The Sweetest Dark #2 The Deepest Night

Into the deepest night they fly to rescue.... Presenting The Sweetest Dark #2 The Deepest night by Shana Abe.

Here is the summary of the book:

A rich portrait of post-Victorian England, The Deepest Nightseamlessly blends thrilling romance with riveting history and adventure—perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Lauren Kate.

It’s 1915, and sixteen-year-old Lora Jones is finishing up her first year as a charity student at Iverson, a prestigious, gothic boarding school on England’s southern coast. While she’s always felt different from everyone around her, now she finally knows why: She is a drákon, a rare, enchanted being with astonishing magical abilities.

As war hits Britain’s shores, and Lora reels from an unimaginable loss, she finds that her powers come with grave and dangerous responsibilities. At the request of Armand Louis, the darkly mysterious boy whose father owns Iverson, Lora will spend her summer at his lavish estate. To help the war effort—and to keep Lora by his side—Armand turns his home into a military hospital, where Lora will serve as a nurse. For Armand is inescapably drawn to her—bound to her by heart-deep secrets and a supernatural connection that runs thicker than blood.

Yet while Lora tries to sort out her own feelings toward Armand, fate offers an unexpected surprise. Lora discovers there is another drákon, a prisoner of war being held in Germany. And that only she, with her newly honed Gifts, will be able to rescue him.

With Armand, Lora will cross enemy lines on an incredible mission—one that could bond her to Armand forever, or irrevocably tear them apart.

Beautifully written, deeply romantic, and filled with daring adventure and magic, The Deepest Night is a mesmerizing novel of the enduring pull of destiny, and the eternal strength of love.

With the Sweetest Dark we discovered that there is more to this world than we realize.... right in the corner of the eye (the one place we never look.... ok I need to stop channeling the Doctor there....). Shana Abe introduced this world in her Dakon series..... which sadly I haven't yet..... continuing on to her new series and now to the new book in the series, the deepest night.

They lost Jesse at the end of the end of the last book but the night is still deep and much to be done. Things are changing fast in the dark age, the infernal war has reached London and it seems like Armand's brother is still alive and both Lora and him must brave the skies of their war-torn world to rescue him..... a mission that may serve to bond between them or break them apart from each other.

There is some seriously good character development in this book. Particularly Armand. In book 1, it was Jesse who occupied central position as their teacher, teaching the Drakon ways but this time Armand is given room to evolve. After the disaster in the first book, the lordship has fallen to Armand, the mysterious boy. When at first he seemed a reluctant bystander, a good looking one at that. But now he has been saddled with responsibility and he comes to it with a sound mind. In his own way he had always cared, just never showed. His attraction to Lora grows by the minutes, helped along with the fact that both are connected with their Drakon blood. It is rather endearing to watch both Armand and Lora skirting around their feeling throughout....

While his heart-warming love for Lora may seem wrong to some after Jesse with the instant heart stopping short romp they shared but in the sense while that one had its own merits. I found Lora's chemistry with Armand and this slow bonding even more heart-warming to behold.

I don't have much to say for Lora, she established herself already and this one is about Armand and his coming into his abilities. But Lora plays an important role of the duo throughout, As she mourns for Jesse, she must also master her transformations if they are to succeed ...... Abe beautifully advanced the Drakon world with this book and just with the right material too..

"Definitely a rich and fantastical setting of WWI era blending the right amount of thrilling romance and heart stopping adventures"

Genre :     Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Publisher: Bantam Dell

Release Date: 13th August, 2013

My Copy: publisher and netgalley

Rate:             4 /5 (Really Liked It)

Books in Series(review links):
         #1 The Sweetest Dark

Buy:         Amazon | Book Depository

The Sweetest Dark #1 The Sweetest Dark

A historical fantasy through the dark period of Europe..... fascinating. Presenting The Sweetest Dark #1 The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe.

Here is the summary of the book:

Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.

England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.

Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.

Filled with lush atmosphere, thrilling romance, and ancient magic, The Sweetest Dark brilliantly captures a rich historical era while unfolding an enchanting love story that defies time.

Elegantly written and beautifully crafted. Breadth takingly detailed. 1915 circa England, the year of the first great world war. Picturesque landscapes of English countryside and elegance of the days of old. But the mirror world is what we miss out on if we don't look hard enough and it is in this world that our tale begins.... of the legacy of the ancient creatures of old, the Drakon (Dragons i.e.).

A paranormal romance. A love triangle of sorts, Lora, Jesse and Armand form the crux of the tale. These two polar opposite males enter Lora's life when she comes to Iverson as a scholarship student. Once is shy and passionate Jesse and the other, the rich aristocrat Armand. This is the tale of self-discoveries and committing the most dangerous of all sins in this sweetest dark amidst the air-raids, bombings, of the mysterious wailing in the air and of touching romance that surprised us since we came across it within the pages. Don't get me wrong there is danger too and the sword cutting almost at the edge that makes it all the more perfect and very light read.

This is my first Shana Abe read and I admit I was a little confused at the beginning of the tale. Only to figure out later that this somewhat follows Abe's another bestseller series 'Drakon', well definitely some chapters but as the clueless, I tried to make sense of Rue and almost everything else. The three protagonists are brilliantly written. Lora makes for a fantastic heroine and her chemistry with both Jesse and Armand was simply off the charts. And while Lora and Jesse's romantic sojourn come as a big change from the norm that i'm used to so I slowly adapted to it with the shocking demise of one of the characters to rock the boat. I am definitely excited to see where it goes from there in the Deepest Night.

"An enchantress of a tale.....Refreshingly new and Elegantly beautiful"

Genre :      Young Adult, Historical Fantasy, Paranormal Romance


Publisher: Bantam


My Copy:  Publisher and netgalley


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)