A review by hannxm
The Dark Violinist by Lauren Chambers

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 
The Dark Violinist follows the story of Sebastian, an extraordinarily talented violinist who can play pieces that even the masters can't play; and is the son of an equally extraordinary violinist, Santiago Ramirez. Sebastian is also plagued by dark visions and is seen as someone with mental health issues. He gets taken under the wing of a renowned conductor, Dr. Brownstone, trying to find new talent that he can use against his nemesis, Jay Nygaard. But there is a lot more going on under the surface that are yet to be revealed.

Chambers has a great knack for making you feel what the character's are feeling through one sentence alone. It is hard to write about the sound of music, but I felt that Chambers did this well.

However, there were some sentences that I had to read a few times to get the sentiment; I felt like they could've been reworded a bit better. There were times when I felt like a little more description may have helped make a scene more profound or spooky. I feel as though it would've helped if Chambers explained things a little more regarding what was happening with Seb and how things had passed over to him from his father. These things didn't affect my ability to enjoy this book though and there were many comical little quips that I liked.

There is a nice amount of diversity in this book which I appreciated, and of course it revolves around a person with perceived mental health issues, but there is also a character who has half a hand. There is a little bit of spiciness too, but not overly so, so there's no drawn out, very graphic descriptions which aren't to my taste.

I felt as though the characters behaved mostly as you would expect them to in light of the situations they were in, and was true to their personality. They felt well built and believable, and there were a couple of characters that I particularly liked (…. Nancy basically, though I did like Mikhaila too).

As you get closer to the end, there's a strong sense of foreboding, like there's a fire brewing (Sebastian felt like a fireball waiting to explode) and you don't know what or who will burn, which made the book more exciting to read and I found it hard to put down!

Sebastian's character sort of changed as the book progressed, becoming someone who could be quite callous and abrasive. He also became dead set on becoming an amazing and famous violinist, but although Sebastian played the violin for a while before meeting Brownstone, it wasn't made obvious from the get go that his life long dream was to become a super famous musician.

On the other hand, I appreciated that the book went its own way; it didn't follow loads of the usual tropes and the story sometimes went in a direction I couldn't have predicted which I enjoyed. I love an original story!

So, if you're a lover of classical music, gothic horrors and deals with the devil, as well as forbidden romance and strong characters, give this book a try!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Due to be published in May 2024. 

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