I love a really good standalone novel, and this one really hits the mark. An incredible novel that really captured my heart and made me incredibly happy to be within this whole new world. The plot was hard at times, but ultimately it's amazing. If you've been searching for a really good sci-fi read (especially one that has moments that vibe like The Hunger Games) I highly recommend this one!

....................................................................................................

Okay. First, a disclosure:
I started this book in February when I was in some kind of reading funk, then put it on hold, only picking it back up now more than four months later. I enjoyed the last 30% of it a lot more than I did the rest, but there's no way to tell if that's because of my mood or because it actually got better later on. Or maybe because I'm just not that much into Sci-Fi stuff and aliens and spaceships in general.
Just so you guys know, my review/rating might not be entirely fair. Up to you now what to make of that piece of information.

In hindsight and judging from the last third of the book, this was actually an enjoyable and well thought-out story. The writing was great, the cast of characters was well-developed - including a pretty amazing, loyal hero, a strong and passionate heroine and an array of likeable (and hateable) side characters. And, hidden beneath a slow-burn, star-crossed-lovers kind of romance and a little action here and there were a few quite valuable messages that I appreciated.

So all in all, there really wasn't anything wrong with this book.
However, I never managed to fully connect with the characters, thus not feeling their emotions and passions the way I should have and would have liked to. I felt strangely detached for most of the book, considering what an emotional read this was obviously intended to be.
But, this might as well just be a case of "It's not you, it's me", especially seeing how many positive reviews this book has gotten so far.

Enjoyable standalone science-fiction story that I would definitely read more of! I liked Lark and Kalen and their forbidden romance, surprisingly. I also liked the split POV more than I thought I would, as I am typically not a fan of those kinds of stories. I've been lucky with sci-fi stories this year and The Vanishing Spark of Dusk was another happy success! I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good, standalone sci-fi story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me this book to review.

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk is an enjoyable sci-fi story with some dystopian elements as well as romance and rebellion. However, it is predictable and slow to start but it does really pick up at about a third of the way through. It has a good message about not judging an entire group of people based on a few individuals.

Lark is a good character who gains a lot of confident as the book goes on, as she starts as a quiet bookish person who lets people walk over her, to someone who is willing to sacrifice, stand up, and fight for what is right. I didn’t get on with Kalen at the start as he came across as a massive party boy who doesn’t take things seriously, and is part of the slave world, but as we got to know him better we see he has real depth as he has mixed feelings, and caring as he will do anything for those he loves.

I really liked this book and while it is a standalone book, I hope there will be more in this book universe. I would recommend The Vanishing Spark of Dusk to those who enjoy sci-fi romance books.

Sorry but I couldn't get into the book at all. I tried though, I'm so sorry for my ADD brain.

I AM IN LOVE...😍😍😍

Some might find this book unbelievable, boring, or whatsoever. But for me, well to be honest when I got it, the title made me question the book.

But lo and behold, I LOVE IT. I love Kalen and Lark.💕

I love their story. I love the story. the simple twists... Love it!! 😘

I had a lot of expectations starting this book. In many ways it delivered but in some it didn't.

The plot was well thought but a bit predictable sometimes. The writing was really good and kept me interested until the end. I had to know what would happen to Lark, Kalen and their friends.

I enjoyed the slow building of the relationship between Lark and Kalen even if the attraction was here from their first encounter. Lark was strong and smart. She never gave up hope of finding her freedom. I liked seeing her come slowly out of her shell, always holding on for what was important to her.

Kalen was the typical heir who wants something else for himself. But who could blame him in this case. He was true to his word, honest and loyal, which made him quite endearing. He wasn't hiding his vulnerabilities nor his feelings.

I felt, with that ending, that it was the beginning of a series but I might be wrong.

4.5 stars

Oh, this book! I came expecting one thing and got quite another! Some of it might have left me slightly uncomfortable (Lark has quite the potty mouth), but others were just overwhelming in how beautiful they were.

So many different topics were hit in this story that are so relevant to the issue of race, gender, and self-sacrifice. Lark and Kalen's story was one of the most powerful things that hit home. Though some parts were quite steamy, their relationship is simply beautiful. I won't go into detail of exactly how (because major spoilers), but the author did an fantastic job of showing how incredible real love is.

