Title: A Beautiful Dark
Author: Jocelyn Davies
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Release date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Summary: It’s about seventeen-year-old Skye, who, on her seventeenth birthday party meets Asher and Devin, fighting. She overhears part of their fight, and quickly understands that something’s off about them, so she tries to avoid them, but she can’t help but feel drawn to them. They’re complete opposites, claiming to be cousins, and Skye doesn’t understand why they both seem to hate each other so much. Asher is dark and wild, Devin is fair and aloof. She has no idea what they want with her, or why they seem to follow her every move. And suddenly strange things start to happen around her, and she begins to doubt the identity of the boys.
She has to figure out the truth about
herself and come to terms with the truth that changes her life forever.
My thoughts: I’m not
really sure what expectations I had on this book. Of course, I hoped it would
be good, but I don’t think I was expecting anything particular. It sounded like
a good book, so I gave it a shoot. But whatever expectations on this book that
I had, it definitely beat them.
So, this is about Skye, who just turned
seventeen. She’s the typical “good girl” – ambitious, keeps good grades,
perfect attendance, and that kind of things, but she was also sassy. Her parents
died in a car accident when she was four, and now she lives in Colorado with
her mother’s best friend, Jo, who she call Aunt Jo. She’s home alone a lot,
since Aunt Jo has to work extra.
I liked Skye, I guess since she reminds me a
little of myself, and she was really relatable.
Then we have Asher. He’s charming,
flirtatious and gets very popular very quickly with the girls at school. He’s
always either joking or flirting, which really gets on Skye’s nerves, but he
has some serious moments, and she soon figures out that she can’t really stay
away from him.
At first, I found Asher a little annoying,
but as the book continued, I started liking him more and more, and, much like
Skye, started falling for him.
Devin is the complete opposite of Asher; he’s
calm and sweet, and almost peaceful sometimes, and he’s always complaining
about Asher not following the rules. He and Skye have these really deep
conversations, which were sweet and all, but I thought he was pretty boring
sometimes.
Skye’s friends, Cassie, Dan and Ian, are
really good friends. Cassie is caring, and an “expert in boys”. She figures out
pretty quickly (even before Skye herself) that she has feelings for one of the
new boys, though she doesn’t know who. Dan is always there for her. Ian has a
crush on her, which makes things with him both awkward and complicated, since
she doesn’t feel anything for him.
A
Beautiful Dark is about angels, so that was a plus, since I love reading
about angels. At times, the plot would get pretty boring, but it was good,
because there were suspense, mystery and mythology. And there was still a lot
normal stuff, like school and friends, so it had reality in it, too, which made
it more believable.
And I have to say that I’m not sure if I
loved or hated the ending. I loved it because it really leaves you wanting
more, and it was pretty smart of the author, because after that ending, no one
who read this can not read the sequel, and I hated it because I generally hate
cliffhangers. Why do the authors feel the need to torture us with cliffhangers?
I haven’t decided if I want Skye to end up
with Asher, or if I want her to pick Devin, so I can have Asher all to myself!
Praise about A Dark Beautiful:
“Part of
the appeal, part of what makes it so good, is the mystery behind what exactly
is going on. Both in Skye’s life, but also in Skye herself. The reader is given
hints, and enough to create a theory as to what’s going on, but it’s not
hit-you-over-the-head obvious. There’s not enough to feel like you’ve got it
all figured out. And, even if you figure out what’s going on with Skye, the
bigger picture is an even bigger mystery. I think it’s safe to say that most
readers – even those who are more intuitive – will not see what’s coming.”
–Proud Book Nerd
“This is
not your average take on the angel trend. A Beautiful Dark has its own twist on
angels and their fallen counterparts, and I loved it.” –Starry Sky Books
“Jocelyn
Davies pulls no punches with her debut novel. A Beautiful Dark delivers
mystery, boys, loyal friends, a forbidden love triangle, danger and suspense.
You will be divided between good versus evil and you will be picking which boy
you’d follow home from school. Sometimes bad is the better choice!” –The
Readiacs
“Skye is
such a relatable heroine; sassy, sarcastic, funny, smart, cynical, and all
together amazing, she really did jump off the pages. A Beautiful Dark is an
amazing novel that will keep you on your toes until the very end, and have you
dying for the next book.” –Jagged Edge
“Suspense,
action, intrigue, and crazy hot romance: A Beautiful Dark has it all. I fell
for both guys, just like Skye—so I kept turning pages all night to find out
which one she’d choose, and which one was left for me!”—Claudia Gray, New York
Times bestselling author of the EVERNIGHT series
“A
Beautiful Dark has everything I love about a paranormal read. You might like A
Beautiful Dark if you like: Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick & Alyson
Noel.–The Story Siren
“This takes
the whole fallen angel thing to a completely different level! I definitely
recommend this book. It will make you wish you were snowed-in so no one could
stop you from reading beginning to end in one sitting!” –The YA Sisterhood
“I can’t
remember the last time I felt so strongly about a book ending like I am about
this one. This book is amazing! 5 Stars! 2 Thumbs up!” –Good Choice Reading
“A
Beautiful Dark brings in just enough mythology, emotion, and heartwrenching
moments to hook paranormal fans. A book just as beautiful inside as it is
outside.” –Confessions of a Bookaholic
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