Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber


A very unique historical fantasy book surrounding a mute girl and a haunted portrait of a young English Lord.

Set in 1880 New York, Natalie is a young woman who comes across a stunning portrait of a young Lord and seems drawn to it. The book is written as if it's Natalie journal, so we're privy to her deepest darkest thoughts and the workings of her mind. She is obviously driven to record everything that comes to her, for it's the only way she can express it.

Natalie was, of course, a very unique heroine. She could only communicate with most people by writing on her notepad. She felt left out often, and when she interacted with people, she was usually met with a pitying look. Through the course of her journey that is chronicled through her journal, Natalie discovers strengths and talents she didn't even know she had.

Darker Still has hints of The Picture Dorian Gray, and I loved it. The story was obviously inspired by the classic novel.

I went into this book not really knowing the details, so I'm hesitant to give anything away. It was so much more than I expected. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be so creepy in some places. While reading during the night, I found some parts completely spooked me – walking beheaded corpses and all that. Argh, but it was good.


2 comments:

Tara said...

Oh cool. I'm intrigued. But why was she mute?

Christy B said...

A traumatic experience when she was a small child.