A review by lostcanticles
Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway

Did not finish book.

DNF at 51%. I started this book late January and haven't made a lot of progress. I was really hoping it would get better and I genuinely thought it was something I would enjoy. What got me to pick this book up was the way it was marketed, Code Name Verity meets The Winner's Curse. All it had to do was mention Code Name Verity and I was sold. Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations at all. This book was more Winner's Curse in terms of plot and pace (this already disappointed me). There's a war in this book, or there's about to be one. Not a lot of background is laid out about the world here from what I've read, and I want to understand where the conflict stems from. There are rebels, they want freedom, but from what/who? The romance was also too quick, I guess I could say it's insta-love, a trope I have yet to enjoy. The characters didn't stand out to me either, neither did the writing. Based on what I've read about this book, it should have the 1940s WWII atmosphere, with the espionage and fighter pilots and all. I didn't feel this as well.

There are many generic YA elements used here that I could have overlooked had I been vibing with any of the elements in this book, I genuinely picked this up thinking I would, but sadly, didn't.