Review: The Sweetest Dark 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.

Title: The Sweetest Dark
Series: The Sweetest Dark #1
Expected publication: April 2nd 2013 by Bantam
ISBN: 0345531701 (ISBN13: 9780345531704)
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"Ladies, Eleanore ... dear me. It appears I've forgotten your surname already. Smith, or something like that?"
"Call me anything you like," I answered, pulling out my chair. "I certainly understand how someone with such an abnormally ting head would struggle to remember even the most undemanding facts. It must be quite a burden for you."

After this, I knew I was going to love this book. Lora is so independent, smart, strong, and funny. She can stand up for herself, even when she’s the charity case in a prestigious school and almost everyone is against her. Lady Sophia, who originally had said that to Lora, does become a better character as the book goes on. I can’t say the same for her sister, Chloe. (Even Armand says that she is her own favorite topic.)

Okay, even from the description you can tell that there is a love triangle. I didn’t mind it, I thought they both had a great purpose in the book, and were well written. Armand (Mandy) is the second son to the Duke, while reading he seemed to have two sides. One when he was with Lora because she would accept him, and then how he had to act in front of everyone else.

He was paralyzed. He couldn’t move, couldn’t smile, couldn’t nod. He was pinned in the gray of her eyes, a prisoner of their piercing clarity.
For an unflinching instant, Armand felt his heart explode like a firework, and the future seemed unwritten.

Jesse is the groundskeeper to Iverson, and also supposedly a mute. He gives himself to Lora, and has from the moment he knew about her, before they met. He’s insanely adorable and I love what he does for Lora, also how he shows her true potential.

“You do speak.” It came out as an accusation.

“When there’s someone around worth speaking to.” He turned about, began to scale the boulders behind us.

Both even narrate for a few chapters, but not nearly as much as Lora. I love how all of their stories intertwine, and they all need each other.
The ending, in a way, was awful. I loved this book so much, and the next book doesn’t come out until August, and that’s so far away. Other than my need for the next book, the ending was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical edge to this book, and intend on reading more books similar to it. I also love the cover of this book, and hope to own a print version someday soon.

Writing the review for this book was difficult, I had no words for it, and few things leave me speechless.

I hate waiting for the next book to come out.
Book Nerd and Proud,
K.G.