Nameless: The Darkness Comes by Mercedes M Yardley (The Bone Angel Trilogy #1)

9/10

Nameless is the first full-length novel from Mercedes M. Yardley, published by the folks at Ragnarok Publishing, and the first book in The Bone Angel trilogy. Yardley's shorter works are best described as unconventional, and she continues to be unconventional in her transition to long form writing.

The story follows Luna Masterson, a neurotic young woman who lives with her brother and her niece, and keeps busy by trying to protect them from the demons that nobody else can see. It's kind of dysfunctional, but it’s routine and comfortable... until Luna meets Reed Taylor. Luna and Reed Taylor (never Reed, always Reed Taylor) embark on a whirlwind and fiery romance which causes Luna to drop her guard and allows the demons to take her brother and her niece into their possession. Forced between a rock and a hard place, Luna is seemingly left with one option - striking a deal with the chatty demon named Mouth.

I really enjoyed this story, but, just like Luna, it was all over the place and just a little unfocused. The story has a very organic feel to it, following Luna as her attention shifts from place to place. It is an unpredictable story, and when combined with the dark and heavy atmosphere (and when I say dark, I really do mean it), it creates a unique experience that I found quite refreshing. The way the story unfolds is a reflection of Luna's psyche, and by the end I got the impression that it must be exhausting to be Luna.

Luna is a fascinating character, someone who is very likeable despite all the crazy. Yardley has written this story from the first person perspective so you really get to see inside the mind of Luna and how it jumps around from topic to topic. The rest of the characters have been well developed too, despite the first person perspective. Mouth, Reed Taylor, Sparkles, and her brother Seth all have these little neuroses that Luna can’t help but to pick at like a scab, and allows us to see deeper inside all of these very interesting characters. Like it says on the back of the book - "outcasts of a feather should stick together... even until the end."

Yardley has shown that with Nameless, she has the ability to really make waves with longer form novels. This book is not as focused as Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu, and I don't think it is going to be to everyone's tastes, but it is definitely to my taste, and I can’t wait to see what Yardley writes next.