Jocelyn Davies
Description from goodreads.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.
My thoughts on the book:
Let me just start this review by saying that the only reason I gave A Beautiful Dark an A instead of an A+ is because it ended on a cliff-hanger, and I hate cliff-hangers! That and I wanted to kick Skye a few times at the end because she kind of acted like an idiot... twice. I can't say that I would have acted any differently, but since I was on the outside looking in, I can see the problem with her assumptions. Oh well. That being said, I can't wait for the sequel! Over all, it is an excellent book.
For a good part of the book, Skye has no idea what's going on, and while you can kind of guess the gist of what's happening to her, you can't figure the entire thing out until the big reveal. I liked that because it kept me guessing throughout the book. Some of the things that Davies hinted at were a bit obvious, and I figured them out pretty quickly, but I didn't figure out all of Skye's situation until the very end. It's much more serious than she thinks, and that was surprising.
The characters in the novel are wonderful and easy to relate to. Skye is a character who draws you in right away. The fact that she doesn't like crowds and takes her studies seriously made me feel a connection to her immediately. I would have liked to have seen more of Cassie, but it's clear that she could not have been in the book as often as I would have liked. However, I would have liked to have seen more memories from Skye's and Cassie's childhood. It would have helped solidify their friendship in my mind.
I LOVE ASHER! He is wonderful. He is probably my favorite character in the entire book. I like how he's sarcastic and caring at the same time. Devin doesn't really blow me away. I didn't trust him from the beginning, and I still don't trust him. I'm sure he means well and all, but I just see him as weak-minded and heartless. That's pretty typical for a love triangle, though. You love one and hate one. Ian and Dan were pretty flat characters, but that could have been because they weren't around much. Ian bored me to tears. I was kind of glad he wasn't around more, to be honest. Dan was okay. Nothing special, though.
Raven was a believable villain. She is catty and it's obvious from her introduction that she stops at nothing to get what she wants. I kind of hated her, but obviously I was supposed to. She reminded me of a cross between a mean girl in high school and some kind of psycho killer type. Not a settling combination, to say the least.
I really enjoyed reading this novel. It's a unique take on the angel lore that's so prevalent in YA literature today. I can't wait to see what happens to Skye, Asher, and Devin in the next book. I'd recommend A Beautiful Dark to anyone ages 12+.
Want to read A Beautiful Dark?
I hate cliffhangers too! They leave me feeling really anxious. This sounds like a really good read.
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