Give the Dark My Love

nedra is my queen! i love how she turned into an antihero. she's THE morally grey character, i can't wait to read book 2!

NEDRA HONEY GO GET THEM!!!

I actually don't know what to think about this one, to be honest. It has the right amount of darkness (zombies! blood! necromancy! dark magic!), Nedra's slow descent into madness and blurring the lines between what is right or what is wrong reminded me of one of my favorite characters I've read this year (Nita from Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer), the plot and the characters were fairly interesting, there was at least one bisexual character and probably a few others here and there that slipped by unnoticed, and I was so not expecting that ending. However there were some major issues for me: the animal cruelty thing (like seriously, wasn't there any other way to do that?); the nercromancer's identity was sooooo predictable, as were a few other things; and the romance did nothing for me. More than anything, I don't think that a sequel was necessary. I get why, as this book left many questions unanswered, but for me some things are better off unsaid; that gives the reader more space to speculate and create our own ending.

Wow! I honestly did not expect this book to be so dark. (So many content warnings for this one - you need to check them out before you start reading this. To name a few: death, a sort-of-plague-like disease, a pandemic to be clear, ...) My biggest problem with this book is that it is YA. How good could this be if it wasn't. I understand that the author wanted a young character and school setting, but I believe this could also be done with having a young MC in an adult fantasy. I adored the world and the setting and I think those are the highest points of this book. The characters felt a bit flat. We got to know Nedra a bit, but Grey was just placed there for the sake of romance. It was predictable, I'm not gonna lie, but I really did enjoy it. If you feel like reading this after checking the CW, I highly suggest it. Just keep in mind it still is a YA book so don't expect too much to end up disappointed.

*2.5 The book was slower than I expected and had really little plot.

Find this review and many more on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads Plague, Elitism, Death, Amputation, Murder, Violence, Child Deaths, Necromancy, Torture Bisexual Characters, Homosexual Characters I’ve been putting this one off for too long, and I know this has really been something that I wanted to read, so I just had to get over whatever issue I have about not reading books when I want to read it and then just read the damn thing. So that’s what I did. But it seems like me reading the physical copy helped me get through it better than the audiobook. Sometimes it happens that way. Doesn’t mean the narrators are crappy or anything. I just needed a change. Nedra Brysstain is one of the main characters in the novel. She is extremely intelligent, and seems to be naturally gifted in medical alchemy. She was able to suck the soul out of a rat on her first attempt, something that is not usual. I have a feeling – besides the synopsis lol – that she is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Greggori “Grey” Astor is one of the top students at Yugen Academy. I’m pretty sure he is the top student, but is pretty humble about it compared to some of the other students *ahem* TOMUS. He is actually a good guy once you get to know him, and he finds a real friend in Nedra. "You’re treating her like a slave, as if she’d already taken the robes, but she’s still a student. It’s been more than a week since you asked for volunteers, and since then Nedra practically lives at the quarantine hospital." ~ Grey to Master Ostrum Alchemy. Necromancy. Girl meets boy but she’s more focused on taking care of the plague that’s ravaging the Empire that she is a part of. She gets a scholarship to go to Yugen Academy to study medicinal alchemy. She makes friends with Grey, and she becomes the protege of Master Ostrum, the best medicinal alchemist in the school. Together they work to find a cure for this mysterious plague that has been hitting the poor citizens of the Empire, spreading its black poison through their bodies. There’s no clear way on how it’s spreading, and despite their efforts, there doesn’t seem to be a cure. Also, Ned and Grey may end up liking each other, but that doesn’t really take over the story, which I absolutely love. Mama burned all the bread because she couldn’t quit reading – I see where you get it from ~ Nessie’s letter to Nedra How many of us book lovers can relate to that line though? I know I can. I really fell in love with Nedra. She is so focused on helping others, trying to find a cure for this plague that she ends up putting herself and others last. I don’t like that she doesn’t take care of herself, but I love how dedicated and motivated she is. I would definitely say that she’s one of my new favorite characters to date. Nedra Brysstain, I know you. And you always default to guilt. This plague does not rest on your shoulders alone. Your life is for living. ~ Ernesta, Nedra’s twin sister It’s honestly hard to say because I’m still really heartbroken by what happened in this novel, but after getting past the audiobook and reading it physically, I have to say that I really enjoyed the story. Oh, I also liked that Nessie – Nedra’s twin – was bisexual and there were other same sex couples mentioned throughout the novels (briefly, but there) and nobody questioned or fought against it. It was just normal. And that’s how it should be. Because it’s a normal thing to love who you love. Tomus – Grey’s friend and second highest student in Yugen Academy – is a complete jerk-face to Nedra for no damn reason. Like, okay? She accidentally sat in your spot because it didn’t have your damn name on it. How was she supposed to know that when it’s literally her first day at the academy? He was just a rude ass hoe, and I don’t appreciate it. Also I feel like Grey was trying to get Nedra to love him too much, and he wasn’t really paying attention to her nonverbal communication in that she really, really needed to focus on finding a cure. Her whole scholarship depended on what Master Ostrum thought of her work. She wasn’t trying to get distracted and lose this opportunity. I get that Grey didn’t have to worry about that, but he should have been more understanding to her. So this is a duology, and while I feel like I would have been fine with it ending the way it did – being open ended and all that – I am curious to see how Nedra is going to progress and what exactly Grey plans on doing now that…. everything has happened. “I appreciate your concern,” Nedra said, biting off the words, “but don’t ever do that again. I can speak for myself.” ~ Nedra to Grey I mean… look at my boss ass bitch right here.

3.5 Stars

This was book was OK. Not terrible, not great, just OK. I do think it did some things well. Probably the best was showing the trajectory of how Nedra came to embrace necromancy. But there was a lot that just left me feeling very meh about it. I thought Nedra's character in the first half was pretty inconsistent - she kept see-sawing between a stone-cold bad ass and someone who was pretty timid. Also, what in the world was the point of Grey? To represent the typical male who will tell you "Man, it sucks all you're going through. Let's make out!" evidently. Waste of space. And finally, I thought the world building was pretty lacking. The book centers around alchemy, but we actually learn very little about it.

3.5 RTC

Such a powerful and compelling villain origin story! I need the second one, like, yesterday!!