Review: A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

September 27, 2011

HarperTeen

Received from Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:
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.
A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.

My Review:
A BEAUTIFUL DARK is a sparkling YA debut that will leave you craving more of the fantastical world Davies has created. While there is quite a bit of the story that is formulaic in the sense that there is a love triangle (bad boy vs. good boy), the protagonist is special, and she doesn't know anything about who she is until the romantic interests pop up on the scene. Even though it was kind of predictable, Davies presents new ideas and concepts about angels that I haven't seen all that often, if at all in YA before.

Skye is your typical smart, controlling, and grounded girl who doesn't realize that she is very special. When two yummy looking yet mysterious guys show up in town, she starts experiencing crazy things that she cannot explain. Of course, she eventually finds out who she is, and as a result, begins falling for BOTH of the guys who are involved in this new and crazy life of hers.

Skye wasn't very "special" in the fact that most every girl in the paranormal genre has her personality traits, but I actually liked her. I don't know why, I just did. While I did get a bit aggravated at her for playing into Asher and Devin's whims, it was easy for me to get over that and just move on and enjoy the story. Skye grew into a much more unique and learned girl by the end, so I cannot wait until the sequel!

Yes, there are two guys, Asher and Devin, vying for Skye's attention. Honestly, this is a great love triangle. It isn't predictable at all, at least to me, who she is going to end up with. Both guys have completely opposite qualities going for them that Skye likes so even I was going back and forth. Asher is the bad boy flirt who craves attention, while Devin is the more quite and serious one. If I were Davies, I would just mash them together to create the perfect guy, but that probably won't happen! ;)

The one thing that really drove me crazy was how Asher played with Skye's emotions. He would lead her on and act like he couldn't stay away from her, then not a second later he would walk off with some other girl. I really hate it when guys play girls like that in books and in real life so there were many times that I wanted to throw the book across the room just for that!

Even though the characters aren't anything new, I would highly recommend you read this, if only for the mythology. I was fascinated by these new developments and I wondered at why Skye was so special. I will most definitely be getting the second novel!

My Rating: