Thursday, August 9, 2018

The New Dark by Lorraine Thomson ~ Review

Title: The New Dark (The Dark Times Trilogy #1)
Author: Lorraine Thomson
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Length: 221 pages
Publisher: Bastei Entertainment
Release Date: November 1, 2017
Source: NetGalley
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

"She thought she knew who she was and where she came from. Then her home was destroyed. Her brother lost amongst the ashes. And the boy she loves vanished. She owed her own survival to a mutant — the very forces behind the destruction. Now Sorrel will never be the same again."

There is no "Before", there is only "Now". Because now there’s no internet, no TV, no power grid. Food is scarce, and the world’s a hostile place. But Sorrel lives a quiet life in the tiny settlement of Amat. It’s all she’s ever known ...

Until a gang of marauding mutants destroys the village, snatching her brother Eli, and David, her boyfriend. Sorrel sets out after them, embarking on a journey fraught with danger. Can she survive? The only thing that keeps her going is Eli and David. They are out there somewhere. They must be alive. And if she has her way, she will find them.



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The New Dark introduces an interesting, if confusing, world. A world where there is no technology and humans live in small villages working to survive. When a group of mutants attack Sorrel's village and kidnap those they don't kill, Sorrel follows them trying to rescue her little brother and David. This is a physical journey as well as a symbolic one. Sorrel will have to leave behind not just her innocent life in the village, but her prejudices and fears as well. When she arrives at the largest city she's ever seen, she will discover that not all humans are good and not all mutants are bad. The trick is trying to tell which is which.

This story was a bit of a mixed bag for me. At times very exciting and I couldn't get enough, others it began to drag and I feel like the pacing could have been spaced more effectively. While I enjoyed Sorrel's journeys, I feel as if she never actually accomplished anything in the first book. Every step forward, every ally made, meant one step back and an ally lost. I didn't have a sense of hope at the end of the first book to make me look forward to the second.

*I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book*

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