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kebreads's review against another edition
4.0
The feel of this book reminds me some of the Claidi Journals (by Tanith Lee). This book drew me in and despite its sometimes dark tone, I found it intriguing. It was interesting to see and reflect on the characters motives and feelings. I liked the growth that could be seen in the characters. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
axiial's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, and Death
smcrain's review against another edition
4.0
This is not like a work that will blow your mind or groundbreaking by any means. I would maybe go to 3.5 because there isn't a whole ton of depth to the story or characters, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the read. It is a light, easy read and just the kind of fantastical fairy tale and whimsical sort of adventure stories that I loved growing up. Falls into YA as far as complexity and rating, and can be easily read and enjoyed by all ages. Really sort of takes me back to why I love reading, and reading for just enjoyment of the storytelling. Will probably be sitting right there with Howl's Moving Castle, 1001 Arabian Nights and Stardust. Excited to pick up the next books to find out how the tale ends. Edited after reading final books still enjoyed but will edit to a 4.
ms_bettyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
This is one of my favourite books! I've reread it multiple times now, and every time, I fall in love with it again and again.
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
THE DARKANGEL did YA vampire romance way before Twilight, and I have wanted to read it for a while. While it didn’t blow me away (I’m starting to suspect that classic YA paranormal romance is just never going to make it onto my favorites list), THE DARKANGEL was still a decent read that deserves to have an audience in today’s YA paranormal scene.
Past the beginning—in which I felt Aeriel was a bit too teary for me to like—THE DARKANGEL quickly became an enjoyable read. There was always something going on, something new in Pierce’s world to discover, something new revealed about the darkangel’s past. Pierce does little obvious world-building—as in, no paragraphs-long descriptions of what we need to know, no world-building heavy-handedly woven into dialogue or characterizations, as many world-building attempts are wont to go—but it’s not long before you get a lingering image of the unique world that Aeriel must navigate in order to defeat the darkangel: a place not of Earth yet tied to it, a place fraught with magical possibilities yet eerily hostile to them.
Some of the events that took place in the plot veered towards outrageousness, but then I compared this to other YA paranormal romances that have somehow achieved bestsellerdom and then I felt a lot better about Pierce’s authorial decisions. I don’t have a strong urge to read about what the darkangel and Aeriel get up to next—this series is a bit too paranormal romance-y to be my thing, despite its incorporation of mythology and magic—but then again, I’m not averse to it. If I come back to that rare mood of mine where I want to read YA paranormal romance, I know where I’m going.
Past the beginning—in which I felt Aeriel was a bit too teary for me to like—THE DARKANGEL quickly became an enjoyable read. There was always something going on, something new in Pierce’s world to discover, something new revealed about the darkangel’s past. Pierce does little obvious world-building—as in, no paragraphs-long descriptions of what we need to know, no world-building heavy-handedly woven into dialogue or characterizations, as many world-building attempts are wont to go—but it’s not long before you get a lingering image of the unique world that Aeriel must navigate in order to defeat the darkangel: a place not of Earth yet tied to it, a place fraught with magical possibilities yet eerily hostile to them.
Some of the events that took place in the plot veered towards outrageousness, but then I compared this to other YA paranormal romances that have somehow achieved bestsellerdom and then I felt a lot better about Pierce’s authorial decisions. I don’t have a strong urge to read about what the darkangel and Aeriel get up to next—this series is a bit too paranormal romance-y to be my thing, despite its incorporation of mythology and magic—but then again, I’m not averse to it. If I come back to that rare mood of mine where I want to read YA paranormal romance, I know where I’m going.
xeyra1's review against another edition
4.0
This was a quicker read than I thought it would be, once I picked it up. I'd never read anything by this author so I was pleaseantly surprised. I loved the writing and the world the author described, the main character was easy to identify with and you could feel for her, both her pain and her fears and her hopes.
The time-measuring in the book completely threw me for a loop though, because even though I thought each day-month was a month for us, there was a moment in the book when four dawns were referred after several day-months had passed and I reacted with a confused "what the heck?". But maybe, like shaunesay says above, it appears to be almost constant night-time in this world with only a few "dawns" in between the months?
The time-measuring in the book completely threw me for a loop though, because even though I thought each day-month was a month for us, there was a moment in the book when four dawns were referred after several day-months had passed and I reacted with a confused "what the heck?". But maybe, like shaunesay says above, it appears to be almost constant night-time in this world with only a few "dawns" in between the months?
aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
4.0
The quality of this story astonished me - I was reluctant to even pick up a book involving vampires in the first place, but I loved how this took a different twist on the concept. Instead of being a comically sinister figure in black cape or - worse - a sexy guy whom the heroine can't help but fall in love with as he resist his desire for her blood, this is a man with a twisted past, almost fully dead but with a scrap of his humanity still alive, a mortality he cannot renounce until he has stolen the souls of fourteen maidens for his "mother", an undead witch. (*Be warned - the rest of this review does contain spoilers.*) The heroine still falls in love with him, but not until after she poisons him and discovers that she can't follow through with killing him. Even after she saves him - cutting out her own heart to replace his lead-gilded one, and being brought back to life by the duarough - their tale is far more star-crossed than happily-ever-after, and transitions into a wonderfully rich and imaginative trilogy. I love how Aeriel's relationship with the vampyre is a secondary aspect of the story, which focuses more on her personal growth and self-discovery, making her a very dynamic and convincing character. The quality of the prose in this book is beautiful, seemingly almost more like an account written by a character in the story itself rather than a fictional novel. Pierce presents all the details of the world and the fantastical/magical elements so straightforwardly that they seem very natural and uncontrived. It adds brilliantly to the conviction of the story. I'm currently about halfway through the third book in the trilogy (I was lucky enough to find them in an omnibus edition), and I have to say that after such a great start, The Darkangel Trilogy just gets better. Definitely worth the time of any fantasy fan, and I'm seriously considering buying these books, even having discovered them only yesterday!
underwaterlily's review against another edition
4.0
Frequent typos and questionable reasoning aside (“The vampyre is beautiful; therefore, he MUST be good!”), this book is excellent. I love the lore, and I’m curious about the world itself. (Is it the Moon?)
christina72's review against another edition
4.0
1st vampire book I've read. I didn't even know it was a vampire book until this year :/