Monday, May 26, 2014

Review: The Dark World

THE DARK WORLD
Dark World #1
Cara Lynn Shultz
Paranormal Young Adult
384 pages
HarlequinTEEN
Available May 27th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Paige Kelly is used to weird--in fact, she probably corners the market on weird, considering that her best friend, Dottie, has been dead since the 1950s. But when a fire demon attacks Paige in detention, she has to admit that things have gotten out of her league. Luckily, the cute new boy in school, Logan Bradley, is a practiced demon slayer-and he isn't fazed by Paige's propensity to chat with the dead. Suddenly, Paige is smack in the middle of a centuries-old battle between warlocks and demons, learning to fight with a magic sword so that she can defend herself. And if she makes one wrong move, she'll be pulled into the Dark World, an alternate version of our world that's overrun by demons-and she might never make it home.

MY THOUGHTS
The Dark World is a quick read full of humor and romance despite the very serious paranormal happenings, and while it's undoubtedly an entertaining story, the characters do at times come across far younger than their seventeen years. It's not to say that at seventeen years-old Paige and Logan should be exuding maturity in waves because we can all remember being their age–when every emotion was heightened and the issues facing us were quite possibly the most difficult issues faced by anyone ever–but there are a myriad of moments as the romance between the two of them progresses that feel more on par with junior high rather than high school. As mentioned previously, Ms. Shultz has a cute sense of humor, but the meant-to-be witty banter between Paige and Logan, like the more tender romantic moments, will likely work far better for younger readers than older ones like myself.

Paige is a strong heroine for the most part, taking the revelation that she's a pivotal player in a demon-warlock battle for the Dark World throne surprisingly well, her experience talking to spirits no one else can see allowing her to keep a level head when others likely would have experienced a mild meltdown. She's mostly defenseless in the beginning, but she's not content to stay that way, asking Logan to teach her how to protect herself rather than simply relying on him to come to her rescue again and again. She doesn't magically become a badass overnight though, something that gives us a great deal of comfort because it makes her feel all the more real, and while she often does need Logan to step in when it comes to facing those who wish to claim Paige's talents for their side, it's not for lack of trying on her part.

She has a good head on her shoulders, doing her best to be vigilant once she learns of the threat to her person, and with one small exception, her interactions with Logan are low on angst. The two of them communicate well, Paige not the type of young woman to keep her feelings shrouded in mystery, but she does allow one revelation toward the end to get the better of her and overreacts to what she learns. Luckily for us though, it doesn't take long for her to realize her mistake and set about fixing it, and we're able to breath a sigh of relief that everything isn't going to completely derail before we reach the final page.

While things are definitely left open with a cliffhanger at the end of this first installment, we're not sobbing emotional messes upon closing the back cover, instead we find ourselves satisfied with how things currently stand for Paige and Logan emotionally and content with the knowledge that their circumstances will be further explored and their journey continued in the next book. Overall, The Dark World will probably be very successful with younger YA readers who are more likely to eat up the slightly theatrical nature of both the villains and the humor, but the impending war and the barely hinted-at intricacies of certain relationships hold a great deal of promise, giving us hope that subsequent installments might improve and build on the solid foundation established in this first book.

Rating: 3.5/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for the warning about the maturity level of the main characters at times. I really want to read this one and I am hoping if I keep that in mind, I might like this a bit more. ;)
    As always, wonderful review Jenny!!

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  2. Ooh, I think the voice in this one is going to be a bit young for me, but I'll keep it in mind for when I'm looking for something a little lighter. If nothing else the humour might be nice, but it does also sound promising in ways. I admit I'm intrigued by the barely-there hints, and those are what I'd hope to see developed later on. It doesn't hurt that Paige is all for learning to defend herself, either. Fab review, Jenny! :)

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  3. I'm curious about this one I confess. I saw it a few times but haven't read it. I like when we have a part of humor, it's always nice. I'm intrigued to see what readers will think of book 2.

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  4. It feels like no not for me, even though it sounds good

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  5. I have seen this one around and I must admit that I really like the cover of this one! I don't think this one is going to be a book that I will enjoy at the moment.

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  6. Thanks for an honest review for this one Jenny. I think I'll pass reading this book for now, since you mentioned that characters are a bit young for their age. I'm not sure I can handle immature characters at the moment. Will just check this series after I've heard great development from the series.

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  7. As always, fantastic review, Jenny! Thank you for letting us know about the slightly younger voice in this one and the cliffhanger at the end! I always like knowing if I'm gonna be left hanging onto dear life at the end of a book or not!
    I'll probably be skipping this one for the time being...

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  8. I wish there was some kind of sub-designation for YA books that are not only for the YA-specific age bracket. There are enough of them to warrant it, and it would save older readers the hassle of falling into trap's like this book. From the blurb, it could go either way, and if not for your heads-up, I'd probably have gotten this for myself and been frustrated. So THANKS, Jenny ;) Great review!

    Jessica @ Rabid Reads

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  9. Some YA books make me painfully aware of my adult status (which sometimes takes away from the sheer enjoyment of the book), and it sounds like this may be one of them.

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  10. I like that Paige doesn't want to remain defenseless and goes out of her way to learn how to take care of herself. Sounds like an interesting start to a new series.

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  11. I was unsure about how this book would work for me, which is my primary reason not to request it. I do really like the sound of the romance but I'm not sure if I would like the younger tone of the characters. I have to say that Paige sounds really great though, especially since she doesn't turn badass overnight and her willingness to learn to fight is definitely appealing. I think I'll borrow this from a library.
    Lovely review, Jenny!

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  12. I'm definitely not a "young" YA reader, so I think the maturity level of the characters would bother me. Glad that you were able to appreciate this book for what it was!

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  13. I definitely agree with your take on this one, Jenny. It felt a little overwrought and overdone - a bit more juvenile than I generally look for. But I did really like Paige, and Dottie was a true highlight for me, too! Thanks for sharing your great review, lady!

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  14. I agree that younger audiences might enjoy this one more. I liked parts of it well enough, but it didn't quite stick with me the way I wanted it and expected it too, based on the premise. I'm glad you managed to enjoy it overall though, Jenny. Great review!

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  15. I think I've seen this book around quite a bit, but never really paid much attention to it, but you had me laughing at the theatrical nature of the villains. I do however tend to enjoy books left with cliffhangers, they tend to end up being more memorable books. So I may end up giving this book a go one day! Thanks for putting it on my radar Jenny!

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  16. I had high hopes for The Dark World and love the sound of the premise. I tend to read both the more "adult" YA and the "younger" and enjoy both if I can go in knowing what it's geared towards. Hmmm - going to keep this one on my wishlist for later. Thanks for the wonderful review Jenny :)

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  17. I'm so torn on whether to read this or not. I'm not a fan of cliffhanger endings, but other than that it sounds so good. Great review! :)

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  18. I keep seeing this one pop on on blogs and it sounds pretty good-think I'll finally add it to my TBR list.

    Just found your blog and now following through bloglovin :)

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  19. I'm surprised to find out that the characters are 17. I thought they were much younger than that. I'm going to skip this one, Jenny, as the synopsis doesn't really grab my attention.

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  20. I head this book is just released! I so want to read it now!!

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  21. I think my review for this goes up tomorrow. I also rated it 3.5 stars but I don't think that I was able to grasp what I didn't like as well as you though. I just knew it didn't wow me. Maybe it was that they felt younger though, that kind of makes sense.

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