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.

I was browsing around Netgalley when I ran across this book and found the premise interesting. In The New Dark, we are introduced to a girl named Sorrell, who lives in a small village with her mother and siblings. It's a hunter/gather sort of a society, though there are whispers of the Before. This got my interest because I do love a good dystopian book. As the story begins, we learn that Sorrell is in love with a boy named David and is trying to work up the courage to tell him. Suddenly, her entire world is turned upside down when her village is destroyed by a pack of mutants. Thus our story gets kicked into gear.

Though the premise and the dystopian feel initially drew me in, this was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. I was not floored by anything in this book, yet there wasn't anything I overtly disliked, either. The plot was pretty typical of a YA dystopian novel (lost love, survival, and rebels, oh my!) and it kept my attention, but the pacing seemed off. There were parts that felt really rushed and then there were parts that seemed to drag. The characters were likable enough. I think the characterization in this book is what I liked the most about it. When an author can make me wish and excruciating and painful death on a character, that's a thumbs up in my eyes! The ending left a little to be desired, but I knew this was the first book in a series when I started, so I probably should have expected that.

My overall feelings were really just... meh. It was okay and good for a nice, easy read.

(Leaving eview on Goodreads and Amazon). Contains some spoilers..

This was an ok story for a dystopian. Sorrel is one of the few survivors in a village pillaged and destroyed by a mutant gang. She follows the mutant gang, trying to rescue her baby brother and best friend David, but falls ill and is “rescued” by the Free, a group of people who live like a weird religious sect, and she’s married against her will to their creepy leader. She manages to escape with the help of an imprisoned mutant, Einstein. He’s my favorite character in this story, and what made me want to finish reading the story. He’s smart and eloquent, very perceptive and becomes a great friend to Sorrel. What I didn’t like: the dystopian setting is never explained, only that before Sorrel’s grandma’s time, there was “Before,” not what caused the before/ after, nor why mutants are being born. I didn’t like that the story opens up with Sorrel and David being childhood friends and they secretly like each other but haven’t acted on it, and then later in the book, it’s “who they love” and even in the book synopsis I think David is referred to as her boyfriend. That was a bit dramatic, even for YA. Sorrel’s birthmark isn’t explained- what’s so important besides that it looks like a poster? Way before the poster is mentioned, her grandma said it made Sorrel special, and Martin from the Free was obsessed with it too.. So, overall this was an ok book for me, but didn’t hold my interest that much.

This was a fantastic YA read! It was one of those books that you just could not put down because you wanted to know what happens. I will be buying this book for our YA section of our library!

I was on the fence after I read The New Dark. One one hand, I thought that the basic storyline for the book was fantastic. A post-apocalyptic world where mutants were common. That caught my attention from the get-go. But, I found that I had issues following the storyline at the same time. There was not enough background given about what happened “Before“, how the mutants came to be and what Sorrel’s birthmark means. When I finished The New Dark, I was at odds at what rating to give it. I settled on a 3 because I can see the potential in the book.

Sorrel did not make a good first impression on me at first. She came across as a brat. But my dislike did wane a teeny bit when she saw the mutants attack her village. She saw her mother and baby sister killed. She was going after her toddler brother when she was attacked by another mutant. After the dust clears from the attack on the village, she starts off on a journey to find her brother. I was impressed with her during her imprisonment when she was at Martin’s village. She was able to overcome her fear and dislike of mutants to free Einstein, a mutant held captive there. I thought it was amazing that she could go from hating mutants to being best friends with one.

The storyline with David wasn’t needed, in my eyes. The only thing that I did think it added to the book was that it showed that Sorrel’s brother was still alive. For supposedly being “in love” with Sorrel, he didn’t act it. He got very attached to Mara. I did like how you could see the search for Sorrel and Einstein through different eyes. But, as I stated in the beginning of this paragraph, I don’t think his storyline was needed.

I do wish that the author gave more background about what happened to cause the world go apocalyptic. I hate it when I am reading a story and there is zero background about what happened in the past. It drives me nuts and my mind goes wild imagining what happened. A solar flare? Disease? War? Aliens? Natural disaster? Nothing is said.

