Give the Dark My Love is a dark and deep tale full of curses, magic, plagues and more. Nedra is a delightful and deep character full of passion and flaws as she struggles to do what's right. The question plaguing the book revolves around when to do a dreadful thing for a good reason. This question resonates with the reader and you both applaud Nedra's courage and cringe as she makes dark choices. The sequel can not come soon enough. Teens will devour this book.

One girl's mission to find a cure for the plague that is wiping out her countryside turns into a journey beyond what any could have imagined. Nedra, a brilliant but unworldly student, stands strong through the worst and in unexpected ways. The story is filled with twists. Good world building and good character development, particularly for the main character. Based on the ending, looks like there will be more stories to follow. Good choice for fans of Forest of Hands and Teeth and similar horror styles.

Trigger warning: this book contains graphic surgical operation scenes, talks about deathly disease and also has some scenes with animal cruelty.



Give the Dark My Love was one of my most anticipated books this year. 
In all honesty, the first thing that appealed to me was this gorgeous cover, then the synopsis.

This was my first time consciously reading an anti-hero story, and God I loved it so much!
I've heard before from many readers how anti-heroes stories are the best ones, but I guess it takes one to read until he's proven right!

I'll tell you this, and I mean it wholeheartedly: Give the Dark My Love is one of the best (if not even the best) books I read this year and it will surely be in my top 10 books I read in 2018.
I loved so many things about it, and I am on a mission to tell you everything, so you'd pick it up and hopefully love it as much as I did.

First of all, character development: I loved, loved, loved how the characters we met at the beginning of the story were totally different persons at the end.
There is nothing that I love more in my books then a good character development, and this novel has it at it's best.

Second: It explores grief and human relationships on such a strong level that even though this world our characters live in is so different from ours, we still empathize with them, understand their feelings and grief with them.
This is fantasy, but still it feels real in a way.

Third: The world is unique, different, dark and gives you creeps. It is perfect for those who like dark fantasies, but it is also perfect as a pick for a spooky read, especially in this time of the year when everyone wants to have that Halloween feeling.

Fourth: Exploring alchemy and necromancy is very interesting in this book, that I even had a feeling I was learning something new.

Fifth: Political games also play part in the story, as one fantasy wouldn't be complete without it.

Sixth: What kind of story set in high school would it be without little high school drama? Give the Dark My Love has little drama in it, but it is nothing too big and it has it's reason, but it's also entertaining at time.

And seventh and final: The writing style is sooooooo good, you will fly through this book and it will keep you interested from the start to the end.

Overall, I am so pleased I have read this book. I had so much fun reading it, but it also made me emotional and I can't even tell you how many times I have said "OmG, this book is so good!" while reading it.
The start and the first half are pretty good, but the second half is what made this book exceptional!

I would recommend this book to lovers of dark fantasy, adult and young adult.
I would also recommend it to readers who would like to try to read fantasy and to those who like stories about anti-heroes.

I can't wait for the second book to come out!

Give the Dark My Love is the story about a young girl, Nedra, who has been given a scholarship to study alchemy at a prestigious university far from her small village. Her father, a bookseller, has always encouraged Nedra to do better for herself so that she could leave the small village life behind. Outside of her village though a plague is spreading, one that seems to target the poor and nobody has survived. She hopes that by learning more about alchemy she can discover a cure before it reaches her village.
When she gets to the school she is quickly taken under the wing of the best alchemy teacher there and is quickly seen as a threat to the richer students who have aspirations to work at the prestigious governor's hospital which caters to the other wealthy citizens. There is one exception, a boy she calls Grey who is falling in love with Nedra but when she begins to spend all of her time with the professor questions about what she is learning raise his fears that she is learning something that is highly illegal, necromancy.
Overall the book was excellent, the characters were interesting and the plotline was definitely unique. The way the book ended definitely leaves you hanging. I will definitely be recommending this book to fellow readers and I anxiously await the next book in the series.

I was really intrigued by this idea of a school for alchemy but immensely disappointed when it hardly had an impact on the plot. We learned the names of four students, including the two main viewpoint characters, and only featured one teacher. It seemed like such a promising premise to have the poor country girl studying at this elite school, but she literally only had one day of classes with them before switching to private lessons.

