Review of Innocent Darkness

Goodreads Summary: "Wish. Love. Desire. Live.

Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish."

From the first page I was drawn into the story of Noli Braddock, she is just one of those characters that draws you in from the very beginning. She's bright, sassy and without a doubt has a spark to her that makes her stand out to everyone who comes across her. Some more so than others. As my Nana would say the girl's got some gumption to her. What really makes her stand out? Her tomboyish ways. Noli is no Victorian lady and that is what makes her such a fun character to read. Her heart is in the right place its just the manners and mannerisms that escape her.

The novel itself kept me entertained as I read it along the course of a single day. I think it was the characters that really made this novel for me. I read because I wanted to know more about them, I wanted to know what choices they would make, what they were willing to do for those that they loved, what sacrifices would be made and how they would handle the various predicaments that they got themselves into. Especially Noli. I wouldn't have minded a little more character development from some but overall it was an interesting cast of characters. Even those that were only mentioned in memory and didn't actually partake in the novel itself.

I have to admit though I was disappointed by the steampunk aspects of this novel. They're introduced to the reader within the first chapter then only periodically mentioned throughout the rest. The cover is so gorgeous with her steampunk-esque attire, the ship in the background and the cogs around the title I was just expecting a bit more. Though the fantasy world that Suzanne Lazear created oftentimes distracted me from my disappointment at the lack of steampunk. I really liked the world that she created for her fey and hope in future installments to get a better feel for it and more of its history.

Rating: 3/5

I received a galley of this novel courtesy of Netgalley and Flux in exchange for a fair and honest review.