Thursday, November 17, 2011

Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

Darker Still
(Magic Most Foul #1)
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Publication Date: November 8th 2011
Publisher: SourceBooks
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781402260520

Where to Buy:
B&N | Amazon | The Book Depository
The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul. (Goodreads)
I have read many, many raving reviews for Darker Still, so I finally decided to give it a read. The synopsis likens the book to Pride and Prejudice, which just happens to be one of my favorite reads. So I was really glad to finally get started on the book.

The main character in the story is a seventeen year old girl named Natalie Stewart. I found Natalie to be a very interesting character. Not only is she strong willed and ambitious, she’s also mute. I think that just makes her character even stronger, and shows just how determined she can be. She was quick to put people in their placed when they thought she was slow, because of her disability. I love the point where she discovers that she can journey into the painting with Lord Denbury. Oh, Lord Debury… What a gentleman you are! He definitely reminds me a little of someone that would be in an Austen novel.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters in the novel. Natalie’s dad and also Mrs. Northe, were both interesting to read about. I was curious about Crenfall and the painter as well, and was left with a few questions about them at the end of the book.

The plot of the story was really interesting. Imagine being trapped in a painting. Imagine having the ability to go through a painting. That’s definitely not something I’ve read about before. The book was a well paced, and was quite a quick read for me. I finished it in just a few hours time.

Overall, I found this book to be quite intriguing! I am so glad to discover it is going to be series read as well. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Natalie will take us next.

Happy Reading!

17 comments:

  1. Great review! I thought this one was pretty good, too! Lord Denbury...sigh! I really loved his character. I'm anxious for the next book in the series!

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  2. This sounds really neat and all the reviews I've seen have been positive I really want to get myself a copy.

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  3. Great review. :)

    I really enjoyed Natalie's character as well. She's so fierce and determined despite the setbacks life has thrown her. She's definitely a character I'm looking forward to reading more about. I think Natalie and Denbury are going to have some fab adventures in future books. :)

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  4. I have an eGalley of this and after reading your review now, I totally have to move this up on my tbr-pile and read it soon! Sounds really great. Thank you for sharing your opinion with us, Christy! A really great review again. :)

    Carina

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  5. Fantastic review! I loved Darker Still =)

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  6. I loved this one! You are spot on with your review. I truly enjoyed the characters and the idea behind it. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

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  7. Yes! I love that Natalie's muteness (is that a word? lol) is not something that she allows to weaken her. Her character is completely endearing.

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  8. Darker Still has intrigued me for quite some time, it sounds uniquely brilliant. I'm happy to hear expectations have been filled with this novel! I really like the sound of Natalie as a protagonist and Lord Denbury sounds delightfully charming :) Great review, Christy, can't wait to read it!!

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  9. Great review I have this from netgalley can't wait to read it now

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  10. I've seen the cover for this one a lot, but I haven't read many reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  11. I always thought that her being mute would be something that would make her stronger! I haven't read Pride and Prejudice yet, but I enjoyed the movie, and I'm definitely intrigued by this one! I cannot wait to pick up my own copy! :)

    Rebecca @ Kindle Fever

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  12. Ohhh, I've never read a book before with a main character who's mute before!! That sounds so cool -- it makes me really want to read this book! That, and the fact that you said Natalie was also a strong character! That's amazing! :)

    Awesome review, Christy! I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and I hope I like it as much as you!

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  13. Oh, I'm interested! I'm glad you really enjoyed it. I think the cover is beautiful!

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  14. Oh, I didn't realize she was mute! That makes it even more intriguing! And I've heard such lovely things about the Lord in the painting... yay.

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  15. Glad to hear the book lived up to the other good reviews. It's sometimes hard to read a book that's been buzzing around the blogosphere...and then it doesn't meet an expectation. I have this one I'm on my tbr shelf. Can't wait!

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  16. Oooh, now you got me even more excited for this book than I already was before! Fab review, girl! I've read a couple of books with a similar premise before (being able to go through the painting), but not a single YA, and if it really is similar to Pride & Prejudice then it's absolutely a must-read!

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Thanks for stopping by! :)