Eden Winters’ entry in the Carnival of Mysteries series, Lighting the Darkness, is a sequel, of sorts, to the urban fantasy/sci-fi/procedural Darkness that came out earlier this year. Darkness wasn’t a perfect book, but I had to applaud the author for the solid worldbuilding and intruguing storyline, for taking risks and coming up with a story that was markedly different from almost everything else I’ve read in quite a while. I wish I could say the same about Lighting the Darkness – but I can’t. I’ve enjoyed a number of books by Eden Winters (her fabulous Diversion series is an all-time favourite), but this book is, frankly, a mess. There’s just too much going on; the two leads are not well developed – the backstory we’re given for one of them is almost entirely pointless – the romance is peripheral, and the story relies too heavily on coincidence for my taste. The actual plot is intriguing and the story picks up once it gets going – but that isn’t really until the second half, and I admit to thinking about DNF-ing several times in the first.

When Lighting the Darkness opens, we meet Bel Am’I, a Princeps (member of the ruling class) of Domus (an alternate realm or dimension) who is also a Lux (light). Domus is in its death throes and Bel is being sent to Terra (Earth – where many Domusians have fled) to locate a Tenebris (darkness) who has travelled through the portal to Terra and who, if not balanced by a Lux, could completely destroy it. As Bel steps through the portal, Domus is finally lost forever.

On Earth, Bel takes over the body of a young man who was killed in a car accident (Domusians are only supposed to take hosts who are dying or recently dead – kicking out human spirits/souls is a no-no). Eventually making his way to the Carnival of Mysteries, he is welcomed by Errante, who assures him he’s where he needs to be – for now. Bel is assigned to room with Joe, a friendly roustabout he’s sure isn’t human, just as he’s sure Errante isn’t human either. When he awakens next day, the Carnival has re-located; Joe is giving him a tour when they stumble across a couple of guys getting it on – which makes Bel feel all hot and bothered and he’s not sure why. Back in their RV, Joe shows Bel how to deal with his hard on; they jerk off together, and then Joe leaves, never to be seen again. I have no idea how this is relevant to the overall story unless it’s to remind us that Bel is a) an alien and unfamiliar with the workings of the human body and/or b) now living in the body of a gay man – and I’ve only mentioned it in the review to explain my previous comment about pointless backstory.

Then we meet our other protagonist. Emilio is a small cog in a big wheel of organised crime whose boss pimps him out for favours and information. Emilio has committed the cardinal sins of falling in love and trying to get out; when we first meet him he’s watching his lover being killed and he’s being beaten to death. But just at the moment when he should die, something happens – another entity occupies Emilio’s body. Whatever it is has no idea who he/it is, where he is or why he’s there; the bad guys dump his body in the desert, and it’s only thanks to Errante and the Carnival that he doesn’t die out there. He decides to go by the name Lio.

Bel and Lio – whom Errante has already recognised as Tenebris (in his words, “a ticking time bomb”) – spend a week with the Carnival, getting to learn how to live as humans and getting to know each other a little, and while some of the things Bel says about his home strike chords with Lio, his memories remain elusive. Then Errante tells them that they have another Path to follow and that they must leave if they’re to find out who Lio truly is and why he’s come to Terra. The idea of leaving the security of the Carnival is a daunting one, but they know Errante must have a good reason for telling them it’s time to go, and they take their leave of the Carnival in Atlanta. Which is where Morrisey and Farren from Darkness catch up with them; they take them back to FAET (FBI Alternate Entities Task Force) headquarters while Morrisey and Farren work out what’s going on and what their next move should be. There’s some treading water here while Bel and Lio get the ‘previously on…’ treatment, Bel tags along to a murder scene with Morrisey to find out exactly what FAET does and how they operate, Jessa and Arianna (also FAET employees) take Bel and Lio shopping, to the movies, and to a club, and Bel and Lio moon over each other.

Then Lio’s memories return in a dream and the information he’s now able to give Farren and Morrisey helps them all figure out why Lio and Bel have been sent to Terra – and Bel realises the full extent of the betrayal he’s been subjected to.

I liked the worldbuilding and the setting of the story – having read Darkness I was familiar with the background, the hierarchy of Domus, the role of FAET, and the tensions between humans and Domusians – but Bel and Lio are nowhere near as well developed as Farren and Morrisey, and there is zero chemistry between them. I liked the way the Carnival is incorporated and that Errante has a major role to play, and the book’s ending is unexpected and unusual. But as a whole, the story just doesn’t hang together – it’s choppy, there are a lot of info-dumps and coincidences, and while there are a lot of moving parts, there are sections where nothing much happens, which makes the action, when it does occur, feel rushed. There’s a good story here, but it feels like it’s been hastily cobbled together from spare parts rather than been given its own space to grow and develop organically.

It’s such a bummer when a book you’ve looked forward to proves to be a disappointment, but I guess it happens. Fingers crossed that my next visit to the Carnival of Mysteries is a more enjoyable one.