Review: Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear

Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear
Pages: 408
Expected publication: August 8, 2012 (Flux)
Source: E-ARC from the publisher 
Rating: Squee-worthy
Add it/Purchase: Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Connect with the author: Twitter | Website

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Be careful what you wish for...

In an alternate version of 1901 Los Angeles sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed to restore his dying world.  

Her best friend, V, who has secrets of his own, appears to help Noli escape and return to the mortal realm.  If they are successful, Noli will live, but if she does  the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

My Review

I haven't read very many steam punk novels, but after I finished the debut book from author Suzanne Lazear, I can definitely say that I will be making an effort to read more!  Innocent Darkness is equal parts delightful, enchanting, sinister, and curious, and definitely put me in a mood to delve deeper into the steam punk genre.  I loved the clever way Lazear mixed fey mythos - both traditional, and her own flair - in with the notion of an alternate 1901 Los Angeles, with air ships, hover-crafts, and other technology that even our modern world doesn't know yet, but we've all dreamed about.  Lazear blended all the elements at her disposal in a highly creative way, that, coupled with an irresistibly spirited heroine made me love Innocent Darkness.

Magnolia "Noli" Braddock won me over instantly, reminding me of the few times I was mischievous when I was younger.  Though Noli has a bad reputation for being a "hoyden," (a willful, trouble-making woman who doesn't fit in with the times or society), it's just that part of her personality that made me adore her so.  Noli's mannerisms are ingrained within her and are as much of the story as is anything.  She a fighter and yet she also has a soft, wistful side that made me want to protect her, especially once she's sent to a reform school that makes prison look like a vacation.  There, Noli's beautiful spirit is trampled by a horrible headmistress and other truly evil characters, to the point that she wishes to escape - and does. 

Suzanne Lazear whisks Noli - and readers - away to the Otherworld, where we meet an entirely new, entirely devious and seductive cast of characters in the Fey: as untrustworthy as they are beautiful, as quick to twist their words as they are to offer Noli sanctuary.  I was entranced with this strange world, and, like Noli, I found myself unable to remember why I wanted to leave.  The setting is lush and beautiful, wild and mysterious, and turns Innocent Darkness into a haunting story. 

The pacing of Innocent Darkness slows some as Noli falls under the spell of both the Otherworld, and Kevighn, her mysterious benefactor.  We get a few glimpses into his thoughts and point of view, as well as that of Noli's best friend, Steven "V" Darrow.  I will freely admit to having swooned over V on multiple occasions, as well as over his younger brother, James.  Both Kevign and V are playing their hands close to the vest with Noli...but each for very different reasons.  The two characters were night and day, fantastic foils to one another.  Of the two, I loved both their interactions with Noli, but given a boy-next-dooor character like V, I think we can all guess which one I fell the hardest for!  There's a sweet love story that blooms between Noli and one of the boys, but who, I won't say.  I'm hoping y'all will read this one for yourself!

Suzanne Lazear has written a gorgeous story with Innocent Darkness.  By the time I finished, I didn't want the adventure to be over.  I needed more time with the characters and setting and the atmosphere of Lazear's novel.  Luckily, there is a sequel due out in 2013 that continues Noli's story, which is good for me, because I'm quite desperate to find out what happens next.  In the Otherworld, nothing is ever quite what it seems, and Innocent Darkness definitely left me hungry for more!

You're sure to fall for:

Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Pages: 400
Expected publication: July 24, 2012 (Harper Teen)
Source: ARC from the publisher
Rating: Squee-worthy
Add it/Purchase: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Connect with the author: Twitter | Website | Book Website

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The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.  And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My Review

The mark of a good book, for me, is a book that, even after I close it, I think about it - about the characters, the plot, the world-building, and the relationships.  All that and more happened with Something Strange and Deadly, a debut novel that promises, "parasols and zombies," and delivers MUCH more.  Author Susan Dennard takes familiar elements of steam punk novels and adds in her own flair in the form of spirited characters, and a strong, heart-pounding zombie adventure that left me utterly enchanted, and yet also terrified to close my eyes the night I finished this novel.  

I have to talk about the characters, because for me, they were absolutely the most spectacular portion of Something Strange and Deadly.  I almost don't know how to go about choosing a favorite, since Dennard did a fantastic job at crafting each character, no matter how major or minor, to play their role to perfection.  I loved, hated, or feared them, from Eleanor's fussy, uptight mother clinging to what was left of a good name with a lot of debt, to Clarence, Eleanor's would-be suitor, who made me want to shake him one moment, then hug him the next.  I immediately felt for Eleanor, trapped in a world she only halfway fits into, caught between her desire to have her brother home safely, and her mother's suffocating need to force Eleanor into a profitable marriage.  Eleanor Fitt - often addressed as Miss Fitt - feels exactly like her name, and my heart went out to her right away.  We bonded, Eleanor and I, because who HASN'T from time to time felt out of place, and like our wants aren't being considered?  While I do think that Eleanor's mother cared about her, at the same time, I feel like the majority of her actions were selfishly based on what she wanted/needed, rather than consulting Eleanor.  

The wonderful characters continued as we are introduced, shortly after a Dead attack, to the Spirit Hunters, a small group of ghost-hunters (and at this point the Supernatural fangirl in me was absolutely giddy with anticipation and delight) who are tracking a powerful necromancer.  Eleanor meets Joseph, Daniel, and Jie, each who have a great deal to add to Something Strange and Deadly, in terms of backstory and personality, as well as what they can teach Eleanor.  Joseph, every inch the gentleman, is a fantastic leader for the Spirit Hunters, rounded out by free-thinking and courageous Jie, and of course...Daniel.  

Oh, Daniel.  Inventor, mystery, scarred, haunted Daniel.  I fell for him with his first words, as he dubbed Eleanor "Empress," and I fell even harder for him and Eleanor.  What I truly adored about Daniel and Eleanor is that their relationship was rocky from the start, and so it made it THAT much sweeter when we saw the little moments where they learned to trust and grudgingly respect one another.  Daniel and Eleanor tirelessly antagonize one another - and NOT in the tired "new boy at school annoys main character," way of so many books.  They truly didn't get along at all at first, and I ate up every minute of their interaction, as they slowly peeled away one another's layers, becoming reluctant allies before they were anything else.  The blush of romance between them is tempered by the fact that zombies are roaming Philadelphia, and so there's a great deal of potential still between them, as well as a thrumming tension.  

Throughout Something Strange and Deadly are enigmas, twists and turns that will break your heart and leave you wanting more.  Even though it was predictable at times - I figured out the biggest twist long before it was revealed - the end still absolutely took my breath away.  Susan Dennard isn't afraid to take chances, or even do something completely shocking.  She doesn't play it safe, so please, don't expect a safe read.  Expect danger, intrigue, and high-stakes romance.  Expect to laugh, and expect to cry.  Woven in amidst the threat of the Walking Dead is also a great deal of heart, and soul, hidden in the interactions between the Spirit Hunters, between Eleanor and Daniel, between Eleanor and Jie, and so forth.  

Even though I knew Something Strange and Deadly had to end, I still didn't want to admit it was over.  At around 400 pages, which might be too long for some stories, Dennard still clearly has plenty of adventures in store, since there is a sequel - A Darkness Strange and Lovely - due out next year.  (Oh, why must I wait SO long?!) With truly memorable characters and breath-taking danger, you'll want to pick up YOUR copy of Something Strange and Deadly when it hits shelves.  I guarantee you, you'll be thinking, like me, about this story long after you read the final page.