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A review by papernihilist
The Dark Secret by Tui T. Sutherland
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m going to be honest with y’all– I’d much rather be reading the next book already, but I have Many Thoughts about this one, so I feel kind of obligated to get this review out of the way. This book is just as good as the three before it, but it feels like the tone is shifting towards darkness a bit more quickly (although that shift was already speeding up in the last book). The new characters are skewed more to the scary side, and the setting made me especially anxious. (And that’s not a negative, for the record, I just think it needs to be said.)
The real talking point here, though, is Starflight. I’m not going to pretend he’s my favorite dragonet (although I don’t have a favorite, really, or a least favorite), and, honestly, this book made me like him a lot more, but I still find him a little overdramatic. It’s pretty likely that it’s because we’re kind of similar, honestly. His growth through the book was great, and I feel like I understand him and his place in the world a lot better, but... Alright. I just got sick of hearing about Sunny.
I love Sunny, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I feel like Starflight needs to chill out a little bit. Like, it’s all very sweet, but I feel like I got the point.
Anyways, with that out of the way: This was probably the hardest book in the series for me to put down, I would go to hell and back for half the characters, and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book! So if this review seems badly written, sorry, but I’d rather not waste time proofreading when I can be reading the next book in the series.
The real talking point here, though, is Starflight. I’m not going to pretend he’s my favorite dragonet (although I don’t have a favorite, really, or a least favorite), and, honestly, this book made me like him a lot more, but I still find him a little overdramatic. It’s pretty likely that it’s because we’re kind of similar, honestly. His growth through the book was great, and I feel like I understand him and his place in the world a lot better, but... Alright. I just got sick of hearing about Sunny.
I love Sunny, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I feel like Starflight needs to chill out a little bit. Like, it’s all very sweet, but I feel like I got the point.
Anyways, with that out of the way: This was probably the hardest book in the series for me to put down, I would go to hell and back for half the characters, and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book! So if this review seems badly written, sorry, but I’d rather not waste time proofreading when I can be reading the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
I’m not totally sure how to tag for it, but there’s definitely some fantasy racism in this one, for lack of a better word. The NightWings are very sure of their own superiority, and use that specific word for it constantly. There’s also very unethical science prominently featured in the book (although it’s never justified by the plot or author, which is nice).