Superman is back in the pop culture lexicon (did he ever leave, though?), so I think I can safely
say that something is ‘my kryptonite’ and everyone will know that it kills me. Right?!
Well, here goes nothing: LOVE TRIANGLES ARE MY KRYPTONITE. I’m seriously allergic to them. It used to be that I could tolerate this
now-dreaded young adult romance cliché, but too many bad experiences have scarred
me. Or maybe I’ve just lost patience
like the old grouch that I am (on the inside).
The sad truth is that there are *very* few exceptions to this rule, and
Shana Abé’s The Sweetest Dark was not
one of them.
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.
Lora has grown up in horrible circumstances – she was found
mute and with no memory of her past on the street at age ten, and from thence
deposited in an orphanage. She heard
music that no one else did, and was sent away for a stint in a mental
institution. She’s become very good at
appearing normal ever since, but so far she hasn’t turned hard. That doesn’t mean she isn’t damaged in other
ways, though. When the Great War starts
and London is bombed, Lora gets her one golden opportunity – she’s sent to the
coast to an exclusive school for girls far above her station. It is there that she will find mysteries beyond
the ordinary, and two very different young men.
I picked up The
Sweetest Dark on Liviania’s recommendation – we’re practically reading
twins, and so I usually try what she thinks is good (and vice versa). She loved this book, so I read it. Easy peasy.
There were certainly things I liked
about the book. Abé started off with
quite a hook – a girl who hears things, and doesn’t know why, and a (separate) mysterious
old story told in anonymous letters. I
was invested immediately, and intrigued by the gothic feel of the narrative –
it reminded me a bit of Jane Eyre,
actually.
As I’ve already said, the sticking point for me was the love
triangle, which was introduced when Lora arrived at Iverson, the
school-in-a-castle. Part of the trouble
was that I felt that one character was completely extraneous to the story. The tension that the author wanted to create
with him could have been contrived in other ways without the instant
fascination/eyes-that-follow-Lora-everywhere-creep-factor. Perhaps the easiest way to explain my unease
with the love triangle is to say that it read like a FORMULA. One that I’ve seen too many times. And I thought the writing and descriptive
passages were very well-done, and the story didn’t need that formulaic plot element.
So I felt cheated. The headline
would read, “Lovely WWI historical fantasy ruined by love triangle!”
But let’s go back to things I liked. The world-building was standard-to-good, the
inclusion of early methods of dealing with mental illness poignant (and
horrifying) by turns, and Lora’s exploration of an old and mysterious house was
quite satisfying. The feeling of impending
doom mixed with a unique paranormal element was pitch perfect. And I did like the ending, bittersweet as it
was. Basically, if you take away the
love triangle, I’d call this a super read.
So hopefully you like love
triangles. *grin*
Recommended for: fans of young adult historical fiction and
fantasy, anyone with a thing for dragons, and those who liked Juliet Marillier’s
Wildwood books or Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series.
3 comments:
Sorry this one didn't work for you due to the love triangle! And the extraneousness is the worst part of them. It's always obvious which guy is getting picked, so why does the second guy have to be in love too?
But I love that you mentioned "impending doom." I think impending doom is one of my narrative weaknesses. (See this book, The Raven Boys, et al.) I just love that sense that things are going to go horribly awry.
looks interesting to me!
You kinda weirdly sold me on this one - I think my library has a copy, so I'm gonna check it out!
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