One thing that really stood out to me was the realism. Lark is taken to another planet, but some of the things that she says or happens really blew me away. It made her very much a character I could sympathize with. Not only that, the world of Tavdora was very engaging and felt like I was really there.

Overall, this book was very good, despite if I didn't feel comfortable with everything. I would recommend to mature teens for certain content, but this message is for anyone. It's a gut-puncher as well as blooming romance that speaks to the heart.

*(I received an ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*

This novel was different from others that I've read lately, and it was really well detailed and fascinating. I had a lot of fun reading this and I can't even begin to explain how beautiful the story was. It was deep, emotional, and completely original. The characters added so much life to this book, and I couldn't put it down!

Book TalkII…2/9/18
Traci Kenworth

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger. Jan. 4, 2018. Createspace. Netgalley.

As always, Amazon blurb: Stand up.
When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she’s determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she’s brave enough, her voice.
Be heard.
Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father’s business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth—escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.

Lark finds herself betrayed by a man she thought loved her and shipped off to another planet after one who is like a sister to her is killed by her captor. Trying to avenge her, she finds herself sold to the alien, Kalen, who befriended her before all this happened. His family are slave traders and he tells them he is going to train her in order to keep her safe. While caring for an ailing woman who was like a mother to him and his cruel brother, she discovers the Renegades and soon joins them when they promise her freedom in exchange for betraying Kalen. To her joy, she finds that her brother is one of the Renegade’s star people. She works on trying to change Kalen to see that slavery is wrong. Just when she has convinced him, the Renegade refuses to allow him to join because of his family. She is heartbroken but goes through with the promise to steal the keys to his vast starship in order to free the slaves.

This story had a slow build. Science and I are not friends, but I came to LOVE this story! From the moment Kalen and Lark meet, sparks fly. It takes a long road to convince him that slavery is wrong but then she has to betray him in order to free her people. Both Lark and Kalen are fascinating characters with real depth. I’m hoping for sequels, but no word as of yet.

I have a soft spot for space books, they are ones I always enjoy. The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger is a space star-cross lovers, smashed with adventure. Lark is a strong head character, she cares this story well. Kalen, the main male lead, was a joy to read because he wears his heart on his sleeves.
I enjoyed the push and pull this story gave. The book opens with a pow, the slows down then slowly picks back up. It starts with a betrayed, space travel to a new plant, new love, reblues, family, and more. For me, there was only one major twist I didn't see coming. The book does cover the heavy topic of slavery, and I feel that Sara does a good job of talk about this topic without leaving this story, and facing the problem of it. Her style is one of my favorite things about this book, I just really enjoy her style.
Overall, it was a good space read, that surprised me with some funny scenes, and lots of adventure.

I managed to finish this book in one sitting, and I was pleasantly surprised as I had originally planned to start and get a couple of chapters in - however before I knew it I was approaching the end of the book. The story kept me consistently interested and eager to find out more, and while it may present some themes that are usually difficult to read about, I felt that it was handled delicately and managed to retain its relevance to the plot, as opposed to others who may only utilize it as a device.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

<i>Many thanks to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Overall this was an interesting story about a romance between a human slave and Tavdorian slavetrader (who isn't much of a slavetrader). The world building is fantastic. I do love that a lot of thought was put into the cultures of Tavdorians, Onmarians and whatnot. It really came to life. This was perhaps one of my favourite aspects of this arc. A well built world provides a very strong platform for the rest of the story to unfold upon.

Regarding the plot. It's a very straightforward kind of plot. You've seen it all before. Girl gets caught/put into slavery, has a master (either mean or nice, in this case, the latter), and wants to go back home. Therefore to go back home, she must find a way to do so, finds out about rebels, joins rebels and on we go. The final end scene will of course be them back home. Thus, a very ordinary plot. How the plot is told then sometimes becomes more important, especially if the twists and turns of the plot are unremarkable and can be said to be predictable. In saying that, Baysinger weaves her plot ordinarily, however she balances it out with developing the romance between Lark and Kalen, well enough. I did mostly like the development of the romance, Kalen is really sweet, and he's pretty much a picture perfect book boyfriend. And he stands out the most as the character I wanted to read about, look forward to reading about. On the other hand, is Lark.

