Estimated reading time: 10 mins
Book: Where The Dark Stands Still
Author: A.B. Poranek
Number of pages: 353
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mythology
Attended Audience Age: Young Adult
Medium Type (physical, digital, audio): physical
Book rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Summary:
Liska is a village girl determined to find a unique, wish casting flower, to remove her powers and make her ‘normal.’ Her untrained abilities make her dangerous to those she loves and leaves her past behind as she ventures into the Driada. But when she runs into the Leszy, warden of the forest, she is forced into a bargain, chaining her to the Draida far longer she planned. Despite the darkness of the woods and the dangerous evils lurking within it, she is determined to prove to the Leszy she isn’t someone to reckon with. As secrets unwind, dangers arise, and unusual spirits come into play, Liska and Leszy are forced to expose their growing feelings for each other and the wicked spirits aimed to tear the woods apart.
Qualities:
Prose: The prose was lyrical and beautifully dramatic, imbuing every word and narrative with a soft yet powerful presence.
Character Development: Every character had a significant reason for being in the novel. The characters ranged from human to mythological and paranormal, each leaving an impact on everyone, for better or worse. The novel primarily follows Liska and the Leszy, both of whom are influential and essential to their character development.
World Building: Much of the world-building was set in the vast, dangerously enchanted woods. The novel exposes cultural significance and the importance of the woodlands. Among the world-building were unique, essential villages that were integral to the narrative.
Recommendation:
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read an unusual but alarmingly fantastical book. The novel pulls you in like a beautiful spell, enchanting you to finish the book until the very end. It kept me on my toes the whole time, and each surprise fit the narrative. The characters' relationship was poetic and dramatic. This book is a must-read!
Notable Quotes:
- “There are scratches, grooves, even crescents of teeth marks: the map of a story she doubts he has ever told. A part of Liska wants to study them, study him. He is rather pleasant to look at when he isn’t looming or scowling” p. 62
- “Along the walls are uncountable books, a world’s worth of knowledge, thick tomes and thin novellas bookended by skulls or geodes or jars of beetle shells. The whole room smells of mystery, of old paper and wild berries and lively summer skies” p. 82
- “But becoming the Driada’s warden taught me one thing: if the world has not prepared a place for you, you must take a hammer and chisel and carve one out for yourself” p. 206
Related Music:
- I Will Never Die by Delta Rae
- Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves
- Magic by Coldplay
Comments
Post a Comment