This book was 90% death, suffering, and goth; and only 10% plot, with a romantic subplot squeezed in there. I was really feeling the book for maybe the first half, but it got so repetitive that I found the middle to right before the climax really hard to get through. Also, the climax came super fast, and the resolution was so short. Pacing-wise, this book was a mess. I’m really shocked it took them so long to realize the plague was caused by necromancy. That was obvious from page one.

I’m sure a lot of people enjoyed the sacrifices Nedra had to go through and will think of it as a great portrayal of love, but I found it so horrible that she would make those sacrifices. It wasn’t even that she needed to for plot reasons. She just couldn’t bear the thought of losing her family, so she selfishly found a way to please herself, even though that meant ripping her family’s souls apart.

I wish Grey had more of a storyline. His viewpoint wasn’t even necessary until the ending. I think the book could have cut back a lot on portraying the same gory hospital scenes and added in a subplot to keep Grey busy. For a while it seemed like the story was going with the most obvious villain, so I was glad when the twist was revealed. Though, I saw that twist coming too. It was refreshing to see the “hero” of the story reach a point where she was no longer considered a hero.

Despite all my rambling, it did have a lot going for it. The world building and alchemy/magic system were really good. The author did a great job with describing everything. It felt like watching a movie most of the time, and I really loved the relationship between Nedra and Grey. I will most likely read the sequel.

Give the Dark My Love more like Give the Devil my Soul, My Sanity and A Shit-ton of Zombies.

Phew, that was morbid.
In the best way.

Don't let this picturesque cover fool you. This book is dark. And when I say that, I mean do-not-snack-while-reading dark. You better buy some thick skin at Walmart first.
I must say that this book piqued my interest but somehow failed to captivate me at first. It took me a few chapters to really get into it but then I could not stop reading. I read whenever I found a spare minute. Now, the book is not perfect. I think the pacing is to fast, and the plot would have been sufficient for two books. It would have given the author a chance to develop the characters and especially their relationships. A great many revelations and minor plot twist have been put in one novel, and I think it would have seemed more realistic if the events had had more time to unfold. It felt a little forced at times.

I liked that romance played a role in this book but never overpowered the main plot. This is not a story about star-crossed lovers but about death and sacrifice. The death part is quite gruesome by the way. The descriptions are very detailed, there are a lot of dead bodies, reawakened dead bodies and, well, necromancy. I great detail. Do not take this lightly. I am pretty sure this book will be banned from a lot of libraries. Which is a shame because it tells the story of a young, determined woman who will stop at nothing to fulfil her dreams, no matter how many obstacles people will put in her way. She is passionate, loves her family and does not shut her eyes and ears to injustice and neglect.

I must admit that the ending was slightly predictable. I saw it coming. Again, more time (and pages) would have improved this story a lot. After so many things happened in the first book, I have no idea what the sequel will be about. But I will make sure to read it.

Be careful what you wish for.. Nedra wanted to figure out how to fix the plague. By doing so she loses almost everything...

Curious where the author plans to take the series from here.

Thanks to netgalley for an advance copy

Thank you net galley for the advance read copy of this novel. I enjoyed the across the universe series by This author and was excited to read this one.
This was a YA fantasy and a bit on the darker side. Nedra, the main character, wants so backup fit in at an alchemy school as a scholarship student. She is essentially trying to find a cure for a plague that is threatening her village. She turns to some dark magic and it was a bit creepy. I liked the world building but not the dark aspects. Overall a good read that will definitely appeal to many in the YA audience.

Do NOT judge this book by its cover. It looks like a soft and sappy fantasy romance, with the pretty girl, froofy font, and title just dropping with kissy love-love. But no. No. This is not one of those books, and for that I am eternally grateful. I picked this up because I loved Revis' "Across the Universe" series. I never would have grabbed it on cover and title alone.

Nedra is an alchemist, which in this society is basically a doctor. She can take pain and channel it away. When a mysterious plague starts wreaking havoc on her island, she realizes pain management may not be the most helpful thing. Maybe...she can do more.

This is just phenomenal. The plot never stopped, the characters are just delightful, the ending was unpredictable, and I loved the subtle diversity/LGBT without being aggressively "diversity checklist". I can't say enough good about this.

