Book Review – And With Madness Comes the Light by Karina Halle

The Man. The Mystery. The Madness.

Dex Foray has never been anyone’s fool – until he missed his chance for happiness with Perry Palomino. Broken and alone, Dex has no choice but to rise from the ashes Perry left behind and find his own path to redemption. But nothing in Dex’s life has ever come easily, especially when there’s a dark madness waiting in the wings.

Told from Dex’s POV, And With Madness Comes the Light is short story/novella that spans the time period from the end of Lying Season (Book #4) until the end of On Demon Wings (Book #5). If you were ever wondering what really happened to Dex while Perry was gone - his journey to Dex 2.0 - now is your chance.

*****WARNING***** This novella is not a standalone and contains spoilers for Experiment in Terror Books #1-5. It also contains harsh language and scenes of a sexual nature*******

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Book Review:

**Review contains spoilers**

“Sometimes you have to fall pretty fucking far before you can see the light.”

This novella takes place after Lying Season and during On Demon Wings.  The Dex Files gave you a little taste of Dex’s state-of-mind after Lying Season’s shocking ending, the ending that chewed me up and spit me out.  However, you didn’t get the full depressing, heartwrenching story in The Dex Files that you get in And With Madness.  In this novella, you find out exactly how much pain Dex was experiencing after he broke Perry’s heart.  From the first paragraph, my heart broke for Dex.  I wanted to crawl inside the fictional EIT world and comfort Dex (okay, maybe cop a feel, I’m human after all).  Poor, poor Dex.

“I wasn’t Dex Foray. I was just this emotion that was crumbling to the floor, holding onto the doorway like it was the last thread of my humanity.”

“I didn’t want to die but I didn’t want to live either. Living, breathing, existing from day to day only added to the weight on my heart.”

My emotions were all over the place as I read this.  One minute I was on the verge of tears and the next I found myself laughing at his twisted humor.  Whether he was commenting on Fat Rabbit’s judgmental stares or coming up with new, hilarious nicknames for Jenn’s boy toy, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“God, I’m fucked,” I said to the dog as he took a leak on the railing. He was judging my parenting skills again, I could tell. Well, let him. At the moment, he was eons more evolved than I was.

Surprisingly, Jenn was there to pick up the pieces the morning after “the event”.  She found Dex crying on the floor (*sniff, sniff* I KNOW!!) and took care of him.  For a moment (a very brief moment), my heart softened towards her.  I was proud that she tossed aside her terribleness and put on a mask of decency.  Don’t worry Jenn haters, she’s goes back to bad ole Jenn in no time.  Dex and Jenn’s “talk” was much tamer than what I was expecting.  There were no Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks to Jenn’s face like I was hoping.  No, no that came later when Dex laid the smackdown on the ginger.  Okay so maybe there were no roundhouse kicks there either, the fight was satisfying.

And thank heavens for Dean and Rebecca.  Rebecca quite literally knocked some sense into Dex.  My man, Dean, had a little come to Jesus moment with Dex, and IT WAS WONDERFUL.  I was happy someone had that talk with Dex.  As I read that scene, I was cheering Dean on, but I still felt horrible for Dex.  The poor guy had no clue what he was doing when he asked Perry if she was in love with him.

One of my favorite things about this novella was seeing the transformation of Dex 1.0 into Dex 2.0.  The close-lipped man of few words you see in the first few books is long gone.  Now, he wears the bloody mess of heart on his sleeve, his emotions exposed and vulnerable.  I’m loving this new Dex.  I didn’t think it was possible to love him more, but I do, I do.

“I love her, more than anyone should love anything. The kind of love that either fills you up or eats away at you. I love her at my own risk. I love her…dangerously.”

When it comes to Perry Palomino, Dex is willing to do whatever it takes to win her back and win her heart.  His love for her is raw, real, and beautiful.  If you’ve read On Demon Wings, you’ll know that Perry is not in this book until the very end.  That moment, oh that moment, when Dex finds out “the secret” was gutwrenching.  I don’t want to give the ending away for those of you who haven’t read it.  Suffice it to say that the last two paragraphs are indescribably beautiful and touching.

I wished I could have realized how I felt sooner. I wished I could have told her how I really felt, that she was more than a friend and a partner, that she was my everything. The only person who really understood—who really loved me for me. But if wishes were fishes, this whole place would really stink.