And I Darken by Kiersten White
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was given this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I needed a few days to think about how I actually feel about this book. I wasn’t sure what to write, because I just wanted to leave this book behind and even now, sitting here I would much rather be cleaning the bathroom than having to think about it anymore. I also feel pressured to rate it higher, because it has been compared to Game of Thrones for the Young Adult genre and almost everyone loved that series. Needless to say, here is my very brutal, but honest review of the characters, plot and writing in And I Darken.
I could not have cared less for the characters, main and secondary. They are flat, boring and every time the author gives the reader one crumb of hope with respect to some character development, it is crushed by unnecessary teenage angst and their inability to just open their mouths and communicate with those they call friends and family. Just when the reader made it through another agonizing chapter of deep insight into one character or another, seeing the light at the end of a very boring tunnel, hoping for some change, anything that would make the character more interesting or even just more bearable, it all continues without any significant development.
The plot was somewhere among all the conspiracy talk, the military talk, the endless descriptions of things the characters planned on doing, but never came to fruition, got lost, ran away, decided to skip this book. Based on the very misleading synopsis that made this story much more interesting than it actually was, I was hoping for action, adventure and on-the-edge-of-the-seat anticipation. If the plot had actually been present and the author had decided to focus on moving the plot forward, then it would have been a very interesting story.
The writing is much too wordy for its own good. The book could have been at least half its length, if the author had payed greater attention to the potentially great story, and actual character and plot development, instead of torturing the reader with 400 pages of a bleary-eyed reading experience.
Overall, this book was a great disappointment. This politically based drama for the Young Adult audience spends too much time describing everything without any progression. It was tedious, boring and did not call forth any sort of connection between the reader and the characters. For days after finishing this book I was still considering continuing with the series as it gets published, but after having to write this review I have changed my mind. I would not recommend it.
