The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe

The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe follows the story of young Lora Jones, a young orphan in London in 1915. Lora is different from everyone else in the orphanage; she hears songs from gemstones and has this voice inside her that is apart from her. When mentioned, this gets her treated as a mental patient, not helped by the fact that she jumped out of a window – and somehow miraculously survives. During the bombing of London, she receives a charity scholarship to Iverson, and is determined to be normal…but things turn out very differently for her.

The Sweetest Dark was a fun read, with many twists and turns. Although it had the typical young adult love triangle, it was done in a rather interesting way. The settings of The Sweetest Dark were very well thought out, giving plenty of detail to ensure that I was really feeling where Lora was at any given moment…and what she was going through. Plus it has dragons, who don’t love dragons?

I give The Sweetest Dark four out of five stars. Very well written, reminding me slightly of a Mercedes Lackey book.

*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher for review purposes. My opinions are my own.

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey) by Julie Kagawa is the story of young Ethan Chase, who can see fairy folk. The fey are referred to as Them throughout the story. If you can see Them, there is no end to the trouble they can cause you. Ethan lost his older half-sister to Them, as she was destined to be the Iron Queen. The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey) is part of the Iron Fey Series and continues the adventures of the Nevernever. Ethan wouldn’t have re-entered the Nevernever for anything, until he and several other people are attacked by a before unseen fairy folk.

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey) was an interesting enough book; I would most definitely read the rest of the series. There were points where things dragged here and there, especially in the beginning. Once Ethan gets really caught up in the trouble though, the book really picks up. Part of the drag I think was the necessary backstory, which can be difficult to do well in first person POV. The ending was rather abrupt as well, which makes me think there may be a follow up novel in the works.

I give The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey) three and a half stars out of five. A very enjoyable book, though Ethan can be a bit whiny and long-winded.

 


*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher for review purposes. My opinions are my own.