Now Lark is the main protagonist. She's the head we've borrowed to read her story, and to be honest. I didn't like her all that much. The only moment I really felt for her was at the beginning wherein which a 'trigger' moment happened - for those who don't like trigger moments and have avoided watching movies such as John Wick because of that, then don't read this book. You'll get the exact same kind of thing. Anyway since I can't spoil it, I'll leave that at that, and say that that moment was perhaps the time I felt the most for Lark. There are also other times too, but they're less clear than that one moment in the beginning of the book. Throughout the rest of the book, Lark is both passionate and strong, and also just a bit irritating. There were a hundred moments where I wished I could strangle her, or felt that she acted suddenly so spontaneously, I had to doublecheck if I had read the right character. For example, suddenly using the 'f' word at the end, where I hadn't heard it from her character earlier on. And being so reckless....when half the time she acts timid or quiet and I can't help but think "am I reading the same character"? The beginning too, introduces Lark as a quiet girl. And while I do love characters who grow and get stronger and lose their timid selves, Lark's transition seemed off to me. So much so that her info dumping at the end on Kalen and the constantly telling Kalen everything thing even though she was warned not, kind of didn't give me the right feels - like she should do it, but her emotions didn't match the image that was in my head.

In saying that, there is one/several minor scenes in the book that also triggered something in me that I didn't like at all. It might be fine for others and I'm not saying don't read it because it has this in it. But I do want to bring it up. Using words like 'slut' maybe normal and whatnot, but to have a character verbalise it antagonistically when it's not a word that's used constantly or referred to throughout the books makes it seriously out of context. (At least for me.) Furthermore, I felt that it was entirely unnecessary for the former lover to be the one to verbalise the word simply because she's the 'other woman' and actually has rights to be with the man involved with Lark being the intruding individual. That scene also involved Lark drinking under pressure (again, this scene actually fits the world but some of the dialogue does not) and so she's a lot of things that are well. Anyway back to this one woman versus another thing. This kind of aggressive verbalisation and antagonise a character in such a way may be warranted in some cases, and may actually help further develop a story, but in this case I think it was entirely unnecessary.

Romance and pacing. The romance is actually developed well. Kalen and Lark are always together and it's not insta-love. There's insta attraction but they both take time to learn and understand each other. The pacing is also well done. It never feels rushed. But it also doesn't feel slow. I should point out also that while the romance is true and feels real, this book also contains mature scenes. It's not graphic or crude like you might find in any Sarah J Maas series (not that it's extremely graphic but for something classed as YA, that is more NA, it's a bit too much). But the main scene is I guess you could say one of love.

<b>OVERALL</b>
I would recommend the Vanishing Spark of Dusk if any of the warnings I list above don't bother you. It IS well written. Maybe not beautifully like Lauren Oliver or VE Schwab and it may not have the same intensity for those who are fans of Sarah J Maas, but the romance is well paced and developed. If you want a story that's really going into alien culture and interspecies, then this has it. And it's not just aliens coming and being human, but it's a human in an alien world.

**3.5 Stars**
Review featured on https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Lark is one of the last free humans left on earth, living in a small community that has not been touched by the alien slave traders. Her life seems simple but she is content with her duty and madly in love. When runaway slaves from the nearby alien plantation seek safety with her people, it causes a divide between those who want to help and those who want to turn them in to protect themselves. But little does Lark know, she is now a bargaining chip, turned over by the one she cared for the most. She was never meant to be a slave, but now she can't escape it.

A dystopian Alien romance, you say? Why yes, yes it is! I am a sucker for dystopian stories all on their own, but then aliens were added to the mix and romance, it was inevitable that I was going to read this book. And look, look at the pretty, eye catching cover! I have a total case of cover love going on. The story is listed as teen but I would not call it teen at all, more a New Adult sci-fi, with the content that goes along with it.




The book was split into 4 parts, showing the phases that Lark goes through from a free native to a slave and then her struggles to be free. I will admit that the start of this book I found to be kind of depressing- yes, I know dystopians are not usually uplifting, but they can be exciting and adventurous, but reading this was hard. Within the first few chapters Lark has 2 ultimate betrayals at the hand of the boy she loves and is intimate with- she claims she would sacrifice her life for him, and well, that ended up being true and totally against her will. It was super painful- and then she blamed herself for a young girls death when it was 100% not her fault- the fault lies with the douche who betrayed her, yet she never sees it. To put it mildly, I was a little concerned with what I had gotten myself involved with here. After the first part, the story did become more interesting and more engaging for me. It seemed like the story became more a forbidden love story the cover hinted at than the sad gritty survival it started out as.

