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A review by rainysakura
The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I randomly inherited/bought/somehow obtained a copy of the second book in this series back when I was in high school (read: I was curious about the world but otherwise clueless about healthy relationships and good romance material - importantly, I'll add that I worshipped Edward Cullen), and I read and gave it four stars. Decided to give this first book in the series a try after all these years just in case the series is actually as good as the star ratings suggest.
I might just not be the target audience for this book, because I sincerely disliked it. This is not a criticism of the author in any way. The premise of the book is so fascinating that I really wanted to like it. It started out as a 3.5 or even a 4 for that alone, but by the halfway mark, when all of 3 things had happened, the star situation started looking precipitous.
Vapid women written by women is a major ick for me apparently, something I've come to learn in 2024. This book feels very Stockholm-y. The only character who made any realistic sense was the non-main female character basically screaming "WTF is wrong with you? No, I DON'T want to live in your castle dungeon with you, weirdos". While I disagreed with the methods, I started really siding with the villains' central thesis, and that's when I knew this book was a loss for me.
I really do want to reread the second book just out of curiosity, so I may keep it on my TBR to be picked up randomly once I've had some time to calm down from my frustration with this one.
I might just not be the target audience for this book, because I sincerely disliked it. This is not a criticism of the author in any way. The premise of the book is so fascinating that I really wanted to like it. It started out as a 3.5 or even a 4 for that alone, but by the halfway mark, when all of 3 things had happened, the star situation started looking precipitous.
Vapid women written by women is a major ick for me apparently, something I've come to learn in 2024. This book feels very Stockholm-y. The only character who made any realistic sense was the non-main female character basically screaming "WTF is wrong with you? No, I DON'T want to live in your castle dungeon with you, weirdos". While I disagreed with the methods, I started really siding with the villains' central thesis, and that's when I knew this book was a loss for me.
I really do want to reread the second book just out of curiosity, so I may keep it on my TBR to be picked up randomly once I've had some time to calm down from my frustration with this one.