Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Review: The Darkening Dream + Giveaway

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin
Mascherato –January 14, 2012
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Twitter: @asgavin


Source: The author, for review
Rating: I am left with mixed feelings.
Click here to read what this book is about.

Sarah and her three friends; Alex, Anne and Sam find a dead body.  Later, they discover that the dead boy has come back to be a part of the undead world. Instead of living in denial, the four decide to take matters into their own hands and kill the boy once again.  Then they decide to go after his maker. As they discover the truth about their enemy and some family secrets, they realize that they may be in over their heads. Really what can four teenagers and a mystical rabbi do to a 900 year old vampire, a demon-dabbling priest and an Egyptian beetle god?
I guess I should start with what I liked about The Darkening Dream. I mean overall I did enjoy the story. I like the characters, maybe not everything that they did, but they were strong and well developed.  Sarah, Alex, Sam, Emily, Anne and Mr. Englemann are flawed but they persevere and they do their best to do what’s right. (No I am not ignoring the fact that they do this while keeping huge secrets from each other, most of the secrets come out anyway). They could have chosen to stay blind the trouble that was unfolding until it was too late , but they didn’t.  When things started to get a little rough they didn’t give up, they fought harder. Honestly, I enjoyed the story up until the very end. That’s why I have mixed feelings. I haven’t made up my mind about the romance between Alex and Sarah. At first it was a little sweet and then it turned creepy gross. If you ignored the creepy grossness then the story was great. It was full with action, great character development, religious/mythical history and a splash of the supernatural. My favorite dark supernatural character was Betty, the succubus. Them mystery unravels in all the rights and at the right pace. Until the end, besides the romance, the ending ruined it for me.
I don’t think that every ending has to be happy. Most of the time, I prefer non-happy ending s. But it’s really about whether or not the ending is true to the characters and the story. In this case, I don’t think that’s what happened. The ending was shocking, yes and I don’t think that it came out of left field. But I don’t like it. Maybe I missed something or misinterpreted something.  Maybe the mixed feelings are my own fault. Maybe I should just go back and re-read the book.



Recommendation: I do recommend this, it is well-written and it gives a fresh voice to vampire stories.
What’s next:   Untimed, a YA time travel novel.
This book was given to me, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Always Shine,
Starr K

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