Friday, November 18, 2011

Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber


Darker Still (Magic Most Foul #1)
 Blurb:
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.
Source: ARC from Netgalley(Thank you  Sourcebooks !)
My Thoughts: I was really looking forward to reading this one.I've always found  Dorian Gray  interesting and I have to say that by the time I finished reading this one I was VERY eager to read  The picture of Dorian Gray(I'm pretty sure it's available for free as it's a classic)


EDIT: it's available for free! YIPPEE!!!
I absolutely loved the letter that was in  the beginning of the novel!
Here it is
Copyright 2011 Leanna Renee Hieber
New York County, Municipal Jurisdiction
Manhattan, July 31, 1880
New York City Police Record: Case File 1306

To whoever should have the misfortune to review this closed—but still unresolved—case, I extend my condolences. I tell you truly that all persons involved have been insufferably odd.
All we know directly of Miss Natalie Stewart, disappeared at age seventeen, is what you will read here in what was left behind as an absurd testimonial.
Herein you shall find pertinent newspaper articles enclosed by Miss Stewart regarding Lord Denbury and his infamous portrait. There are also letters from involved parties.
I am left to conclude that everyone involved is a certifiable lunatic. Should you wish to indulge yourself and read a young lady’s foolish reveries on such highly improbable events, so be it. Should you believe any of it, I hope you have no business with the New York Police Department now or in the future.
Regards,
Sergeant James Patt

This book started off pretty well.I really liked Natalie Stewart,she was just my kinda girl.She was sarcastic and her thoughts made me laugh! I say her thoughts because Natalie is mute.She can't speak and I have to say I really found the fact that the main character had some disability very refreshing! I liked getting a peek into the world of a person who can't speak.


I also liked Mrs.Northe ,she was the mother figure in this book.I loved the fact that there was a supportive adult who actually had a clue what was going on in  the world of the teenager.

It was a little irritating that Natalie became so obsessed with Denbury (a.k.a the guy in the picture) when she knew absolutely NOTHING   about him but I guess I can't blame her if this is the same guy who led quite a few girls to their doom in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Even though the story was pretty interesting and I really liked the main character, I couldn't get completely engrossed in the book.I could put the book down at any moment and had to at times force myself to pick it up.I think it might have something to do with the fact that I thought the male character wasn't well developed in this book.I hardly got to know anything about his personality.
BUT....
If I would have read A picture of Dorian Gray before I had picked up this book maybe I wouldn't have needed to know anything about the main character.

Overall,I would read this one for the lovely female character and the interesting story.

My Rating:                                                       2.5-3/5
Loved the female protagonist
Couldn't decide whether to give this 2.5 or 3 so I've given it a range.



8 comments:

  1. Aw, it sucks you couldn't get into it more, but I'm glad you at least somewhat enjoyed it. Also--thank you for letting me know it was available for free! I'm super curious about that classic as well. ;) I'm actually planning on picking this one up now, so I hope I'll enjoy it a bit more! Great review. :)

    Rebecca @ Kindle Fever

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  2. Gah. Instant Obsession is even worse than Insta-love! I'm still curious about this one though. But thanks for the heads up! ;)

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  3. I adored Natalie too, but I agree it would have been nice to know a bit more about Denbury, I'm hoping we get more of him in book 2! It's been forever since I've read the picture of Dorian Gray, I really need to go back and do a reread:)

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  4. LOL love the letter! It's a shame though, that parts of the novel were a disappointment for you and affected your overall enjoyment.

    Natalie sounds like a great protagonist and you're totally right, it's refreshing to read a character like this! I've never read Dorian Gray, but I have seen the movie! Make sure you let us know what the book's like if you read it :)

    Great review!

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  5. Hear good things about it, sad that you didn't enjoy it much.

    Jay @ We Fancy Books

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  6. Your review sounds good!! it pulls me to read this book, though the rating is low @__@. Me confused.

    Besides the girl being irritating, was there anything else you didnt like enough? I'd love to know ^_^

    Thnx for stopping by btw! muah!!!
    ^.^
    Dazzling Reads

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  7. I pre-ordered this book a month before it's release date. Still haven't read it. Probably never will.

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  8. Hm. Not sure if I'm still DYING to read it. Well, at least I've finally found a review on this book! ;)

    Jane

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