The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
bluejayreads's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
The first two books in this series were bloody, violent, and fun. Theyâre not the kind of thing anyone would describe as a literary masterpiece, but if you like your fluff reading on the gory side, theyâre quite entertaining. This one went off that track quite a bit.Â
Thatâs not to say it wasnât violent or bloody, because it was. But it was very much toned down (although with this series, âtoned downâ still puts it in the âvery goryâ category). Darkdawn was much more about mythology and gods, why darkin are the way they are, the nature of family, and the complexities of father-daughter relationships.Â
Normally I love cool stuff about gods and fantasy religions, so itâs weird for me to say I didnât like it as much, but I didnât. I was expecting something high-energy and brutal, not too complex, and focusing on Miaâs goal to murder these specific people as well as anyone who gets in her way. Instead there are god squabbles and Chosen One save-the-world stuff and everything and everyone trying to convince Mia to give up the revenge sheâs spent the past decade working towards and suddenly be altruistic and self-sacrificing. It just wasnât realistic. On top of that, the gods werenât all that interesting, I strongly dislike love triangles, the Absurdly Powerful Protagonist trope that I loved from previous books was nearly absent, and the climactic fight was boring more than anything.Â
I did finish it, and though the tone of this review may indicate otherwise, it was engaging enough that I overall enjoyed the reading experience. It was just a dramatic departure from the core of the previous two books, going from Miaâs personal bloody revenge to fate-of-the-world deity shenanigans. It felt like a low-energy, large-scope ending to a high-energy, small-scope story.Â
This isnât a bad book, and I didnât hate it. I just had hoped for the conclusion to the action-packed, violent delight of the Nevernight trilogy to be different, and I guess a little more, than it is.Â
Graphic: Child death, Sexual content, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death and Body horror
Minor: Infidelity
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