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meredithmurphy98's review against another edition
3.0
So, I liked the plot a lot but it felt messy at points. It definitely left me wanting more, but I want to read the sequel because i want to see this author grow some more honestly. The complexity of the characters is my favorite part of this book!
starlightbooktales's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Dark of the West had me hooked from the moment I read the synopsis. It sounded exactly like a book I would enjoy reading. But I found myself struggling with most of the book. I enjoyed many aspects of the book, but this was not the story for me.
Some of the best parts of “Dark of the West” was the romance. I like many people am such a sucker for a good romantic story. Athan and Aurelia are complete opposites but boy did they define perfection. Falling in love under false pretenses is one of my favorite tropes and I feel like the author did it so well.
But the parts I didn’t enjoy was just the world building and the writing style. The story has a WW2 feel but its never really confirmed. And the writing style, while beautiful at times also immensely difficult to follow. There were certain chapters I had to read a few times which is so frustrating to do.
“Dark of the West” is a good story regardless of how I feel about the writing style/worldbuilding. This may not have been the book for me, but I am invested in enough that I want to read the other two books. I must know what happens!!
Dark of the West had me hooked from the moment I read the synopsis. It sounded exactly like a book I would enjoy reading. But I found myself struggling with most of the book. I enjoyed many aspects of the book, but this was not the story for me.
Some of the best parts of “Dark of the West” was the romance. I like many people am such a sucker for a good romantic story. Athan and Aurelia are complete opposites but boy did they define perfection. Falling in love under false pretenses is one of my favorite tropes and I feel like the author did it so well.
But the parts I didn’t enjoy was just the world building and the writing style. The story has a WW2 feel but its never really confirmed. And the writing style, while beautiful at times also immensely difficult to follow. There were certain chapters I had to read a few times which is so frustrating to do.
“Dark of the West” is a good story regardless of how I feel about the writing style/worldbuilding. This may not have been the book for me, but I am invested in enough that I want to read the other two books. I must know what happens!!
sreckard's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Dark of the West is a tale about two teens caught up on opposite sides of a war. Athan is a young pilot and son of a ruthless general and Aurelia is a princess and daughter of a queen with southern ties.
Pros:
1) the love story. I felt the pace of Athan and Ali was developed nicely and wasn't an instant love. They care for each other but not in a way that screams "I will die for you even though we just met" cliche. I am just waiting for my heart to be torn out when Ali discovers the truth.
2) the uncertainty of who is on the good side of the war and who is on the bad. I enjoyed how Joanna Hathaway creates suspense around what is truly going on and who the reader can truly trust. The prologue sets up plot points that are not mentioned in the story and probably will not be resolved until book 2 or 3. Is the Seath of Nadir a good person? Why is Ali associated with him? Who is he really?
Cons:
1) The blurb on the inside cover that one reads to determine if the book interests them is, in my opinion, a bit misleading. It makes it seem that Athan and Ali are on opposite sides of the war. However, their parents are somewhat allies and that just confused me at first. It does resolve itself towards the end, but I just wish the summary was better written.
2) I found myself a little confused about which side everyone was fighting for. I feel like the revolution is not truly north and south but rather these people against those people. It was hard to follow at times. Joanna has secondary characters playing both sides of the field which aids to the whole "who do you trust" notion, but at the same time, makes it hard to understand which side is the "right" side of the war. I may have to read it again to better understand all the key elements.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys books with political intrigue and unrest. I do not have a good book to compare it to because most political unrest book I read have fantasy elements to them. I guess maybe Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty or the Remenant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson.
Dark of the West is a tale about two teens caught up on opposite sides of a war. Athan is a young pilot and son of a ruthless general and Aurelia is a princess and daughter of a queen with southern ties.
Pros:
1) the love story. I felt the pace of Athan and Ali was developed nicely and wasn't an instant love. They care for each other but not in a way that screams "I will die for you even though we just met" cliche. I am just waiting for my heart to be torn out when Ali discovers the truth.
2) the uncertainty of who is on the good side of the war and who is on the bad. I enjoyed how Joanna Hathaway creates suspense around what is truly going on and who the reader can truly trust. The prologue sets up plot points that are not mentioned in the story and probably will not be resolved until book 2 or 3. Is the Seath of Nadir a good person? Why is Ali associated with him? Who is he really?
Cons:
1) The blurb on the inside cover that one reads to determine if the book interests them is, in my opinion, a bit misleading. It makes it seem that Athan and Ali are on opposite sides of the war. However, their parents are somewhat allies and that just confused me at first. It does resolve itself towards the end, but I just wish the summary was better written.
