A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (Liz B.): Excellent world building does not a plot make; For Darkness Shows the Stars is not just the Persuasion story (reunion of separated lovers) but also about Elliot’s own struggles to do what is best for everyone around her. What is best for running the estate? How can she manage her father, who doesn’t care what happens to the servants on his estate as long as his own wants are met? Is it better to stay on the estate or pursue her own dreams? Does she even know what her own dreams are, since four years ago running away was Kai’s dream? Oh, and as for the Persuasion story line. Loved it. Full of romantic drama: Elliot wanting Kai, Kai thinking Elliot thought she was too good for him, misunderstandings and angst. Lovely! While For Darkness Shows the Stars is a standalone, as you can tell, I love the complex world created in it and would love to see more stories set in it.
It’s All About Books: I feel like the trick with re-tellings is that the familiar story is there.. yet… you are still kept guessing. I love it when the “new” story is different enough that you don’t know for sure what direction it will take. Yet, I also love it when you can totally recognize the original story too. It’s a fine line, don’t you think? This book did that perfectly. I loved it.
SonderBooks: (Starred Review) This is a magnificent retelling of a classic romance. A story of lost love and regret and redemption mixed with genetic engineering and tampering with technology and divine right and responsibility to rule. Not a book I could stop reading before I’d finished.
Viva La Books: Our main character Elliot is an unbelievably hardworking, self-sacrificing woman. She blew me away with her dedication and my heart reached out to her! It was actually unbelievable how much Elliot sacrificed to accomplish her duty as a Luddite! She tried to make life for the Reduction and the other workers at their farm bearable even with her clueless, awful father as the head no matter how much she suffered. Elliot is certainly not the kind of heroine I usually like, but she had a strength that many only dream of having.
The Life I Wish: I loved this book!!! It was a unique take on a dystopian society. I like that it focused on a small group of people, trying to survive but not fighting off any mutants or anything. I do enjoy the mutants but this was a refreshing break from that. There was no real evil in the story which there always seems to be. It was just a girl and a boy and their decisions on how they thought it best to survive, sacrificing each other for the better of others.
Captivated Reading: How does Ms. Peterfreund get a book to be squeal-worthy when the main characters never even lay LIPS on each other?! I don’t know…But, hot dang, she did it!
Tea, Daydreams, and Fairytales: The many issues dealt with in this book make it such a very interesting read and I could easily imagine reading this story for a second or third time and taking very different messages away from it. From family drama, slavery, genetic experimentation, religious persecution and pitfalls of scientific innovation, there are many important questions to ponder as a reader and this book did a great job of painting everything a delicious shade of grey and never tried to sway your point of view one way or the other. This is such an engrossing book, I finished it within a day and it’s probably one of the best written novels I’ve read since Daughter of Smoke and Bone. If you’re looking for a book that makes you want to think yet still keeps you entertained then I can’t recommend this enough!
Bloggers[heart]Books: Honestly, For Darkness Shows the Stars is pretty freaking incredible. Diana Peterfreund is an excellent writer who really knew what she was doing when she decided to do a retelling of an Austen novel. I highly recommend this one, even if you don’t like Austen’s work. Anyone who likes romance, awesome world building, steampunk/historical fiction/sci-fi, or a wonderful main character can definitely appreciate this book.
Book Love 101: I don’t think I can use my usual praise for this book. Most books I read and love have reviews filled with words like “awesome” and “epic”… This book was different. This book was beautiful. I loved every page. The world these characters live in had me truly fascinated. So much that I’d often think about it, even when I wasn’t reading the book. It’s an interesting twist on a dystopian world. One I haven’t read anywhere else. The characters touched my heart in so many ways. I felt for the Luddites and the Posts and the Reduced. Each one played such a powerful part in the story. A story that had my heart aching at the end. This book had it all. A completely new and different world, a story that touches the deepest of your emotions, characters that live to be remembered, and a hint of romance that gave me goosebumps till the end. I loved that ending. Truly loved it.
Book People Teen Press Corps: I honestly didn’t even want to read this book when I first read the back. But I didn’t have anything else to read so I figured, why not give it a shot? I’m so glad I did, this book was AMAZING. It took a little while to get into, mostly because I was reluctant to read it in the first place, but then it hooked me and I was pulled into a postapocalyptic world that feels so real it’s like you’re standing right there. This story was super intricate and wove a web of connections throughout the story. Great characters, great cover, great story, what more could a reader ask for?
A Word’s Worth: Oh. My. Word. Seriously, you guys. This book was amazing. This is the Persuasion I always wanted Jane Austen to have written…Honestly, my only real complaint is that the story ends so soon. I want more – I want to know what happens next – and can only hope that there’s a sequel in the works.
MIllie D’s Words: It really was a great read. I read it quickly, blasting through the pages. The writing was great, the imagery vivid. So, for having the awesome imagery, this book earned a few brownie points from me. The characters were dimensional–all of them. None of them were truly what I thought them to be and some of them either surprised me or proved me wrong. If anyone in in the mood for a more subdued read, one not filled with action and adventure or passionate hookups, this would be your read.
Bonus “Errant” Review! Nyx Book Reviews: I loved how in this tiny short story, Ms Peterfreund manages to insert several plot twists, character development and a teasing insight into the world of unicorn hunters. The story stands completely on its own, making it accessible for both die-hard fans and the relatively ignorant.
Bonus Secret Society Girl Review! Good Books and Good Wine: As of this juncture, I am pretty sure I will love anything Diana Peterfreund writes. Seriously, my life was totally missing something without Secret Society Girl, the first of Diana Peterfreund’s Ivy League series. GUYS! There is college! Secret societies! Feminism! A spirited, smart mouthed main character! This is THE book for me, I can’t even articulate my love.
Bonus Rampant and Ascendant Reviews! Kelsey’s Cluttered Bookshelf on Rampant: Astrid was a cool character, I felt sorry for her when she found out that she was going to Rome forcefully, who wants to be shipped off like that? Then as the book goes on she starts to grow, becoming stronger as a hunter and learning more about the unicorns and the past. She also has an interest in medicine which was kind of cool too, especially with the idea of the Remedy. The other girls there were from all over the world, which was nice making it diverse. The battles were also awesome, and the small bits of romance were cute.I definitely recommend this book for fantasy fans, who want to read about real unicorns, the tough and viscous kind.
And on Ascendant: The development of this story, the tragedies that happen to the hunters and Astrid’s struggles all make this book not only powerful, but hard to put down. I think I loved it even more than the first. There were a few small things that weren’t answered, but in the grand scheme of the book, it was small compared to the rest of what was happening. Highly recommended for fantasy fans who would like to read about killer unicorns and the lives of their hunters.
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