Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: Puffin

Released: 7th of April 2016 

Denizen Hardwick is an orphan, and his life is, well, normal. Sure, in storybooks orphans are rescued from drudgery when they discover they are a wizard or a warrior or a prophesied king. But this is real life—orphans are just kids without parents. At least that’s what Denizen thought. . . 

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            On a particularly dark night, the gates of Crosscaper Orphanage open to a car that almost growls with power. The car and the man in it retrieve Denizen with the promise of introducing him to a long-lost aunt. But on the ride into the city, they are attacked. Denizen soon learns that monsters can grow out of the shadows. And there is an ancient order of knights who keep them at bay. Denizen has a unique connection to these knights, but everything they tell him feels like a half-truth. If Denizen joins the order, is he fulfilling his destiny, or turning his back on everything his family did to keep him alive?

What I Have to Say 

I felt this was a good start to a series. With a series like this, the first book is always a similar story, so I find that it's best to look beyond the main story line and see what is there that sets it apart from the other books like it.

In Knights of the Borrowed Dark, the characters were the main thing that stuck out for me, there was a good range of characters with a variety of backgrounds that set them apart from each other and makes me want to know more about them. The other thing was the way that Rudden used words to evoke emotions in a way that few writers are capable. 

The only thing that really bothered me about the book was the orphanage, because orphanages don't really exist any more or at least not in the way that they were shown in the book. I can forgive it as a part of the world, but I would like to have had it explained. 

I think that this series could go either way, but that Dave Rudden has many great things in his future, I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. 

3.5 stars