Overall this was a very different read than I anticipated but it had it's own unique charm and ended up being incredibly romantic and swoon-worthy. I feel like the story wrapped up nicely without loose ends making this the perfect stand-alone read for those hoping to avoid starting a series (even though there was potential for growth if Sara wanted to expand her worlds!).

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the description for this book. I like science fiction, but I don't normally read many alien-related novels - so I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive and on the fence to begin with. Gladly, I was quickly and easily sucked into Lark's world and ended up really liking the book. There were a couple aspects that I didn't really care for much - the majority of the story line was about slavery, inequality, social injustice, freeing slaves, escaping, etc. I knew this before starting due to the description, but I found myself getting bored some of the time with it. I'm not exactly sure what didn't grab my attention - sometimes it felt dry and boring, and the pace felt like it was dragging along. On top of that, it felt kind of overplayed - like it was almost over the top with all of it. I'm not sure that even makes sense to anyone, but it's the best I can describe it. There were quite a few secondary characters that made the story interesting, but also confusing at times because these characters were different species and had different ranks in the society, and so on. That was another part that brought me down a bit.

On the positive side, I really loved Lark and her story. She really changes and grows into her own throughout the book, and we get to see that as it happens. I found her character easy to identify with, very likeable, and realistic. She was a great main character that I found myself invested in from the beginning and rooting for the entire length of the story. Of course, I also loved Kalen and getting to know him. He's supposed to be one of the bad guys, but Lark manages to make him open up and we see him for who he is and wants to become. I adored seeing them meet and then watching as their relationship grew and bloomed during the story. The last thing I want to mention that stood out for me was the author's writing style. She wrote from the first person point of view, with Lark as the narrator. This is by far my favorite style of writing and I think it worked perfectly for this story. We got to really know Lark throughout the book and it felt like I was going through everything right beside her. That's one trait I believe only the first person POV style can give to the reader and it always makes a huge difference for me and my reading experience. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to fans of YA science fiction and readers who especially like sci-fi romance and alien fiction.

I was really excited to hear about this book when Entangled Teen began teasing it as a forthcoming release, because I just love science fiction. SFF has been one of my top two favorite genres (the other being historical fiction) for as long as I can remember. Throw in aliens and new planets to discover, and I’m there! So I jumped at the chance to read this one.

I will say there are things I did like and things I didn’t like, but the good definitely outweighs the bad on balance, hence the 4-star rating. I’m not usually one to give content warnings or trigger warnings, but I would say that this is probably best enjoyed by older (or more mature) teens, due to some of the themes and scenes. There is one scene around 10% or so that was completely unexpected - at least to me - and absolutely heart-wrenching, so be forewarned. Also, since the main topic of the book is slavery, it may be difficult for some to read. The scenes that you may call “sexual” are not really explicit, but there are sexual themes that go along with the slavery aspect.

Okay, all that said: let’s discuss the few things I didn’t like first. These may seem nitpicky to some, but as someone who really enjoys and reads a lot of science fiction, these are issues that are relatively common, especially for an author who’s not immersed in the genre. First, there are all kinds of aliens in the book - which I normally love! However, every single species, from many different planets, is humanoid - they basically all look just like humans, with small differences like orange skin or being 8-feet tall and the like. I grant you that it’s extra challenging to write about aliens that *aren’t* humanoid, but that’s kind of the point, right? It’s pretty hard to believe that there are all these other planets with many species out there in the universe and ... they’re all just like us. Down to wearing clothes and shoes that look just like our clothes and shoes, for example. It’s just...I wish there were more variety on this front. Second, I found it rather unbelievable that all of these different species can communicate with one another like the instant they meet. I understand that Lark has been taught to speak and read at least some of the Tavdorian language by an escaped slave, but how does she communicate with the other slaves once she’s taken to Tavdora? Surely all the slaves don’t speak *English*? And if they’re speaking Tavdorian, we’re to believe she’s actually perfectly fluent in the language? One conversation that struck me in this regard was with a non-Tavdorian, a slave named Bram, who’s talking about compassion for others and the like, and all I could think was, did the escaped slave really teach her the word for “compassion”? It’s just a little unbelievable. So you really have to have the willing suspension of disbelief when reading this. I tried not to let it bother me, but I did want to make sure I point it out!

