The Sweetest Dark http://www.yabookscentral.com/media/reviews/photos/original/7f/2a/5b/_the-sweetest-dark-shana-abe-1348420700.jpg

The Sweetest Dark book was mesmerizing. I had no idea what to expect when I started it because I have never read a book about drakon/dragons (aside from Dealing with Dragon in 6th grade eons ago). I was hooked from the first chapter!


The writing is great. It is so vivid and descriptive... You can picture the setting perfectly from all the details, which I thought was great considering The Sweetest Dark takes place in a distant time. The author also chose to tell this story in alternating points of view, which is always a challenge. Three chararacters-- Jesse, Armand, and Lora-- tell their individual stories until they ultimately entwine into a heartbreaking final scene.


If you don't like love triangles, you may not be for you. While the triangle is not obvious, it's there and building. I am not sure how it will play out in the upcoming books because these characters are so unique, but I am curious. I'm having to stop myself from reading book 2 right now until I finish some others! So hard...


That's all I can tell you about this one without giving it away. It's so unique that discussing the plot or characters in detail would give away too much. Just know that it was wonderful! I have this feeling that this will become a new favorite series for me. I would have given this a solid 5, but there were a few questions I had while reading that were never answered.

I devoured this beautifully written book in a matter of just days. And if I would have had the time, I would have spent a marathon of hours reading it.

Once again, I'm struck by how lyrical a book can be written. The words flow effortlessly and seductively towards a truly awesome ending. (And sad!)

I was totally surprised to find that this was about dragons! That's definitely a first time subject for me. And I really don't mind. Abe does a tremendous job of creating these beasts into beautiful creatures that demand presence in the sky.

The alternating POV's were also great. The time period was interesting to read about. Lora is a great character, and she stands strong next to Jesse and Armand. (Jesse and Armand. Yeah. Sexy names for sexy guys.)

The Sweetest Dark is a fantastical story about dragons and a luscious romance full of magic. I cannot wait to fall into the next book in the series.

This is one those stories that I don’t where to being to tell you about. It took me by surprise to say the least. The synopsis just doesn’t do it justice. There is so much more to this story.

Lora is a young girl that has been bounced from orphanage to orphanage, then people believing that she was just crazy. After being given a chance to go to a elite boarding school, she has a little bit of hope. Her hopes were dashed, when she is being called horrible names and treated the same, because the girl see her as nothing but a charity case. Lora is an amazing character, with strength and determination that was enjoyable to follow. She meets two boys, Armand and Jesse, who are are two very different boys from very different backgrounds.
The romance in this was sweet and breathtaking. Yes, there is two boys, and at first I was afraid that there would a love triangle between them and I couldn’t have been more happy that it was anything but. As the story unfolds, it becomes abundantly clear who Lora’s heart belongs to. The love was something everyone should have in their lives. I won’t tell who the true love it, but both of these boys play a part of her past and her future.

The setting was described with great and beautiful detail and the world building that complex and engrossing even though era was during World War I. There was a few times at the beginning that I was a little confused, and where this was going. Once what Lora was was revealed, (of which I will not spoil for you), all the dreams, music and voices that she had been experiencing her entire life began to make sense and how these two amazing boys played in to it all. It was at this point that I became so invested in this that is was hard to put this down. The ending left me sobbing, not wanting the story not to end. But this isn’t really the end, and I will be most definitely waiting for the sequel.

The Sweetest Dark had a uniqueness to it that I found to be one best things about it. It had a sweet romance and wonderful characters. Shana Abé has written and utterly enchanting and magical tale. One that will stick with you and I couldn’t possibly give this enough credit. All I can tell you is that this is a must read.

You'll love it!

The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe
ARC received from Bantam Dell via Edelweiss
Release Date: 2013
The Sisters Say: Compelling and full of intrigue, The Sweetest Dark will open your eyes to a new world of fantasy creatures.

The Sweetest Dark is rich in imagery and fantasy, and Shana Abe succeeds brilliantly in turning creatures of nightmare into something beautiful and seductive.

The story follows Lora, an orphan with no memory of her past, as she finds herself being given an exclusive scholarship to boarding school for the rich. Lora is different from the other girls in so many ways—she is poor, she is an orphan, and she hears music and voices inside her head. When she arrives at the boarding school, she immediately gains the attention of two very opposite guys—Jesse, the groundskeeper, and Armand, the wealthy aristocrat; but their attentions are not entirely truthful. They each hold the key to a part of her past, but who holds the key to her future?

Although I found this story slow at times, I will say that Shana Abe has a way with words. There are times when the words seem to float off the page the perfect picture—complete with background music! I saw her world develop around me, and I desperately wanted to be a part of it. However, there were times when her words got in the way of the story. I love imagery, but there is a point where there is too much description, and at several times throughout the novel, I found myself skipping over whole paragraphs.

You can tell that this is a set-up novel because there was very little plot development until the last 20% of the book, and at that point, it spend up incredibly when I wanted it to slow down. Shana has created a fantastical world with creatures straight from mythology—creatures that you don’t see in many other books. I loved that her world was new and interesting, but I wanted there to be more action that could guide us into the next books. I felt like the story ended too abruptly, and instead of that satisfied I-can’t-wait-for-the-next-book feeling, I was left with a that’s-it feeling. Don’t get me wrong—I am definitely in for the next installment, but I wish I could see a direction for the story to take.

From reading the blurb, I thought this book was going to be full to the brim with romance—I love books that have steamy romance! However, for all the nakedness in the book (yes, I said nakedness), there is surprisingly little descriptive romance. You a kiss here and a kiss there, or an embrace here and embrace there, but there was very little detail describing those interactions. I wanted scenes where I was jealous of Lora—where I wished I could pluck her out of the book and put myself in her place, but those scenes never showed up; and there were tons of opportunities where these scenes could have been added or developed. I hope in the next installment we see more romance and passion.

Now just because there wasn’t as much romance as I would have liked, doesn’t mean the guys did not take my breath away. I loved the guys! Jesse is the groundskeeper who immediately recognizes Lora for who she really is, and I must say, his directness about his feelings and intentions was pretty steamy! (If only we could have seen more). And then there’s Armand—I’ll admit, I’m Team Armand—he’s broody, dark, arrogant, and definitely has a way with the cut-downs. One many occasions Armand had me smiling and yelling, “Kiss him, Lora!” I won’t tell you how the love triangle turns out, but I will say I didn’t see it coming.

So…my final conclusions:

This is a debut young adult novel, and it does have its flaws. Sadly, I do think the lack of romance and action will make some not want to read the next novel, but I will remain optimistic that we will see more desire in the next. It is an intriguing world, and if you’re looking for a new type of fantasy creature (no angels, demons, werewolves, or vampires here!), then you should give this book a try.