The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

This month’s Saturday Spotlight theme is romance! In my two previous posts, I discussed This Time it’s Real (which I am rereading soon, so a full review is upcoming!) and Opposite of Always. You can find those here are here.

Also, happy belated Valentine’s Day!

This week’s book is newer to me, and I absolutely loved it! It’s For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfruend.

I have mentioned this book a few times before, but here the focus is solely on this book. This is a Persuasion retelling. I have to admit I like Jane Austen movies but have never gotten into her books. I also don’t like classics much either.

However, from what I can tell from watching the movie and reading other reviews, this retelling stays true to the original. It is also a dystopian retelling, which I loved.

This book did cause me to think about things. I went into this book thinking it sounded interesting and like something I would read, and then I was pondering what they were doing in their society and bringing it to my family for discussion.

The romance was great in this book and the setting was amazing. I loved all the characters and I enjoyed the progression of the story.

There is a sequel, but I don’t think I am going to read it. It takes place in the same world but doesn’t have anything to do with this book as far as I can tell.

I do recommend this book. It’s not graphic, stays true to the original, and is one of my feel-good books!

Summary:

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.