I also wish that the author gave more insight to Sorrel’s birthmark and why it was so special. That is another thing that drives me nuts. If it was so darn important, then tell us!! Or at least give a prologue explaining the birthmark from the grandmother’s point of view. Then it would make sense why Martin was so keen to have Sorrel for his wife. It also would clear up why her birthmark did what it did towards the end of the book.

I also would have liked to see more of an explanation of how the mutants came to be. I am pretty sure that it ties into whatever caused the apocalyptic event. But, what bugged me was this. How do they tell if a child could be a mutant at birth? I mean, other than having an arm growing out of its chest or 3 eyes? Sorrel had memories of her grandmother smothering newborns shortly after they are born. She remembered how shamed the parents were. Also, Sorrel’s mother was worried about naming the baby. Because she might not be viable. HOW DO THEY KNOW!!! I got very frustrated at that.

The end of the book didn’t answer any of those questions. But, because none of my questions weren’t answered in this book, I am hoping that they will be answered in the next one. Only one storyline was answered, the one with Sorrel’s brother and the blonde mutant who took him. But even that one was kind of left open. Which is a good thing because it makes me want to read book 2.

While I liked reading The New Dark, I felt that it left certain questions unanswered (see above). That affected my rating of the book, unfortunately. The book does have a good plotline and great characters. If the author could do some explaining of somethings I outlined above, it would be great.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Violence, mild language.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

I would like to thank Lorraine Thomson, be-ebooks and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review The New Dark

All opinions stated in this review of The New Dark are mine

I requested this book due to the blurb and the cover. It seemed something up my alley and I was delighted to receive ARC. I enjoyed reading this book.

The plot was good and I liked the main character in the book Sorrel. It’s a dystopian book and it talks a little about how life was before and how it is now and how some of the inhabitants survive this new world. How there are mutants who attack humans. Without giving away any spoilers I must say that Einstein grew on me and I hope to learn more about his fate in the next book. ❤️

The book does have its moments where it’s a little slow but honestly what book or movie doesn’t? Don’t fret it picks up speed and that “slow part” is needed to show us how vulnerable we can be. I hope there is a book 2 following the release of this series. I really want to know what happens to the main characters of this series.

As mentioned above, I received this ARC by NetGalley on behalf of Bastei Entertainment in exchange for an honest review.

In a post-modern society, Sorrel barely escapes after her village is raided by mutants. She finds that young brother Eli and beloved David were captured by the band of mutants and finds herself in a dangerous pursuit to get them back. As she progresses on her journey she learns more about the world outside of her village and the dangers that it holds. Everything she thinks she knows about the “before” could actually be real and she learns that not all mutants are as savage she those that had attacked her village.

The Story-While the book was really easy to read and flowed well enough, there wasn’t really much that made me excited to be reading it. I didn’t really like the alternating points of view between Sorrel and David. I thought it would have been better to just sum up what happened to the survivors as hearsay later – it would have been enough to get the idea of the brutality of the mutants and the overall story of their suffering.

Now while the book itself isn’t explicit, it might be beneficial to point out a slight trigger warning to those who may be affected by reading about a forced or abusive relationship.

The World Building-The setting wasn’t very thoroughly described, but is to be understood that it is in the future where modern day society has fallen, and mankind has regressed to live without technology and it’s advancements. Things such as plumbing and heat are unheard of just as much as a car or telephone. They are all parts of the “before” time.

There are also mutated creatures, plants & humans that are larger, stronger, and overall more dangerous than they would have been in the “before” time.

The Characters-I found the characters a little flat. However, I did appreciate the fact that Sorrel wasn’t some perfect angel with magnificent skills. She had skills yes, but was overtaken by more power people or made choices that showed her to be someone who could be considered selfish or mean because of her sense of self preservation.

I was really glad that the story wasn’t driven by some instalove between some characters that grinned and eyed each other every few pages as well. The fact that her resolve was fueled by family and comradery was definitely a reason why I stepped up from 2 stars to 3 stars.

