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A review by sreckard
Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway
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.