{Review} of For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Science Fiction
THEME: Dystopia, Romance
RECEIVED: Swap
AUTHORS BLOG: Diana Peterfreund Site

BLURB:

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's persuasion, "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

REVIEW:
It’s been a while since I read Persuasion and I remember enjoying it very much, which got me really excited to read For Darkness Shows the Stars. This story was definitely interesting and had a nice twist to the original tale that separates it from the original pretty well.

FDSTS follows Elliot North who is a hardworking and all around smart girl that is trying to keep her estate running. She’s pretty much stuck, letting her childhood sweetheart leave and now trying to keep her father from making bad decisions and losing their home. But luckily the Cloud fleet which carries a group of shipbuilders come and rent her land helping her family stay afloat. Little does she know her childhood sweetheart Kai is back and aboard but is nothing like his old self. He is now known as Malakai Wentforth and gives her a cold greeting. But behind his new attitude lies a secret which puts Elliot into making a difficult choice.

The whole twist in this story is about the “Reduction” those who performed a genetic manipulation on themselves which gets passed on to their children. Then there are the “Luddites” they are the people who believed in a gene therapy and are superiors above the Reduced. Lastly there are the Post, which are normal people that are used as servants. In the end it took me a little while to put everything together, but it’s very detailed in how everything happened, maybe a little too much of the story went to this explanation.

Elliot was the only character who kept me hooked to this story. She was bold, strong and dedicated to being the one who kept up her estate together, even though her father takes credit and uses their money. Elliot is also very kind to those who work for her and treats them as equals. The whole drama between her and Kai during their childhood and now in the present didn’t seem to be a big deal. But I felt her decision was the right one, I would have done the same thing in her position. She had responsibilities and people she cared about that her father probably would have hurt if she hard left. Kai wasn’t seeing the bigger picture to what she would of left behind if she did when they were young.

In the end I didn’t really enjoy Kai and Elliots relationship, most of the time Kai was acting like a child, while being nice to everyone else besides her. As much as I wanted them to work things out and have a happy ending, I almost didn’t want Elliot to care for him again, she deserved better. But I felt what the author did great was when she added the letters they wrote to each other in each chapter, showing the build and fall of their past relationship.

Overall I liked the concept of what was happening in their world; the difficulties Elliot had and needed to overcome really pulled the story along. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t connect to any other character besides Elliot. But please don’t get me wrong the science fiction touches are fantastic and some may connect to this story better than me. 

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a young adult novel with a touch of dystopian and sci-fi elements. Fans of Cat Patricks novel Revived and Lauren DeStefano’s The Chemical Garden series will enjoy Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars.

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