{Review} A beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

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.

Title: A Beautiful Dark

Author: Jocelyn Davies

Publication: 27th September 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen 

320 pages

My review

I utterly love this book cover, it's totally gorgeous and amazing. I find it brilliant and I was immediately drawn by it, as well as the summary. After reading A Beautiful Dark, I must say that it is a very pleasant and relatively original book. I think one of the strengths of this novel is the atmosphere, which is totally well-written and captivating, but it's really not the only one.

The plot is fairly compelling, even if it is at times quite predictable. I am not especially gifted to guess twists (to put it mildly), usually I am so naive that I don't see a thing coming, but with A beautiful Dark I guessed some passages and events well in advance. However, I nonetheless spent a very good time with it, and it was an entertaining and pleasant read.

If you do not like love triangles, then this book may not be for you as, at times, you even have a love square. However, this does not particularly bother me, as it sometimes may be the case with a few love triangles. In A Beautiful Dark, we meet a young orphan girl, Skye, who lost her parents when she was only six years old.  She now lives with her aunt in a small town in Colorado. Skye is very touching, appealing and it was totally easy for me to relate to her.

As for the male characters, Devin and Asher, I think you could easily guess who is my favorite one.. dark, mysterious, secret.. easy, uh? It's obvious, Asher is definitively my favorite and he totally charmed me. There is also a third male character, Ian, who is quite different from his two rivals. I really loved him and he is sometimes more mature than Devin and Asher.

I had no problem to dive into the story, in fact it was quite the contrary. I was spellbound from the first pages, I couldn't put it down and I read it very quickly, as I totally wanted to know the rest of the story. There are a lot of twists and action, and a little suspense particularly at the end of the book. The plot is fast-paced and everything sets up rather quickly.

The mythology developed by Jocelyn Davies is utterly interesting, I found it totally captivating and I really enjoyed it. Even, if the plot is not very original, it didn't matter because I was totally hooked and A Beautiful Dark was impossible to put down, it was nonetheless totally entertaining. In fact, it is kind of a mix between books I had read fairly recently, I do not want to mention their titles, to avoid you any spoilers. So for me it was pretty easy to guess the plot and the twists, but it didn't matter as the storytelling is really compelling.

Finally, I really want to mention the atmosphere of this novel because it was totally wonderful. The descriptions are enchanting and mesmerizing. I totally loved them. They are accurate, but they were never boring, and everything feels vivid and alive. It was very easy for me to visualize the scenery and I could easily see this small town in Colorado, quiet and peaceful in the middle of a cold and rigorous winter.

To sum up, A Beautiful Dark offers us a gripping story with a captivating atmosphere, a very well-written universe and appealing characters. Although it's sometimes a bit too predictable and conventional, I nonetheless spent a wonderful time with it and I absolutely loved the mythology developed by Jocelyn Davies. It ends with a big cliffhanger, right in the midst of action, and I'm now totally looking forward to a sequel, I really can't wait. This novel will be published September 27, 2011 and if you love cute, funny and captivating books you should definitively check it out.

A copy was provided by the publisher, via Net Galley, against my completely honest review. Thank you.