Book review via Amazon.com. On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.
In the dead of a
bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the
impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who
she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the
consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could
ever imagine.
This is Colorado for my YA
reading challenge. It is once again
the first book in a series, like California.
Oh man peeps, I don’t know if I can handle that! Both books end in such
cliffhangers that I almost want to stop the challenge for a little bit
to read the series, but know that I can’t. This is going to come up a lot. I’ve
already noticed that the Divergent series is on the list for Illinois and from
what I have been told I will want to go to the next book right away. They will
just have to wait for a year or so.
That being said, “A Beautiful Dark” is a fun book. I have always enjoyed books that have a
romance element. I think that’s why I
don’t have a problem reading paranormal romance. I can enjoy most genres, if a
romantic element is involved. It doesn’t have to be the biggest element, but in
the plot in some form. Personally, I
love the mixture of romance, action, drama, sci-fi, fantasy. Books that are full-on
romance can sometimes feel silly. There were definite moments of hilarity in “A
Beautiful Dark,” for example, one of the boys (Asher a Rebel/Angel) responds to
Skye, who is curious about their powers, “We’re not human…of course we have
powers!” Oh yeah! Of course, my mistake for thinking otherwise. There were other moments that were silly like
that, but this is a paranormal romance teen novel…it’s not going to be inconspicuous.
The dichotomy between fate and choice is oozing out of this
novel. This has become extremely popular in YA Lit in recent years. “The Uglies”,
“Matched”, and “The Giver” are great examples of the theme free will vs.
destiny. Dystopian and paranormal novels are great mediums to demonstrate this
theme. In “A Beautiful Dark” this
dichotomy takes in the form of two Angel-like beings in the most literal sense.
Asher represents the Rebels who believe in choice and chaos, while Devin
represents The Order who want to keep balance in the world and follow their
destiny. It is now time for Skye to
choose which way she will go, those who want chaos or those who want order. Again a very basic plot, but has a lot to
offer teens (though let's face it, mainly teenage girls).
Is this a book that libraries should get for their young
adult collections? I wouldn’t say a must have, but if you can get it you
should. As I have mentioned before, Paranormal Romance is the biggest genre at
the moment in teen literature. The more you get, the higher likelihood teens
will come in to borrow books. Well six down, 44 more to go!
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