A review by beckymmoe
Dark Before Dawn by Stacy Juba
4.0
An enjoyable read with a touch of suspense and a dollop of paranormal, this audiobook was nicely read by the narrator, who has a very pleasant voice and brings life to teenagers well.
Even though Dawn made quite a few bad choices along the way (which yes, made me keep arguing with my audiobook while I drove to and from work...this is perfectly normal, right?) it wasn't at all out of character for a sixteen-year-old who's adjusting to a new home and school/family situation AND is just starting to get a grip on her paranormal powers. Ms. Juba definitely knows how to portray realistic teenagers!
Annoying teenaged tendencies aside, I did like Dawn a lot. She (eventually) wised up and made better choices, and grew in positive ways by the book's end. The antagonist ended up being a bit one-dimensional, but the other secondary characters were solid, and it was easy to find yourself caring about what was going to happen to them.
I'm also 100% convinced that mind control is not a power anyone should have. Ever. Especially not teenaged girls whose mothers tell them no... (but the hall pass incident was kind of funny. Wrong, of course, but funny.)
I'm not sure if there's going to be more to the series, but I'd definitely be interested if there were. Ms. Juba's style of writing made Dark Before Dawn an easy and fun read.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Even though Dawn made quite a few bad choices along the way (which yes, made me keep arguing with my audiobook while I drove to and from work...this is perfectly normal, right?) it wasn't at all out of character for a sixteen-year-old who's adjusting to a new home and school/family situation AND is just starting to get a grip on her paranormal powers. Ms. Juba definitely knows how to portray realistic teenagers!
Annoying teenaged tendencies aside, I did like Dawn a lot. She (eventually) wised up and made better choices, and grew in positive ways by the book's end. The antagonist ended up being a bit one-dimensional, but the other secondary characters were solid, and it was easy to find yourself caring about what was going to happen to them.
I'm also 100% convinced that mind control is not a power anyone should have. Ever. Especially not teenaged girls whose mothers tell them no... (but the hall pass incident was kind of funny. Wrong, of course, but funny.)
I'm not sure if there's going to be more to the series, but I'd definitely be interested if there were. Ms. Juba's style of writing made Dark Before Dawn an easy and fun read.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.