Review | A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies 400 pages -- HarperTeen (Sep 27, 2011) $10.98 (Amazon.com)

Procurement

eARC from NetGalley.

My Grade

Plot: 3 Setting: 4 Writing: 4 Originality: 3 Characters: 3 Romance: 3

Overall: 20/30 = 66% D :(

Title/Cover Bonus: 5

Overall

A subpar love triangle with the light and dark forces represented by two teenaged boys and one special girl.

Shelfability  - NEW Category!

(Thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren) Borrow.

Summary (Goodreads)

On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past. In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine. A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.

First Line

The air had a brutal edge to it as I stood outside of Love the Bean, the local free-trade coffee shop.

Most Memorable Scene

The avalanche.

Plot

Eh, I wasn't impressed with the plot at all. I can't pinpoint my actual feelings on why only that it lacked in keeping me interested. The mission of the characters just didn't sit well with me. I found them to be completely cheesey at times. When it comes down to the story centering around a "good" boy and a "bad" boy things can go astray and wonky if not handled well. I don't think this one was handled well at all.

Setting

A ski focused town. Skye's high school. Nothing awesome except the one scene of the avalanche. I enjoyed that one.

Writing

I must say that I had a hard time finishing this book. It has a lot to do with the characters and their mission. Told completely by Skye's point of view. There were times when it was just too cheesey for my tastes. I wish I would have made a note of a scene to share but I didn't.

Originality

I kept thinking how alike this was to Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers. Now that book was awesome and this book in comparison: lame. Link to my review of Personal Demons. This is your average two boys fighting over one clueless girl. It has nothing special to seperate it from the likes of other similiar books.

Characters

Skye is the main character. She lives with her mother's best friend because of an accident that claimed the lives of her parents. She had a weird attitude at first but I did grow to like her. Cassie, Dan, and Ian are Skye's close friends. I enjoyed them. Asher is the good guy. Devin is the bad or rather naughty guy. I didn't like one better than the other. I actually disliked them both equally.

Romance

Eh, it was decent at points but nothing amazing.

Title/Cover Bonus

Gorgeous cover. The title is kinda bland.

Ending

MAJOR cliffhanger here people. Even though I didn't love this book I may still follow up with the sequel just to see how things develop next. I don't see any info on the next book yet so I can only assume it'll be at least a year before book 2 is published. I'd say wait for reviews of book 2 before purchasing this book.

Series

Again, no information on the status of a follow up book. With an ending like this though one can only assume a sequel is in the works.