When I first read this, I got sucked in because I absolutely love the kind of stories that have that village feel. You know, villages with horses and 'everything is wood' kinda thing. They were simple but alright despite everything that happened. In this case, it's a Dystopian, which really just makes it cooler. The characters were another favorite. I really liked David and Sorrel, but it's funny because even they had a lot of growing up to do. It was both frustrating and entertaining to watch, especially when it effected the other characters. The story had its lags, especially when it would go from their mini adventures to horrendous mind games with creeps you'd rather see dead, but it was overall good!

❝ The shooting star trailed through the sky before disappearing into nothing. It was supposed to be a good omen, but David couldn’t see what good could come of something so far away when misery was so close at hand.❞

I want to start out by saying thank you to the publisher for approving me for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

The New Dark was a pretty quick and fun read. I would say it has some similar elements to The Hunger Games series (The Hunger Games review, book 1) and the New Bloods series by Michelle Bryan (Awaken review, book 1). Both are really good if you’re interested in checking them out.

Things kick off really fast in the beginning, with David and Sorrel’s village being destroyed within the first chapter. And from there the book alternates chapters between David and Sorrel’s points of view. I think for David’s POV, his story continued along pretty fast with things being very tense as they were dragged along by mutants. But for Sorrel’s POV things felt a little slower. For her, it was being stuck in a new village and looking for a way out. She learned more about the Free and their way of life, but I was just eager to see more action.

I think what I enjoyed the most about the book was the city of Dinawl. It seemed like the center of everything because mutants and humans had to coexist. It wasn’t peaceful, exactly, but it seemed like the city (at least no other was mentioned). While in most instances in the book mutants were treated like trash, in Dinawl the tables were turned with humans being kidnapped from other villages and being sold as slaves to others. It was a corrupt city where you could buy anyone with the right amount of money. It was hard to know who you could trust if anyone at all.

❝ In an act of sorrowful self-preservation, Sorrel internalised her horror and grief. She thought her heart had been so broken in Amat that it could suffer no further damage, but here it was, breaking all over again.❞

I also want to talk about the main characters a bit. I preferred Sorrel over David because she tended to think things through. When she arrived with the Free she took her time studying her surroundings and the people in order to figure out how to get away. She was a planner and I enjoyed that part of her. At the same time, I didn’t like how explosive her anger was towards mutants. She was definitely prejudiced, but seeing her character grow over the book made it worth it.

David, however, was more impulsive. It bothered me a bit that he was always trying to solve things with violence or aggression instead of thinking it through (his plans rarely went his way). He didn’t know how to read people or how to manipulate them the way that Sorrel did.

One thing that I didn’t really care for was the romance aspect of the story. It was stated outright a few times that David and Sorrel were in love, but I didn’t really get that while reading. It would have been better if we had seen the romance between them develop, but that was hard to see considering they were split up for most of the book. It felt a bit like insta-love, but not really because we never saw it. I’m hoping the next book fixes this up a bit.

And then my final thoughts will be on the ending. I liked Sorrel’s part in the ending, and how things ended up between her and the group she met up with. I liked that she didn’t fully embrace the image they wanted for her, but that she was willing to help instill change. The actual final pages of the book bothered me because it didn’t feel like an ending. It felt a bit awkward and the scene itself didn’t really read like it was saying “the end”. I think if the scene with Brig was taken out it would’ve been better.

The New Dark was just released today, November 1st, and it’s really worth checking out, so go, go go!

I appreciated how the author throws the reader right into the action within the first few pages. It is a fairly fast paced book with no signs of stopping throughout. I'm assuming that the second book will be the same with even more action considering where the characters end up at the end of this book.
I wanted to have more character depth so that I could understand Sorrel better. The only thing that the author explains in the book is that she has an odd birthmark and that she doesn't get along well with her mother.
I also would have liked to have more background on why the world is the way that it is in the book. The author never really explains it and I felt like I was trying to put together a puzzle with a few of the pieces missing. There were different factions of people in the book and the people in the book don't even know about them so how are readers supposed to?

