The New Dark is a new YA trilogy, that caught my interest with its take on the dystopian/ Sci-Fi future.
The follows Sorrell, a young girl born in the "Now", the world that she lives in has no internet, no T.V, no power and very little food. Sorrell lives a quiet life in a small village called Amet, until one day a pack of mutants comes to the village and kill the old and kidnap the young. Sorrell manages to escape being caught or killed but her boyfriend and younger brother are not so lucky. Sorrell must go after them to save them, they are the only thing that is getting Sorrell though all the her dangerous situation.
This book is really good at showing that not all types of people are good or bad. When you start to read the book you think the Mutants are the bad guys of the story, than with the introduction to the people of the"The Free" you realise not to take anything on its appearance. This book also made me think a lot, as it deal with what people do to people who are different, as well as slavery being normal.
I found the story slow in parts, but as story continued I was drawn in, I managed to read the book in one night. The end of the book has left it open perfectly for the next book, and left me wanting more.
If you enjoyed book like Book of fire by Michelle Kenney, I would give this book a read.
I give this book 3.5 out of 5
🤓

*4 stars*
I really enjoy this book!! I loved the post-apocalyptic story line, Sorrel firceness and courage, David's feelings and how Lorraine Thomson managed to show us that good people does not only come in human form.
This is a book I highly recomend and can't wait to read the following ones.

The plot was interesting and this book could have been a great book. However, it was very choppy - there was no real rhythm or flow. I didn't feel the connections between the characters, I was told there were connections. And there were lots of parts that needed more and were skipped over completely - lots of holes.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This is a story is about Sorrel who is from a town called Amat. People from Amat work together. A group of mutants raided their town, killed the elderly and took the young people with them to another town. The captured are Eli, Sorrel’s brother and David, who she is madly in love with. Sorrel, along with a mutant set out to find David and Eli before it’s too late. Sorrel, is a very strong lady. She was so tough and independent. She started looking for Eli and David all by herself. I loved how she was able to fight and the skills that she possesses like being able to hunt her own food. She is also pretty stubborn. She reminds me of md lol She gets ahead of her feelings and sometimes speaks without even thinking. The story was set in different towns. First was in Amat, her hometown. The next was Ulbroom, The Land of the Free. The story was exciting. It was full of action since the very beginning.
This was my first book by this author, however I did enjoy it. It was fast paced and just alltogether an easy read. I give this book a 4.5 star rating!

I became so engrossed in this book almost right from the beginning. I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the world the author created and really enjoyed the characters. I am looking forward to reading the next 2 books- I cannot wait to find out what happens to Sorrel next and whether she finally finds her little brother.

I was unsure when I saw this book…I thought maybe it was just going to be another zombie/dystopian novel, just calling the zombies mutants. But…I was pleasantly surprised. It was a totally new twist to the story. The main character was a young girl…and even though she did most everything she did so that she could find her boyfriend and brother…it was more of an adventure than a romance. I would give it 5 stars, right up until the last sentence in the book. A major cliffhanger, which I absolutely hate. I want to decide whether to read another book, not feel like I must. That said, I’m still going to give it 5 stars, because I WANT to read it and find out what happens next! I’m involved with the characters now.

*thank you to Netgalley and Bastei Entertainment for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

1 star.

DNF @ 26%

The beginning started off quite strong, but it quickly went downhill and I lost interest pretty fast. I was not prepared for the sexual abuse in this and that was also a big reason I could not finish it as it was too triggering. One positive is that I really like this cover.

I enjoyed this. 'Into the Dark' had it all: Mutants, Religious fanatics, slavery, poison, treachery all in an unsettling post apocalyptic setting. Sorrell the main character witnesses her entire village brutally murdered, with a handful allowed to live, just to be taken into captivity. In search of these lone survivors, Sorrell has to fight for survival in a world that is cruel and unforgiving.

The writing and world building carried its weight well throughout the read. There are so many questions remaining about this world set in the future that have noticeably been left unanswered. The characters are fierce and desperate with a foreboding sense of 'who to trust' hovering suspiciously over each page. I definitely am curious to see where this author will take this unusual series. 3.5 stars.

This book was not for me. The character development and plot detail could have been worked on a bit more. There WERE more questions than answers by the end of this book. It is a good thing that this is a series.

It was an ok read, not too bad I guess. Maybe a good read for a teenager.
I didn’t find that much of sci-fi elements so I wouldn’t consider this book in that genre.
Apparently is a trilogy but I would not be reading it.
The reading is good and the characters are interesting. There is nothing I would say I hate/dislike is just that this book was not for me.

I liked the storyline but the dialogue didn't seem to fit. It felt like the characters' manner of speech wasn't quite right. It pulled me out of the story.

Not much world building, plot was clunky, characters were unlikable. Overall, just not a very good read.

I liked it enough. I did not expect it to be so engaging. I confess that I requested it because I liked the cover. At first I did not read the plot. But once approved I had to read it and I was quite satisfied.

The place where Sorrel, the protagonist, lived was destroyed by mutants and his brother and his best friend disappeared.

After being fainted she is helped by people who take care of her. However, despite having saved her, now they do not want to let her go away, they want to find a stable place for Sorrel in their village, but she can't afford it, she has to save David and Eli.

The two boys were kidnapped by mutants and held prisoners. Even though David tries to escape, he does not succeed and returns in prison with many of his fellow citizens.

This is a all-to-discover book, intriguing, for all ages, from the hypnotic scenes from whose pages you won't want to get off until the end.

It's not one of those books where there is an adventure after another, but that's the value of this book. It has the right pace to make you fall in love with the protagonists from the first page as each book should do.

