RELEASE DATE: May 30th 2017
AUTHORS: Sara B. Larson
GENRE: Young-Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance.
PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press
SUMMARY: On her eighteenth birthday, Princess Evelayn of Eadrolan, the Light Kingdom, can finally access the full range of her magical powers. The light looks brighter, the air is sharper, and the energy she can draw when fighting feels almost limitless.
But while her mother, the queen, remains busy at the war front, in the Dark Kingdom of Dorjhalon, the corrupt king is plotting. King Bain wants control of both kingdoms, and his plan will fling Evelayn onto the throne much sooner than she expected.
In order to defeat Bain and his sons, Evelayn will quickly have to come into her ability to shapeshift, and rely on the alluring Lord Tanvir. But not everyone is what they seem, and the balance between the Light and Dark comes at a steep price.
I loved Sara’s book Defy, the first book in her Defy series so I had put some expectations on this book. I liked the beautiful cover which was the first thing that grabbed my attention. Dark Breaks the Dawn is the retelling of the swan lake story which I really don’t know much about but I was very intrigued to read this book. I have mixed thoughts about this book because I liked the story but I really think it could’ve been executed even better. I liked the plot, the setting and the characters but the romance bored me because insta-love isn’t my thing. However, I still found myself enjoying the story and the ending totally surprised me. Readers who aren’t familiar with the original story of Swan Lake, I would recommend them to go in blind because I’ve read the original story right after finishing this book and now I wish I shouldn’t have done that.
The story is set in a fictional fantasy world called Island of Lachalonia. The war between The Light Kingdom of Eadrolan and the Dark Kingdom of Draíolon still continues even after nearly a decade. Eighteen Year Old Evelayn is the princess of the Eadrolan. Her mother, Queen Ilaria Of Eadrolan is always on the war front leading the war against Draíolon. On her Eighteenth birthday, Evelayn is finally going to get full access to her magical powers and also the ability to shape shift. In order to control her powers, Evelayn trains under Kelwyn, a light Draíolon and his alluring friend Lord Tanvir. The Light Draíolon and Eadrolan combine forces to fight against the cruel King Bain of Dark Kingdom who wants to take control of the both kingdoms. When tragedy strikes Evelayn, she is forced to claim the throne sooner than expected and has to become strong enough to defeat the tyrannical king and his sons. But King Bain has his own evil plans and he’ll go to any lengths to win this war.
Evelayn is a wonderful female protagonist! She’s strong and brave but at the same time vulnerable. She isn’t a total perfection and that’s what makes her so realistic. Even in difficult situations, she always stood strong and never gave up hope. I really enjoyed her character development through out. Lord Tanvir is definitely a swoon worthy character with his gentlemanly, caring and protective personality but to be honest, I wasn’t much impressed with him and I also wasn’t able to connect with him. I wish the author provided more info on his background. I was little bit disappointed with the romance because I wasn’t expecting a insta-love in this book but thankfully it wasn’t meh worthy so I was able to endure it. The relationship between Lord Tanvir and Princess Evelayn seemed too cliched for me but I’m certain others might love it. As for the other characters, I was very intrigued with Lorcan, King Bain’s Older Son. He is dark, handsome, seductive, cunning and very smart. Lothar, King Blain’s Younger son is still a mystery because we only get a few glimpses of him but I would love to know more about him. King Bain is a loathsome villain with a bad temper and I pretty much hated him from the start.
The Plot is pretty good! It’s unique and very entertaining. Though I enjoyed it, It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have any issues. The first half of the story is slow paced. I struggled a bit in understanding the world and the magical system. Some might feel this book a bit racist with the way the author described the white people as good guys and black ones as the bad guys. There isn’t much action in this book but I liked the story and the ending totally blew me away. Except for some repetitive phrases, the writing is good. The book is told in third person multiple POV’s and the character shift without any indication really annoyed me a bit. The world the author created is very intriguing and it reminded me of SJM’s world but I wish the author gave a brief explanation on the races and the magical system.