The New Dark hooked me with its premise, while I think a lot of the dystopian genre tends to be derivative I was very hopeful. The New Dark does fall into a few unoriginal plot traps, it’s something I’m very picky about as an adult reader, but a younger audience might not have these same preferences (I didn’t as a youngster!). Despite this issue the writing stands out, Lorraine Thomson’s writing is very simple and readable, but a lot of her writing/storytelling style comes out in the details which help to build the world around and the characters.

The New Dark starts out by throwing the reader straight into action. As Sorrel travels across the countryside the strange world begins to take shape. I loved this fast-paced beginning, but it came to a screaming halt when Sorrel met the Free. The pace was also bogged down with the addition of David’s narrative. If there HAD to be another POV, and I don’t think the book needed another, I actually would have preferred to read Mara’s narrative in the hopes to add dimension to her meanest of meanies demeanor. The one dimensional villains are The New Dark’s greatest problem, in addition to Mara, the Free also fall into this dimensional category. It is much more interesting to read about characters who are genuinely doing the best they can, but are creating devastating harm anyway. The Free are trying to preserve their community, but all I really get from them is a creepy old man vibe, there has to be a better tactic for enticing new members. And if they are so desperate for more lady groupies why aren’t they recruiting in Dinawl or buying thralls? As I read this I often found myself asking questions like this or wondering why things worked out so conveniently for the characters.

Overall, this one reads like a first novel, but Thomson has potential if she can work out the kinks in characterization and develop a more complicated and original plot. I’ll likely check the next book’s synopsis to see where it’s all going, hopefully it’ll hook me.

I genuinely liked the concept and thought some of this novel was new in the sort of way that I hadn’t seen the subjects tackled that way before however the downfall is so many of the questions remain unanswered for the next installment. The pacing and characters are fast and well done and I was pleasantly surprised by a new twist on a slightly tired genre but I was also taken aback by how drawn out some aspects seemed to be.

The premise is very interesting: it's a post-apocalyptic world, only a couple generations after whatever events happened Before to turn it into the Now. Sorrel is a girl whose entire life has been changed and she sets out to save her little brother and her kind of boyfriend. Along the way her worldview expands; she makes enemies and unexpected friends, and she finds that not all humans are good and not all mutants are bad. I feel like the style of writing makes this a good dystopian/post-apocalyptic book for slightly younger teens, around 13-15.

Unfortunately, this book just didn't really carry it off for me. I felt like such an interesting world was left so unexplored. I was waiting for hints about what had happened to make society what it is Now, but nothing. Plus a huge fuss is made over Sorrel's birthmark and I had no idea WHY, other than it was a symbol from Before? But multiple people seemed to know what it was, except Sorrel. She was just told multiple times she was "special".

I also felt the pace was off... In the first chapter we're barely introduced to characters before destruction strikes and everyone is killed and somehow we're supposed to care about the relationships between characters we don't ever see interact except for the first five pages. Also I just didn't really like reading about the sexual harassment that happens to Sorrel.

Overall, it wasn't for me, but I think slightly younger readers would enjoy it more.

This book had an excellent premise, but poor world building, unclear writing, and irritating characters kind of killed it for me. I had trouble getting into the book and picturing what was gong on because nothing was explained very well. There was a decent amount of action, so things were never boring. But I never connected with the characters which made things a bit less exciting and more frustrating for me. Great idea, but not my cup of tea.

https://bookstalebyme.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/the-new-dark-book-review/

The New Dark is the first book in the Dark Times Trilogy. This is the first book by Lorraine Thomson so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was a well-written dystopian story. This should not be read as a standalone. While this book is written for young adults, older adults will enjoy it too (at least this one did). There is violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all of that info here. The storyline is somewhat predictable but this book is still worth reading. As usual, everything and everyone are not as it seems. I do want to find out more about this characters and will continue to read the rest of the trilogy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave a review for other readers.

A Ya Sci-Fi Fantasy story.
It was a different story line.a little confusing ,did not explained before or after and the mutants very well.