more survival than spectacle. 

And when the horror kicks in you'll witness imagery that lingers, scenes that burn into your mind with eerie precision. 

Must-Read for Dystopian Horror Fans The Darkness All Around Us is a gut-wrenching, adrenaline-fueled nightmare that refuses to pull its punches. 

Megan Boley is a dystopian and urban fantasy author (and, alas, a former redhead). Her stories are full of ragtag teams, strong women, grumpy but lovable men, and some steamy romance to keep things nice and interesting...

Check here Socials: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/meganboleyauthor TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@metal_meg

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/meganboleyauthor/

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

öööö

(4 - Read it with the lights on… but know that the darkness is already inside you.) 

LIKE THIS? READ THE BOOK TWO REVIEW HERE: Review link

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FOREST of NOISE Mosab Abu Toha (review)

 

FOREST of NOISE

by Mosab Abu Toha 

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20 on Bluesky)

There are books that tell stories, and then there are books that pull you into the very marrow of their reality. Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha is the latter, a collection of poetry that does not merely speak of loss, displacement, and resilience but makes you inhabit them. 

Recently longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, this book is an unflinching, urgent testament to the experience of living under occupation and the enduring power of art in the face of violence. Abu Toha writes with a voice that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant. His words carry the weight of a people’s history, yet they land with the intimacy of whispered confessions. The collection's title, Forest of Noise, evokes both the deafening chaos of war and the eerie silence that follows destruction, setting the tone for poetry that oscillates between despair and defiance. 

But this work does not merely catalogue suffering. The poetry also sings with resistance. There are moments where language itself becomes an act of defiance, words wielded like stones against silence and erasure. In a world that often demands his silence, he refuses, filling the void with verse. His work echoes the tradition of Mahmoud Darwish, but it is distinctly his own, modern, raw, and unrelenting in its search for truth. What makes Forest of Noise truly exceptional is its ability to hold complexity. There is rage, certainly, but also tenderness. There is mourning, but also an aching love for the land, for the people who continue to plant trees even as bombs fall. 

In one particularly striking poem, Abu Toha writes of how their 'lives freeze' every time they heard a bomb falling from an F-16 or an F-35, you can feel the fear emanating from the pages. You see, Forest of Noise is not just a collection of poems; it's a chronicle of survival, identity, and the unyielding spirit of a people. Abu Toha's voice resonates with authenticity, offering readers an intimate portrayal of life in Gaza. This collection is a poignant reminder of the power of poetry to illuminate the human condition, making it a deserving contender for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Abu Toha’s poetry is a rare thing: both deeply rooted in a specific place and time, and yet expansive enough to resonate with anyone who has ever known loss, exile, or the need to fight for a voice.

Find out more about the Dylan Thomas Prize here: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/dylan-thomas-prize/ 

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Click banner below to hear a FREE 5 mins sample of my audiobook which is becoming a graphic novel too)...