Author: Jessica Day George
Series: Silver in the Blood #1
Pages: 358
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Alternate History
Date Published: July 7th, 2015
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Netgalley) for honest review
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Summary:
A New York Times bestselling author brings dark secrets to life in a lush new YA perfect for fans of Libba Bray or Cassandra Clare.
Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.
With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.
Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate . . . or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.
With a gorgeous Romanian setting, stunning Parisian gowns, and dark brooding young men, readers will be swept up by this epic adventure of two girls in a battle for their lives.
-Goodreads
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My Thoughts:
An Open Letter To Silver In The Blood,
You had a lot of things that I like going for you. You had sister-friends (who were actually cousin-friends), you had cheeky gents, you had a cool setting, and you even had a deep rooting in the Dracula legend. I loved that last bit the best, because you came at the story from a totally different angle than I've read before. Okay, so you weren't perfect, and I found you to be a bit wordy (which was something I both liked and didn't like) but in the end I thought you were a solid start to a new series!
-The White Unicorn
I've had the pleasure of reading quite a few of George's books, and so when I saw that she had a new one coming out, I knew I had to jump on it. I'm very glad that I did. Though I had a few issues with this book, I really enjoyed it. It was sweeping adventure, and it made me want to travel to Romania, even with all the creepy details.
Fact: I love creepy details!
George's writing style isn't the normal fair in YA lit, and that's why I like it so much. It reminds me of the feel of a old classic, but it's less heavy handed than that. It's flowy and detailed all at once. It makes me like reading the story, as much as it makes it slightly hard to get into. I know that I sound like I'm contradicting myself, but there is really no other way to put it. Obviously, I have read more than one of George's book, so this is much more of a compliment as it is a complaint.
The book is drenched in Romanian history. George did a lot of research on her setting and it shows. I felt like I was on the Orient Express with Dacia, and dancing through Paris with Lou. Once we all got to Romania the flow of the book switched and everyone was thrown into a really strange family full of secrets. Which may or may not have to do with Dracula and his family tree.
I did feel like the urgency of the evilness of Dacia and Lou's family could have been a bit more pronounced. I always had a feeling that everything was going to work out alright in the end, and I would have liked to question that more. I guess in a way, the format of the novel made it feel pretty predictable for me.
The characters on the other hand were great. I'm not usually into dual POVs, but I found that I really liked getting to know Dacia and Lou individually, as well as together. Both girls go through a lot when they uncover their families big secret, and I found watching their transformations to be really refreshing. They both come into their own in some pretty big ways, and I liked that.
All in all I found that this book was about a lot of things that I haven't read about before, and I always like those. If you like sweeping adventures, blood soaked evenings and strong female friendships, this is the book for you.
Rating:
3 Unicorns = I liked it a lot, but it had it's issues!
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