A review by lizzicrystal
The Dark on the Other Side by Barbara Michaels
5.0
What an excellent book! I don't understand the negative reviews on here; they seem to have read a different book than I did. My attention was caught from the first chapter and I found the story absolutely mesmerizing. This is by far the most interesting, most atmospheric, and the best executed of the Barbara Michaels novels I've read. I'm a gothic romantic snob - most of them are too cliche and the heroines too damsel in distress for me. (And I won't even go into my opinion on the heroes.) But this takes the usual stereotypes and breathes reality and a sense of urgency into them, while ensuring that what you see isn't ever all there is to it.
The narrative switches from the female and male perspective, and every chapter makes us doubt our perception of who is good and who is evil in this story. We label a character as the hero, and then they do something absolutely unexpected that makes us label them the villain; we label them sane, and then crazy - changing perceptions all the time. It creates the best sense of mystery I've come across in years. And that's just the mystery of the characters. The mystery of the plot itself keeps us guessing just as much. Is it a psychological thriller, demonic possession, magic, Satanism, werewolves - or just one crazy girl? We don't know until the very last chapter. The anticipation glued me to the book.
And the leading lady turned the stereotype of weakling gothic romantic heroines on its head. I simultaneously identified strongly with her, felt sorry for her, and feared her; the story makes us guess if she's the damsel in distress or the villainess.
This is the only Barbara Michaels that has given me a wickedly delicious sense of fear and made me afraid of the dark after reading. When I finished the book, I felt like I was coming out of a spell, just as the characters were in the story. Brilliant.
The narrative switches from the female and male perspective, and every chapter makes us doubt our perception of who is good and who is evil in this story. We label a character as the hero, and then they do something absolutely unexpected that makes us label them the villain; we label them sane, and then crazy - changing perceptions all the time. It creates the best sense of mystery I've come across in years. And that's just the mystery of the characters. The mystery of the plot itself keeps us guessing just as much. Is it a psychological thriller, demonic possession, magic, Satanism, werewolves - or just one crazy girl? We don't know until the very last chapter. The anticipation glued me to the book.
And the leading lady turned the stereotype of weakling gothic romantic heroines on its head. I simultaneously identified strongly with her, felt sorry for her, and feared her; the story makes us guess if she's the damsel in distress or the villainess.
This is the only Barbara Michaels that has given me a wickedly delicious sense of fear and made me afraid of the dark after reading. When I finished the book, I felt like I was coming out of a spell, just as the characters were in the story. Brilliant.