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A review by theverysleepygirl
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
4.0
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE FANS UNITE. This book is the movie if it were set in a creepy enchanted manor. It’s also one of my most conflicting reads of the years of far.
Let me explain.
To start, Where the Dark Stands Still is a beautiful book.
The prose is vivid and captivating and just such a delight to read. Poranek has a great way of describing movements and evoking emotion in not only in the action scenes but also in the quiet, intimate moments, which happen more often in this book than others in the genre. So yes, it is a little slower paced, but I personally loved that.
Liska was great and The Litszy was an incredibly well-written, compelling character. I loved the fact that the reader got to uncover the layers to him alongside the main character.
Their romance is a bit of a slow-burn, but sooo well done (on a chemistry front) and perfectly paced in my option. However, something about it just.. doesn’t sit right with me.
I found out only after finishing this book that Liska is SEVENTEEN during this story… the Litszy is SEVEN HUNDRED years old. I know that everyone has their takes on this trope, but I can generally get over it when the character is:
a) of age (early twenties is my bare min.)
b) the age difference doesn’t show
Aside from the fact that Liska is a minor , the age difference really shows in this book. There were a couple of points that, though sweet, felt almost fatherly? Liska’s age is very apparent in her attitude, but that of the Litszy switches between being an annoying teenage boy to incredibly wise and mature. He’s 700 so it’s a given, but it kind of icked me out at certain points.
The fantasy aspect was generally decent, but a little confusing to me? Some things are established as limits, then broken down and revealed to not be limits, only to be propped up as limits again. Then again, I’m kind of slow when it comes to understanding these things so you can take this with a grain of salt
Otherwise, I really enjoyed unraveling the magical woods of the Diadra and exploring the sentient manor. This element was so well done, along with the little found family composed of Jaga and Maksio.
Now as for the ending… it was beautiful. Devastating, but beautiful nonetheless. I want to make that clear though because I feel like too many people are giving this the “fun romantasy” tag when it’s not quite that, and even so much more.
Of course it’s a gothic, so the aesthetic surrounding it is darker, but so are the themes. I personally found that the topics related especially to death and mourning were pretty well handled. However, it is again not that fun cosy book, it’s more of an upper YA to me.
Nevertheless, I had a generally positive experience, so I can’t bring myself to give this book anything less than a 4. Just wished the age situation for Liska was not what it is bc.. yikes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for providing me with an eArc copy in exchange for my honest review.
Let me explain.
To start, Where the Dark Stands Still is a beautiful book.
The prose is vivid and captivating and just such a delight to read. Poranek has a great way of describing movements and evoking emotion in not only in the action scenes but also in the quiet, intimate moments, which happen more often in this book than others in the genre. So yes, it is a little slower paced, but I personally loved that.
Liska was great and The Litszy was an incredibly well-written, compelling character. I loved the fact that the reader got to uncover the layers to him alongside the main character.
Their romance is a bit of a slow-burn, but sooo well done (on a chemistry front) and perfectly paced in my option. However, something about it just.. doesn’t sit right with me.
I found out only after finishing this book that Liska is SEVENTEEN during this story… the Litszy is SEVEN HUNDRED years old. I know that everyone has their takes on this trope, but I can generally get over it when the character is:
a) of age (early twenties is my bare min.)
b) the age difference doesn’t show
Aside from the fact that Liska is a minor , the age difference really shows in this book. There were a couple of points that, though sweet, felt almost fatherly? Liska’s age is very apparent in her attitude, but that of the Litszy switches between being an annoying teenage boy to incredibly wise and mature. He’s 700 so it’s a given, but it kind of icked me out at certain points.
The fantasy aspect was generally decent, but a little confusing to me? Some things are established as limits, then broken down and revealed to not be limits, only to be propped up as limits again. Then again, I’m kind of slow when it comes to understanding these things so you can take this with a grain of salt
Otherwise, I really enjoyed unraveling the magical woods of the Diadra and exploring the sentient manor. This element was so well done, along with the little found family composed of Jaga and Maksio.
Now as for the ending… it was beautiful. Devastating, but beautiful nonetheless. I want to make that clear though because I feel like too many people are giving this the “fun romantasy” tag when it’s not quite that, and even so much more.
Of course it’s a gothic, so the aesthetic surrounding it is darker, but so are the themes. I personally found that the topics related especially to death and mourning were pretty well handled. However, it is again not that fun cosy book, it’s more of an upper YA to me.
Nevertheless, I had a generally positive experience, so I can’t bring myself to give this book anything less than a 4. Just wished the age situation for Liska was not what it is bc.. yikes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for providing me with an eArc copy in exchange for my honest review.