Review: The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe

The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe 

Published: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Bantam
Source: From publisher for a review

Trilogy: (The Sweetest Dark #1)
Format: E-book, Hardcover
Pages: 352

Genre: YA, Romance, Fantasy 
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/ Amazon/ Alibris/ Better World Books
Add on Goodreads
Rating: 3.5

Next Book in a trilogy: The Deepest Dark

Book Description: 

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.

My Review: 

   The Sweetest Dark is a new kind of book for me, so to say. I just starting to read historical fantasies, and so far I liked them. I liked The Sweetest Dark, but I didn't love it. I really loved the plot, but it was kind of predictable to me (maybe I'm just good at guessing what is going to happen, because a lot of people didn't, so it might not be as predictable to you as it was to me). I did though thought that the plot was unique in its own way, I have't read a lot of books about dragons (honestly only like two...), so I really thought that the whole way of how Lora slowly was transforming, her so to say stages of transformations to dragon, I found that it was really unique! I loved the whole dragon thing in a book! (need to read more dragon books). So I loved the plot, even though it was predictable, now what about characters?

  Lora, I really liked her. I thought she was a strong character, and I loved her conversations with other girls, well I just loved her "smart" mouth (I hope that doesn't sound weird). Now Jesse, hmm...you see he was so-so to me. I didn't really liked him, he was kind of "just there" sort of character, even if he 's suppose to be one of the main characters, i didn't really feel like it. Now Armand, now he is a different story...I liked him...a lot. Just something about him, maybe because he was a little bit of a bad boy? that I felt more drawn to him than Jesse. I really really wished there were more scenes between Armand and Lora because I loved every moment they spend together! I really want to see what happens in a next book.

   What I didn't like about this book is the romance. Especially the one between Lora and Jesse, I honestly felt like it was fake. It just didn't really catch my attention. I found myself just reading though them without much of an interest. Just wanting for the moments between Armand and Lora, now they felt more real.

     Overall, I enjoyed this book, I found it quite unique. The main girl character was strong, I really liked that. Now what I didn't like is the romance, and for me if it is considered to be Romance, than romance has to be great, and in this book it just wasn't. I will definitely want to read the next book. I want to know how Lora's story will end! Also I really hope that the romance will get better (crossing my fingers) in the next book. I would say definitely give this book a shot!