The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe – a Review

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Description:
The Sweetest Dark is filled with thrilling romance, exciting adventure, and ancient magic. Shana Abé brilliantly captures the drama of post-Victorian England, while unfolding a passionate love story that defies time.

“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.

Review:
The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe is a new YA series, which is somewhat of a spinoff from her very successful Drakon adult series.  The story takes place in England during World War I.

The heroine and main character in this book is Eleanore Jones ( Lora), whom we meet from the start, as an orphaned young girl. She has no memory of her early childhood, other then the orphanage. She has had a hard life, always hearing music in her head, which made her life even harder, with people thinking she was mentally impaired. Over time the voices/music go away, and she is then chosen as a charity student to an exclusive for the rich, school in London.  As soon as she arrives at the school, the voices start coming back, and the music, which comes when looking at precious metals/gemstones. Lora does not know what is happening, and is convinced she is going insane. 

Just as she arrives at Iverson, Lora meets Jesse, the coach driver, and feels an immediate connection to him.  She also meets Armand, who is the son of the Duke, and who pays for the charity student each year.  But things start off rocky between Lora and Armand, and it becomes fun to watch their snarkiness to each other.  Jesse is however, a quiet and gentle soul, and Lora knows she wants to know more about Jesse.

At the school, Lora is treated like the charity case she is.  She is ridiculed by some of the rich girls, but Lora is also hardened by her young life, and stands up to the girls.  She is amazing with her retorts.  Lora, to the surprise of some of the other girls, does develop a friendship with Sophia, one of the rich girls.

She sneaks out often during the evenings to meet Jesse, and it is then she learns he is more then what he seems.  Jesse begins to tell her of her own life, and how important and valuable she is.  He explains some of the voices, and music she hears, and the letters she reads that she has from her unknown past.  She learns of her mother, a Drakon, and what that means.  Armand, as noted before, acts the part well as an arrogant aristocrat, but something pulls him to Lora.  He too will learn more from Jesse.  An unusual friendship bond will develop between the three of them.

Shana Abe has created three wonderful and interesting characters.  At first, I thought it was somewhat slow learning about Lora, but not to far into the book, she becomes a wonderful and strong heroine.   The last half of the book was excellent, watching Lora come on to her own, learning all that she needs to know, her love of Jesse, and the friendship she begins to have with Armand.  It all ties together, and at the end, we are totally hooked to find out what will happen in the next book. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher