Rampant Reads: “One of Diana’s major strengths as a writer is her characters, especially her women and girls, and this book is full of beautifully rendered people. Elliot is strong and determined, knowing she made the choice she had to in order to protect the people who depend on her. Her other best friend, a Reduced girl named Ro, is a heart-breaking example of what the Reduction did to people. And Kai, stubborn and proud and defiant, reminds me of the best and worst of Mr. Darcy. There are so many great characters that it would take way too long to describe them all.”
Novel Sounds: “For Darkness Shows the Stars is not merely a pretty cover but a glittering, tour de force that captures the essence of Austen. I really enjoy this one and I’ll be checking out Peterfreund’s other works for sure.”
Esther’s Ever After: “This is one book that definitely hasn’t received nearly enough attention for how amazing it is- seriously underhyped! It’s a fantastic retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (which I actually have yet to read- but I know I will after loving this one so much) set in the future with a definite science fiction feel to it.
A story just bursting with creativity and a truly epic romance, this is one book that will definitely have widespread appeal and is a must read for 2012.”
Tabitha’s Book Blog: “The main character, Elliot North, was amazing. I know I say that a lot, but it’s COMPLETELY true when I say it about her. She’s loyal, honest, compassionate everything you could ever want in a friend. She gave up the person thing that made her happiest because she knew she needed to stay and take care of things at her estate. Elliott is also one of the most generous characters I’ve ever read about, and always managed to surprise me.”
About Happy Books: “Persuasion has always been my favourite novel by Jane Austen. So “For Darkness shows the stars” had to be amazing to make me a fan of it, and it most definitely was. Right from the first pages on I was in the story, I felt with Elliot and I was always excited to read on. All of Peterfreund’s characters felt like real people, this is definitely one of the many strengths of this book. Elliot is one of the bravest and strongest heroines I have ever read about. I wanted to hug her and bow down to her at the same time. Kai is also a fascinating and great character, even though I wanted to hit him from time to time. :)”
Harmony’s Radiant Reads: “It is not often that I read not about the sweet, sad moments of falling in love but about the heart-breaking, beautiful moments of trying to rekindle a love you thought was broken. Considering this is a Persuasion by Jane Austin influenced novel, it only fits that it be one of the best romances I’ve read in my lifetime. And guys: I don’t read books that have no romance. Let that sink in for a minute. I am just…mostly in utter shock because this is a fantastic book. Contrary to what I usually do, I won’t be giving a little Harmony summary of this because I honestly feel I can’t do it justice so let’s just jump in to what I thought? I think if I could choose one word, it’d be: breathtaking.”
And, because you can’t please all of the people, all of the time:
“So to begin with, my biggest problem with this book was that I didn’t like the characters much at all– and I absolutely despised whatever the heck was going on between Elliot and Kai. I wouldn’t even call it a romance– it was more just a desperate attempt on Elliot’s part to hold on to a guy who acted like she was totally worthless through three-quarters of the book.” – A book blogger.
Goes to show you that not all books read the same to all readers, doesn’t it!