Einstien was probably my favorite character in it. I would have liked more explanation on what led up to the world being the way it was (overrun by Aliens). It seemed as though I was dropped in the middle of the book plot and missed the beginning. However, I did enjoy the book

Despite a promising premise (I love post-apocalyptic stories) and a gorgeous cover, this one started well but quickly lost its appeal and never regained traction for me. I think what it comes down to is there are too many questions raised and not enough answers, even knowing this is the first of a trilogy.

What happened to make the Before the Now? Why are some people living backwoods lives in Amat when others (we discover) are living much more advanced lives in a setting that more closely resembles Divergent, and why don't the two groups know about each other? Why the birthmark? Why the mutants? Why the birth rate crisis? Where the heck did the Free come from, and how in the world does it all tie together?

I'm sure answers will be revealed, but it seemed like such an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach that I'm completely uninterested in continuing the series, not to mention that none of the characters nor the writing style grabbed me and it was quite a task to finish. What started as a nice adventure story has, by the end, basically turned into the District 13 Hunger Games revolution, and it just lost me.

I received an advance review copy of The New Dark from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Having agreed to be honest, I have to admit that it was some weeks in between requesting this galley and the time I finally got around to reading it. During that interval I had forgotten the description of the book mentioning that it's the opening installment of a planned trilogy. Sp the cliffhanger ending and abrupt non-resolution of the central quest left me more frustrated than normal. That being said, even if I remembered that two more books would follow, I think I still would have been disappointed.

The New Dark opens quite well with a nice bit of world-building. The description of agrarian life in a post-nuclear world is handled quite well, as is the invasion of the idyllic little village. Once the plot advances beyond the destruction of Sorrel's home the world-building is abandoned in favor of the hero quest. There's not enough character development for my taste. Sorrel goes from one problem to another conflict and then on to another struggle, meanwhile we learn very little about her as a person. The same goes for David once the narrative switches to his perspective. The book is highly event-driven. There's not much meat on its bones. All we know is that Sorrel and David want to find each other. Considering their entire village was destroyed, what bonds these two together? I honestly have no idea. Sorrel has a mysterious necklace and equally mysterious birthmark that are supposed to mark her for some higher destiny. This book never gives us many hints. Frankly there's not enough to draw me into caring about Sorrel or David. I can't see much reason to invest more time, let alone money, in the next two books.

3.5 stars...The new dark left many questions. The book is a dystopian society but it really doesn't explain what happened. We just know there was a "before". There are mutants, not sure what happened to cause the mutants. We meet Sorrel and her love interest David in the opening chapter. They live in Amat. It's a rough life where you hunt and trade for things you need. Sorrel is a young teen and naive. Mutants attack their camp and many people are killed. She survives but now is on her own. This is her story. I don't want to give too much away in the book but I did enjoy the world. I enjoyed the story but there are so many open questions. The book ends on a strange note too. Like not a cliffhanger and not an open question. I thought maybe my book didn't download all the way. I have actually reached out to the author just to check if that really was how the book was supposed to end. I would recommend the book but just know that there will be open questions and a strange ending. It appears as though this will be a trilogy so hopefully that will answer some of the questions.

Honestly, this book was just confusing and distasteful. The whole novel has this sense of hopelessness and depression. I felt like the author threw in a bunch of shocking events just because. There was no real rhyme or reason to why these things happened, and they didn't contribute to the plot or the background of the world.

There wasn't enough world building. We were introduced to so many different things at once. There are different areas of the world, different societies, different people, different histories... All of these are introduced but with little or no background to them. It left me feeling confused, rather than intrigued.

One thing that I can appreciate about the book though, is the author's intent to show how judging someone on their looks or race is not a way to really understand someone's character or intentions.

I don't have plans on continuing on with the series, and this wouldn't be something that I would recommend if asked.

Times are changing when it comes to popular genres. A few years ago, Dystopian reigned supreme on the shelves and now they are beginning to fall short of their former glory. I had very high expectations for this Fantasy/Dystopian that was met with….well…problems.

Sorrel is set on a journey after her village, Amat, is attacked by vicious mutants. She barely escapes then goes on a search for her younger brother Eli and love interest David after they disappear after the raid. We begin to learn a little about the world before the mutants when technology reigned supreme. However, we do not really receive much of an explanation as to where the mutants come from in this world or even what happened to rupture the world as we once knew it.

The story’s perspective is told between Sorrel and David. Sorrel has major character flaws that drove me crazy. She was completely immature in the beginning and maybe she’ll grow up in the second book, who knows. She never gave more insight upon her mysterious birthmark or showed much growth in my opinion. David didn’t do much for me either.

The story is simple and fast paced, but it left too many questions behind and not enough answers. I kept getting frustrated for the lack of information and clarity on the past. If it didn’t have all those issues, I think I’d want to read the second book….as of right now I think it’s a pass for me.

Even though I found the beginnig a bit slow, I really enjoyed this reading.

I loved Sorrell fierceness and courage. It wasn't easy everything she faced during the story, but she never gave up. She's a bit a headstrong about some conceptions, but she's open to change that.

David was a surprise for me. At the start, I didn't know if his feelings for Sorrell were true, but I was wrong. He's determined to be reunited with her. Some of his attitudes were hasty, but in the end I think I'd do the same. I can't wait for them to be find each other.

This post-apocalyptic world got some kind of The 100 vibe in it. There are mutants and normal people are trying to survive. And we can see that are good and bad people, no matter if they're normal or mutant. I hope the author would explain a bit more how the world turned that way in the following books.