July 01, 2011

Review 2 in 1: Beautiful Dark By Jocelyn Davies

This review is going to be a little different. Wanda and I read A Beautiful Dark together and decided we would share our thoughts on the book in one Review. Hope you like! 


A Beautiful Dark
Hardcover320 pages
Expected publication: September 27th 2011 by HarperTeen

Skye never questioned the story of her life. Her Aunt Jo adopted her after the death of her parents when she was just a child, and together they flip through memories the way some people flip through photo albums.

She never questioned if the stories were true.


Until the night of her 17th birthday, when the arrival of two strangers intrudes on her cozy life. Polar opposites, like fire and ice, Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair, cold, and aloof. Skye has no idea what they want—only that their presence coincides with the beginning of some shockingly strange events. Events that Skye, if she dares to think it, might be responsible for causing.


High up in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, Skye finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient battle, one that began untold millennia ago. Torn between unpredictable Asher, whom she loves, and the infuriating Devin, who she can’t stay away from, her fate is murky as a starless night. And as the secrets of her true identity are revealed, Skye realizes that her destiny may reside in the Heavens—or somewhere darker.


Wanda's Thoughts:

     I can't remember the last time I felt so strongly about a book ending like I am about this one. Not that I didn't enjoy other book endings. But this one really got to me. It got to me so much that I had to seek out someone who read the book so I can talk about it. But unfortunately I can't share much about the ending without spoiling it. So I'll have to work around it. I absolutely loved this read and can't wait to hear from other readers on their thoughts of this book.



     Skye begged her friends not to give her a "surprise" birthday party, but of course when do friends really listen. At her party is where everything changes. She meets this guy that she was drawn to immediately. It was like "De ja vu" with Asher. His whole demeanor annoyed her but she was attracted to him. Then there's Devin, his whole character is calm and relaxed except when he's around Asher. You can slice the tension in the air with a knife when those two are around. They are complete opposites but the one thing they have in common is they both show interest in Skye.


     Asher and Devin came to town to help Skye. The problem is that Skye is unaware of their purpose for their visit. All the while spending time with both of the boys, she starts having feelings for both. Asher. Who can resist a bad boy? Then there's Devin, he has a different effect on her. She likes the way she feels when she's around him. The confusion of having two cute guys seeking for your attention. But there's more that meets the eye when it comes to both Asher and Devin. 


     Damaris came to me and suggested we read this book together. And when we started, we read it so fast we didn't get to talk about it in between the book. That's how good it was. This book is amazing! 5 Stars! 2 Thumbs up! A definite "Good Choice for Reading."




Damaris' Thoughts:

Yes! Another book that has left me with my mouth open. I really don't know where to begin. Let's start with the cover. Doesn't it scream pure awesomeness? I love it! When I first saw this cover I knew this was a book I had to get my hands on. I am sucker for covers and I've said this thousands of times, I am guilty of judging a book by it's cover. If I saw A Beautiful Dark in a bookstore, I would have picked it up without reading the back thanks to its cover.

With that said, I guess I can start piecing together all these crazy thoughts I have in my head about this book. Jocelyn Davies has made her way to my TOP THREE YA authors of 2011. I LOVE it when a book keeps me up super late reading. I just could not put A Beautiful Dark down. It had a very nice beginning, awesome middle, and banging ending. I feel I must warn everyone though, if you are not a huge fan of cliffhangers, well here's a head up. A Beautiful Dark has a HUGE cliffhanger, and YES this bothered me, but only because who knows how long I have to wait for the next book since this was an Advance Readers Copy. I was up all night thinking about this book and mad at myself for reading it so fast, but I just couldn't stop reading. The story was just SO good and put together so well. From chapter one til the end there is always something happening that keeps you turning the pages. To me there wasn't a part in the book where I was wishing it would just hurry up and get to it. It's at a perfect pace, not to slow, not to fast. When I did put it down to have dinner with my family, I was tempted to read and eat at the same time. I was dying to know what exactly these two new boys wanted with Skye and why was Skye so important.


Asher... Where do I start? Everyone loves a bad boy and Asher is the perfect bad boy. His personality made this book. I loved him and he is now my TOP THREE favorite male characters of 2011. Even though I am not a big fan of love triangles, I feel A Beautiful Dark wasn't overly dragged out with it. It's clear that Skye has more of an attraction to Asher (or it could just be my love for him) than she did Devin. Devin was a very nice character, but to sweet for me. I am so Team Asher! The bickering between the two was very funny and sexy. Who doesn't want two guys fighting for your attention?


This is a definite FIVE star for me. I think everyone who loves YA and Paranormal stories needs to add this to their To Be Read pile. Or you can just pre-order it now. I promise you WILL NOT regret it! 




5 out of 5 Stars!




8 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review! I plan on reading this one soon!

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  2. Huh. I originally hadn't planned on reading this because I despise love triangles. But I know I'd like Asher better, and if you say it's not much of a love triangle, maybe I'll read it :D

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  3. I just started reading this book and I am loving it! Great review, but now you have me scared of the cliffhanger. :)

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  4. I liked it but I didn't love it. At first I had a hard time getting into it because I thought the guys descriptions were ones I read about before.

    But once I read on I really liked how they each became their own characters through their different personalities and reasons for being in Skye's life. And I agree about the ending. I was like really this how it's going to end and I have to wait how long for the next one to come out.

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  5. I love these dual reviews! I think both of you hit on different aspects of the books, but definitely put across your love of the book. I encourage more reviews like this! I think it would be interesting to see ones where perhaps you differ in opinion.

    - Elisquared

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  6. I love hearing both of your takes on the book. Different perspectives are great. Can't wait to read this. I won a copy from Harper Teen and am about to start it.

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  7. I'm so glad you loved this book! It looks awesome!

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