Now, on to what I did like! Ms. Baysinger’s writing is fantastic, and I have already purchased her self-published debut, Black Tiger, to read soon. I would also definitely pick up another book in this world, should she turn this into a series or write a companion novel to this one. The characters were all really well-drawn, and there were a fair amount of them to keep track of (which is something I like). Each character was distinctive and you could quickly associate them with their characteristics when they showed up on the page (eg, Zimri - evil and cold). Kalen is a hot alien, which is always a plus :) And Lark was a good main character, someone you can definitely root for. She’s naive at the beginning, and the circumstances leading to her capture are heartbreaking, but she grows as the novel progresses and it’s fun to see her come into her strength. In addition to the characters, the world-building is great; I could see the city of Neket in my mind, visualizing the violet waters of the ocean there. There is also intrigue, rebels, “space pirates,” evil slave traders, and slaves yearning and scheming to set themselves free, which makes for a great story!

Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA science fiction, or someone who wants to give it a try but isn’t quite ready for “hard” sci-fi. There’s also adventure and romance, so there’s really something for everyone! I liked the emphasis on overcoming stereotypes we have about others, whether they be aliens or, in our world, someone of a different race or religion, and I think it’s a positive theme for young adult readers. If the summary interests you, I encourage you to go for it and give this book a chance! I think you’ll be surprised at how much you enjoy reading about alien beings, even if they have become our new overlords on Earth :)

Thanks so much to YA Reads and Entangled Teen for including me on the blog tour, and to Sara Baysinger for a great story!

Rating: 4 out-of-this-universe stars!

Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from Entangled Teen for purposes of this blog tour. This review is written voluntarily by me and is my honest rating and review of the book.

Author: Sara Baysinger

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Release date: January 8th, 2018

3 out of 5 stars

*NetGalley provided me with a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Hello so I am a little late with this review considering this books release date was January 8th, 2018. But I have been backed up with so much school work and working lots of hours in a week so I do apologize to the author and publisher.

Now let’s talk books, this book is a Young Adult science fiction, fantasy romance read. Now that sounds like a lot, but I would consider it to be mostly Sci-fy but it does have some fantasy like elements. This follows our main character Lark who is stolen from earth to be forced into slavery. I’m going to leave the official Goodreads synopsis down below.

When Lark is stolen from Earth to be a slave on the planet Tavdora, she’s determined to find her way back home to her family, no matter the cost. Placed in the household of a notorious slave trader, Lark quickly learns her best assets are her eyes and ears. And if she’s brave enough, her voice.

Be heard.

Kalen is the Tavdorian son of a slave trader and in line to inherit his father’s business. But his growing feelings for Lark, the new house slave who dares to speak of freedom, compel him to reveal his new plan for the slave ships returning to Earth—escape. Together, they just might spark a change that flares across the universe.

I will admit, this book was very easy to read and because of the plot I just wanted to keep reading and I couldn’t stop, so this book is addicting. I thought the story line was interesting, I don’t really read a lot of science fiction because it seems like I can never get into them, so I’m glad that I finally found a science fiction book I like. I thought the secondary characters could have been developed a little more, I just felt like they were mentioned and then three seconds later there was a plot twist involving them which I thought was weird because I didn’t really know them. I did really love Lark’s character development, at the beginning she was considered to be really weak and she never would speak out, but then when she was stolen from earth and I loved how she wouldn’t stop speaking out, or breaking rules, or fighting for what she believed in. I also enjoyed Kalen’s character development. I felt like this book did have a lot of character development in it which I do really appreciate. This book did have some twists that had me surprised, and other times I knew the twist that was going to happen because the situation would have lots of cliches with them. I just don’t know how I really feel about this story yet. I did enjoy the characters and how witty and snappy they were and I enjoyed the relationships between character’s but sometimes the dialogue just gave me weird feelings. I don’t really know how to explain it but sometimes I just wanted to cringe and others it just made me uncomfortable so because of that I really don’t know where to stand with this book. I do hope that the author makes a sequel because I would read it because the ending left me with wanting more so I hope she makes one. If she didn’t I feel like the ending would be fine, it just left me with wanting more. Overall I’m glad I read this book because it was a quick read and all though it wasn’t my favorite book on the whole planet, I still really enjoyed reading it. If you guys are into science fiction, fantasy, or romance, I think you guys should pick this book up because even though it did have some cliches, it was still enjoyable and the plot was interesting and different and the characters had fun witty inner dialogue. In my opinion I didn’t think that I would enjoy this much, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have. I just feel like this book is really selective, you’ll either really like it or you’ll hate it, it’s not for everyone, and I just thought it was okayish which is why I gave it 3 stars.

