Monday, April 29, 2013

The Sweetest Dark (The Sweetest Dark #1) by Shana Abé

“With every fiber of my being, I yearned to be normal. To glide through my days at Iverson without incident. But I’d have to face the fact that my life was about to unfold in a very, very different way than I’d ever envisioned. Normal would become forever out of reach.”
Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems. 
England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny. 
Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves. 
Filled with lush atmosphere, thrilling romance, and ancient magic, The Sweetest Dark brilliantly captures a rich historical era while unfolding an enchanting love story that defies time.
This book starts out with Lora, without memory, as a 10 yr. old child on the streets of London. Soon after, with the charity of nearby folks, she finds her way into an orphanage. A few years later and as war looms Lorna finds herself with an opportunity for learning at a privileged boarding school. She also finds herself amongst someone else just as strange as herself. This kicks of the start of figuring out who she truly can become.

Reading more like a historical YA I slid into the lyrical writing of the author and found myself at the beginning of a mystery. The mystery of Lorna. Not just who she was and where she came from, but what she was. I loved the writing, but still felt a bit apart from the characters even though I liked them from the beginning. Still the writing itself engaged me.

The writing isn't the only thing that engaged me, but the mystery of Lorna. Why she perceives things in the way that she does, where she came from... what it all means. During the mystery a letter suddenly appears becomes quite confusing. It seemed to have no part in the tale. You wonder about the editing, but it seems purposeful. As frustrating as this was, as confusing as it was, it also made me curious. Trusting the author I knew it would be of import and slowly the pieces came together. As the parts came together so did my connection to all the major players in the mystery. The letter also finds it's place of import. I also found myself not wanting to put the book down.

I give this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed Shana Abé's writing. Although this book ends fully and feels like a standalone, it is actually part of a series and I can't wait to read the next installment. I'm now on the lookout for other books by this author as well.
I received this eARC from the publisher and NetGalley and no compensation for my review was given.

23 comments:

  1. Interesting that the story begins with a 10 year old child.
    Such a lovely cover as well, I'm hoping our library will have a copy of this.

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  2. The blurb has kind of a gothic feel to it and the added mystery makes me want to sit down and read this one right now! I want to know what's up with Lorna...

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    1. I think you'd love the mystery. It's a very interesting way of presenting one. :)

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  3. It sounds like this was a win for you! Don't you love those?

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  4. The mystery and good writing sound great. I love stories with memory loss and it seems like Sweetest Dark handled it well

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    1. It does handle it well, although we don't get all the answers. :D

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  5. I'm so glad you loved this one too Melissa! I agree, I was initially thrown off by the presence of that letter as well, but I really liked how everything came together, and her writing was just beautiful. I'm very curious to see where book 2 goes given how things ended in this first installment! Fabulous review:)

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    1. That letter made me look back and see what I missed. LOL Can't wait for the next!

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  6. I have both books. I have the first book since last year and I don't know why they delayed publication. I am so happy to hear you liked this despite the little letter confusion. I have been on a big historical kick lately so this will be another great read!

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    1. I don't know either... and then they changed the pub date again when I already had this one set. I think they are confused. :) Hope you enjoy!!

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  7. Well Melissa that cover is breathtaking and I love that you found it to be a mystery and lyrical in its writing. I love the historical aspect and I am a sucker for boarding schools etc. Wonderful review!

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  8. Sounds interesting. That's why I always have such a hard time giving up on a book. Sometimes it all comes together if you can hang in there. On the other hand sometimes it never does and you get mad lol

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  9. I would be curious about her too. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  10. I really like the fantasy element in it. I totally got caught off guard. Glad to see you enjoyed it.

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  11. I LOVED this book when I read it last year. Her writing blew me away! I read it before there were any reviews and had no idea what she was or anything that could happen. I loved the mystery of it all! I'm glad you really enjoyed this one too! Wonderful review!

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  12. I love lyrical, beautiful writing, and any book that can keep the reader guessing with a solid mystery at its core is definitely worth a go! After reading Jenny's review and this review, I'm definitely planning on giving this one a try. Wonderful review, Melissa!

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  13. I absolutely loved this one! The letters don't make sense for a bit, but then they start to all of a sudden and everything starts to fall into place. Wasn't Lora magnificent? And Jesse! Just to let you know, The Deepest Night is already up on NetGalley in cast you're interested. I haven't started it, but oh am I ready. And I got a bunch of the authors other books from BWB. She even has a mermaid trilogy all in one book!! I was all over that.

    Heather (sorry so late commenting! Long day)

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  14. I found this book to be such an experience-it's hard to describe but it's definitely one I could recommend.

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  15. I have read of Shana Abé historical romances with a touch of paranormal before, and really liked them. Adding this one to my wishlist.

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  16. I swear you girls keep conspiring against me. First Jenny and now you, and I really had no intention of reading this one. But lyrical writing isn't something I'm able to resist.
    Oh, all right then. On my tbr it goes.

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  17. It's one of the most sensational book I have read.. The online bookstore, where I bought this book, has superb review for it..

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