2) I found myself a little confused about which side everyone was fighting for. I feel like the revolution is not truly north and south but rather these people against those people. It was hard to follow at times. Joanna has secondary characters playing both sides of the field which aids to the whole "who do you trust" notion, but at the same time, makes it hard to understand which side is the "right" side of the war. I may have to read it again to better understand all the key elements.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys books with political intrigue and unrest. I do not have a good book to compare it to because most political unrest book I read have fantasy elements to them. I guess maybe Traitor's Kiss by Erin Beaty or the Remenant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson.
istraka1701's review against another edition
4.0
I'm kind of shocked how little reviews/traction this series has. Right after finishing this book, I'm really excited to dive into the second.
I absolutely adored Athan and Aurelia. It was almost refreshing to see their young love blossom in a time of tension. They were seemingly ... innocent? Is that the right word? It was a juxtaposition against the prologue and all the politics going on, which made it special to me. I really like the premise of this trilogy, and I'm really interested to see where the next two books go. As new things were uncovered, I got more and more into it. The last third of the book flew by. I saw some people say the writing was pretentious, but I actually mostly enjoyed it. It was flowery at times, but I personally feel like it worked in this world and setting. Some of the characters here are quite complex - more than I think we can see just yet. The main grouping of characters are fairly well done. Also! This is a personal note, but I ride horses and normally I never get proper riding explanations. I understand that the author rides too, which makes sense because I really enjoyed the proper descriptions of horses and riding!
I wasn't the only one who felt this way, but it was dang hard to get a sense of the world and politics going on in this book. I had to read slowly and even reread parts, particularly in the first half. We're kind of thrown in with no life raft in the beginning, expected to understand from the get go. That's pretty impossible as there is *so much* going on and different things at play. To that extent, all of the side characters got confusing. Most of them were necessary, but with all the different lines moving and changing with the politics and potential war, I kept asking myself, who is this guy and who's side is he on? Honestly, there are stuff I'm still confused about! Violet confused me too. Maybe she has a role to play later on, but at this point she was just annoying me. And same for Reni. He gave me big little brother energy because he's the older, only brother in line for a throne. Also, this isn't a fantasy in my opinion. It's a fictional world based on WWII. As a last note, this entire book is setting us up for the next two. We don't get a lot of action, except for a bit at the end. I'm sure (hoping) that everything will tie together in the next book or two.
The reasons I give this four stars instead of three (normally confusing world building is a no no for me) is because of Athan and Aurelia and the planes and sky. I personally think their romance is really well done. It feels budding and innocent and pure. Their letters?! Are you kidding me?! That goes hand in hand with the planes and sky (ifykyk), but I bring those up because as difficult as this world was to understand, it was an entirely unique one for me. It's complex and obviously thought out. The descriptions and POV from a pilot is one I haven't really seen and enjoy. It was interesting enough for me to actually try to understand the world and politics going on.
I absolutely adored Athan and Aurelia. It was almost refreshing to see their young love blossom in a time of tension. They were seemingly ... innocent? Is that the right word? It was a juxtaposition against the prologue and all the politics going on, which made it special to me. I really like the premise of this trilogy, and I'm really interested to see where the next two books go. As new things were uncovered, I got more and more into it. The last third of the book flew by. I saw some people say the writing was pretentious, but I actually mostly enjoyed it. It was flowery at times, but I personally feel like it worked in this world and setting. Some of the characters here are quite complex - more than I think we can see just yet. The main grouping of characters are fairly well done. Also! This is a personal note, but I ride horses and normally I never get proper riding explanations. I understand that the author rides too, which makes sense because I really enjoyed the proper descriptions of horses and riding!
I wasn't the only one who felt this way, but it was dang hard to get a sense of the world and politics going on in this book. I had to read slowly and even reread parts, particularly in the first half. We're kind of thrown in with no life raft in the beginning, expected to understand from the get go. That's pretty impossible as there is *so much* going on and different things at play. To that extent, all of the side characters got confusing. Most of them were necessary, but with all the different lines moving and changing with the politics and potential war, I kept asking myself, who is this guy and who's side is he on? Honestly, there are stuff I'm still confused about! Violet confused me too. Maybe she has a role to play later on, but at this point she was just annoying me. And same for Reni. He gave me big little brother energy because he's the older, only brother in line for a throne. Also, this isn't a fantasy in my opinion. It's a fictional world based on WWII. As a last note, this entire book is setting us up for the next two. We don't get a lot of action, except for a bit at the end. I'm sure (hoping) that everything will tie together in the next book or two.
The reasons I give this four stars instead of three (normally confusing world building is a no no for me) is because of Athan and Aurelia and the planes and sky. I personally think their romance is really well done. It feels budding and innocent and pure. Their letters?! Are you kidding me?! That goes hand in hand with the planes and sky (ifykyk), but I bring those up because as difficult as this world was to understand, it was an entirely unique one for me. It's complex and obviously thought out. The descriptions and POV from a pilot is one I haven't really seen and enjoy. It was interesting enough for me to actually try to understand the world and politics going on.
someonetookit's review against another edition
3.0
l had such hope for this novel when I started but unfortunately it fell a little short of expectation for me.
The tale of 2 teens destined to save their kingdom with their union, it took a long time to really get going. When there was a death of a parent I thought it was about to get interesting, Instead it kept moving at a snails pace for another large portion of the novel.
I found myself losing track of which narrator was currently in the spotlight as both MC's were very close to the mother in their life which their father was not present. While this eventually resolved itself around 1/3 of the way through, it was still a little off putting at later stages of the novel.
While it definitely started to pick up towards the end after a few twists and turns, l found it to be very mid-range for a highly anticipated YA fantasy.
I recieved an advanced review copy from Netgalley and the publisher Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. The opinions within are that of the author and have in no way been influenced by the publisher or its affiliates
The tale of 2 teens destined to save their kingdom with their union, it took a long time to really get going. When there was a death of a parent I thought it was about to get interesting, Instead it kept moving at a snails pace for another large portion of the novel.
I found myself losing track of which narrator was currently in the spotlight as both MC's were very close to the mother in their life which their father was not present. While this eventually resolved itself around 1/3 of the way through, it was still a little off putting at later stages of the novel.
While it definitely started to pick up towards the end after a few twists and turns, l found it to be very mid-range for a highly anticipated YA fantasy.
I recieved an advanced review copy from Netgalley and the publisher Tor Teen in exchange for an honest review. The opinions within are that of the author and have in no way been influenced by the publisher or its affiliates
edrickashay's review against another edition
5.0
Dark of the West appeared to me on Thrift Book’s secret shelf. Going off nothing but the plot summary, I impulsively purchased it. The reviews on the back of the book are completely spot on. But if you want a more in-depth review, here it is:
The plot slowly builds, weaving alliances and loyalties. The characters are all driven by their own morals, ethics, and personalities, each very distinct. Their pitfalls and nuances are subtle – not ever explicitly stated, which makes them feel more real and round. The romance is slow building, and though I wish I could see more detail, there is a decent balance between seeing sweet moments and time skips (though perhaps I want to know what first made Aurelia give Athan a chance, we only see that moment from his perspective). The plot was a little slow at first, but not slow enough that it made me want to stop reading – I did not finish The Secret History, for example, because it was too slow – with a build to an intense climax and ending that kept me wide eyed and wondering what would happen next.
At times, as with any fantasy novel, the differences in alliances and fantasy kingdom names got a little confusing. Though, I was grateful the world building was rooted in a technological era that is familiar – they have electricity and planes, but no one ever uses a TV. Good mix to me.
There were such good moments of sweet writing – language that makes you just think damn that was a good sentence. I rarely highlight or tab my fiction books, but this one got quite a few.
I have very few, if not no complaints about this book. A well-written, very good story that flows and takes you out of time. I don’t think I could ask for much more.
The plot slowly builds, weaving alliances and loyalties. The characters are all driven by their own morals, ethics, and personalities, each very distinct. Their pitfalls and nuances are subtle – not ever explicitly stated, which makes them feel more real and round. The romance is slow building, and though I wish I could see more detail, there is a decent balance between seeing sweet moments and time skips (though perhaps I want to know what first made Aurelia give Athan a chance, we only see that moment from his perspective). The plot was a little slow at first, but not slow enough that it made me want to stop reading – I did not finish The Secret History, for example, because it was too slow – with a build to an intense climax and ending that kept me wide eyed and wondering what would happen next.
At times, as with any fantasy novel, the differences in alliances and fantasy kingdom names got a little confusing. Though, I was grateful the world building was rooted in a technological era that is familiar – they have electricity and planes, but no one ever uses a TV. Good mix to me.
There were such good moments of sweet writing – language that makes you just think damn that was a good sentence. I rarely highlight or tab my fiction books, but this one got quite a few.
I have very few, if not no complaints about this book. A well-written, very good story that flows and takes you out of time. I don’t think I could ask for much more.
lostintomes's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this story but it is quite slow paced, and very long winded I don't think I would have managed to finish this book at all if I wasn't listening to it on audio. The narrators are amazing and I think that's the best way to read this one. The political dynamics, airplanes and slowburn romance are great but nothing that stood out to me too much. The second book seems to build up to a more exciting plot, and since we've gone over backstory already might be faster? We will see how that goes.
Content Notes:
- Language: mild
- Sexual Content: mild
- Violence: battles, plane fights, murder
Content Notes:
- Language: mild
- Sexual Content: mild
- Violence: battles, plane fights, murder