This book is out now so you guys should go pick it up if you are into anything that I mentioned!And congratulations to the author and publisher!

This book was a bit of a hit but also a miss for me. It had some good parts but there was also a lot of problems and problematic scenes throughout the book.

The world building was quite good *although I would have liked to see it a bit more in-depth* but it was good. I loved getting to learn about Tavdora and the differences from Earth. The characters were interesting and I loved seeing the heroine Lark grow and change throughout the book and go from a shy girl happy in her little bubble to a strong, independent women who would do anything to help free the slaves. Kalen annoyed me most of the time but out of all of the aliens, he was the nicest and his beliefs varied so much from the others which I was very thankful for. The romance was good especially because it wasn’t insta-love but more of a kinship and understanding at the start which slowly grew into something more. Although, the romance is kinda Stockholm syndrome even though Kalen didn’t abduct Lark himself, he still held her captive, even with all his promises of escape.

The whole book revolves around slavery, human/alien trafficking and also has scenes where they kill an innocent child and talk about mass killings. I definitely don't recommend this book will be for everyone and it could also be triggering to some.

For my full review visit https://thefictionalrealm.wordpress.com

~I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley and Entangled: Teen Publishing.~

My Synopsis:
In a world where being human is terrifying and aliens haunt their nightmares, Lark tries to keep her head down in a safe area and etch out a meager life. That is until her world is turned upside down and she finds herself a slave on the home planet of the aliens that haunt her every waking moment- perhaps her sleeping ones too. Kalen is the son of a notorious slave trader and is compelled to the strange human who openly speaks of escape- of freedom! Together they might have a chance to change things and to end the torment of all the human race.

The Breakdown:

I enjoy reading new and exciting books that are outside of my comfort zone. I normally stray away from Alien/Human romances but this time I was pleasantly surprised! I was immediately drawn into the world and found a fondness for Lark. The fear of being enslaved to the Tavdorians is a daily occurrence and I could feel the tension in the book.

The imagery was very different than other alien books that I have read, and I did enjoy getting emerged into a beautiful new world that was Tavdora. To being exposed to realities that are not entirely different than our own here on Earth today. Everyone fears the unknown and the hate for a group of people or one individual can sway an entire populous of peoples. I like that the author touched on the taboo of different races and cultures to open the eyes of outsiders so that they might see that there can be is good and evil in every race, species, and populous in any culture.

The Characters That Make This Book Delectable:

The people of this book were well thought out and their personas were foremost in the author’s mind at all times. There is no question of where any of their loyalties lie and who is on what side of the decided demarcation of inner planetary species!

I really loved how lark came out of her shell and decided to step and be a beacon of hope where there was none. I like how she always seemed to blunder her way through the story. After all, she is not a true heroine and never has been trained to be that. No, Lark is a survivor and as long as there is hope, and determination left in her body she will do what is necessary to make it home! Falling in love was just a side note and I grew to like her budding relationship with Kalen.

I also could see where Kalon was coming from and how he also wanted to escape the world that his culture had built. With the high expectations that his father put on him and the ever-growing admiration of the slave girl lark, he was completely torn between what was expected of him and what his heart called for. He did a great job of being added to my ever-growing list of Book Boyfriends and I liked how everything with his character played out.

The rest of the cast really didn’t leave an impression on me though I did wonder what happened to the stay and was heartbroken over the loss of one so young and unworldly. It is tragic to die so young and this lingered ever in my mind as the book progressed. As I believe that the author intended it to be, so it could drive the plot forward and get Lark to reach her full potential.

Conclusion:

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a bit of love triumphs over evil and likes a happy ending. Though the book seems to be standalone, I believe that there is potential for the author to revisit the world she created and build upon other characters or introduce new ones. I ultimately gave the story a 4 Star because I believe that there is room to build more story and to expand the characters further as only the main characters really caught my eye.