Overall, I liked it! This was really a good fantasy read but It still has its own cons and pros. Even though it wasn’t up to my expectations, I wasn’t totally disappointed with it. The book finally concludes with a huge cliffhanger and I can’t wait to know what happens next.
Recommend It?
I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves to read fairytale retellings and YA fantasy.
So, What do you think of this book? Have you read this yet? Do you like to read this book?
Please Feel Free To Comment Below. ❤
See You In The Next Post and Have a Great Day! 🙂
Oh a swan lake retelling..I actually haven’ t come across those! I am really loving that cover a lot btw! After reading your review, I think I would’ve felt the same as you. I am not into insta-love, I really do enjoy a good angst though lol. And the plot sounds neutral. I love that Evelayn is strong but vulnerable, reading characters that we still can connect with even if they are in a fantastical element is always a plus. I hope your next read is a lot better! ❤
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IKR? That cover looks so gorgeous! This is my first Swan Lake Retelling I’ve read. Insta-love is always a major turn-off for me but the plot of this book is pretty interesting so I hope the next book is better.
Thank you, I hope so too! 🙂
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I hope the next book works out for you ❤
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Gorgeous cover! The plot sounds interesting as well; although, like you said in your review, the idea of black/white as good/bad does sound quite racist. Also, insta-love is not my thing, either. I may recommend it to my daughter, though. This sounds like something she’d be into.
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This book is mostly suitable for young adults and I think your daughter will definitely like it. 🙂
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Great Review!! I think Lorcan is definitely my favorite character because he is so mysterious. I can’t wait to see how the next one is after that ending! Total cliffhanger there!!
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Thank you! Lorcan is my favorite character too. That cliffhanger was totally shocking! I can’t wait to read the next book. 🙂
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I haven’t read any Swan Lake retelling and This sounds like an interesting read. I’m glad your enjoyed it despite your issues. BUt I’m glad the protagoist lived up to your expectations. Great review!
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Thank you! It really was an interesting read and I can’t wait to read the next book. 🙂
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OMG!! I really need to get to this series soon! I am happy that you mostly enjoyed this one even though there were a few things that didn’t sit well with you. Lovely review! 🙂
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Thank you! Despite the issues, It really was an entertaining read. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. 🙂
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I don’t know if this book would be for me, but I kind of love the cover.
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It’s really a beautiful cover. If you’re into fairytale retellings then you might enjoy this book. 🙂
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I don’t know about Swan Lake either, I haven’t read that fairytale, so this is somewhat new to me. I love your review, Evelayn sounds like a promising woman. Love strong female characters like her!
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Thank you! I like strong female Characters too and this book is definitely worth a shot! 🙂
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I picked this up as soon as I realized it was a Swan Lake retelling! I cannot wait to start it. Excellent review 🙂 The character development sounds spot on, which is a huge plus in my book. Now we will see how I do with the pacing.
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Thank you! I hope you enjoy it! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it. 🙂
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My library just got her Defy series, and I’m so glad you loved that first book! Dark Breaks the Dawn (love that title!) sounds like it has a lot of promise besides some of the issues, and here’s hoping the second book is beyond amazing! Fabulous review, Raven!
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Thank You, Jen! I hope you enjoy Defy! I haven’t finished the series yet but I’m planning to binge it before the end of this year. 🙂
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Perfect! I’m not super familiar with the Swan Lake story. The only thing close to it would be Swan Princess, which remains one of my favorite childhood movies hahaha
But either way it’s good. Any retelling is awesome in my book! 🙂
Amazing review, Raven!
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Thank you, Sophie! It’s really a good retelling and I’m so looking forward to the next book. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to give this a try! 🙂
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Thank you! 🙂
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Waaahhh, that cover though. That would easily get sooo many people to pick up without reading the blurb! 😀 This sounds interesting, but it lacks that wow-factor somehow. Glad to hear your still enjoyed it though! 😉 Great review!
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Yeah, it’s the first thing that grabbed my attention too. Despite the flaws, it’s an interesting read and I’m quite excited to read the next book.
Thank you! 🙂
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