But seriously. Don't trust the cover. Give the Dark My Love? More like "I'm a crazy badass alchemist who doesn't care what anyone thinks and will make you wish you were this awesome."

Received via Netgalley.com in return for a fair review.

Nedra's only goal in life is to learn the healing arts and serve in her village. She is finally able to attend the prestigious school to study. Now she must fight her way through those who would judge her for where she comes from and not what she has to offer. And if she can't learn fast enough, the plague that threatens her town and family may just come for them all.

This is a great dark story, one that has you wondering just who is right and how much someone will risk to save us all.

Thank you, Penguin Random House, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Was this what necromancy was? Raising the bodies but losing the souls? What point was there in that?"

Beth Revis is one of the authors who made me appreciate science fiction. I really enjoyed reading the Across the Universe trilogy when I was in college, and I was excited to read more of her work. She published a contemporary novel a year or so ago, but my waning interest in the genre failed to persuade me to pick it up. So when I learned that she was delving into fantasy, my favorite genre of all time, I was thrilled.

Although Give the Dark My Love had a predominantly fantastical story, it reminded me of Train to Busan, a popular Korean horror movie. (Just recalling all those zombies still makes me want to cover my neck.) Nedra, the female protagonist, was an alchemist who practiced necromancy. After being bombarded with tragedies, she gained the ability to “resurrect” and control the dead. Nedra was a benevolent character at the beginning, but in the end, she was more like an anti-hero. Basically, this book perfectly illustrated how good girls could go bad.

Nedra’s academic life was fascinating for me. I loved how she trumped the boys in Yugen Academy with her intelligence, proving that her scholarship didn’t mean that she was a mere charity case. In a way, Nedra was similar to Hermione Granger, bookish and always willing to share her knowledge with others. With that in mind, you shouldn’t be surprised that I liked her a lot; I will always have a soft spot for my fellow nerds. However, my feelings changed a bit as she gradually succumbed to the dark side. I didn’t dislike her, exactly, but I was perturbed by her regression (as intentional as it was).

As for Grey, the love interest, he was pretty unremarkable. He showed signs of infatuation early on just because he thought that Nedra was “different.” So cliche, right? I bet he would fall in love with anyone who wasn’t typical. Also, I felt jaded about how he didn’t want to be anything like his controlling father (another surprise there). Looking on the bright side, I liked how he became Nedra’s moral compass. Because of him, I have hope for her redemption.

The climax was the best part of the novel. I had no idea who was the real culprit behind the plague/curse killing off the lower class. It came to the point that I suspected Grey himself. Hahaha. Silly me. I shouldn’t have expected the worse of him. When the big reveal happened, I was stupefied. In fact, I had to reread it because I couldn’t process the revelation immediately. Kudos to the author’s excellent plotting!

All in all, Give the Dark My Love was equally saddening and entertaining. The unique magic system and political intrigue counterbalanced all the grief and bloodshed. I highly recommend it to readers searching for an insightful anti-hero story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Five the Dark My Love (from NetGalley). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It only took a few chapters to become fully engaged. I was drawn into this fantastical world. Nedra was a beautifully developed character to admire and fear!!! Very cool book--this author, has quite the imagination! I am feeling like the resolution may allow for a sequel...Thank you to the author, Beth Revised and NetGalley for the ARC.

Another dark YA fantasy! This one shows what pain can do to a person and the descent into becoming the villain. It reminds me of Now I Darken with Lada and her journey.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Nedra Brysstain has been given a scholarship to attend the Yugen Academy and she plans to learn as much about medicinal alchemy as she can in that year. Coming from a rural village, she doesn’t fit in with the other students, but she slowly builds a relationship with Greggori Astor. As the community begins to recognize that a deadly plague is pillaging the North, Nedra works harder with her advisor to learn even more then her level would require. Will Nedra be able to find a cure for the plague? How well will she walk the line between alchemy and necromancy?

Give the Dark My Love is the first book in a new fantasy series with the same title. Revis has created a new cast of characters that readers will want to learn more about and since the story is told in the alternating voices of Grey and Nedra, the information feels more complete and enjoyable. Although this first book has a clear ending, the story is nowhere near done and I believe most readers will be looking for the next volume when it is released. Give the Dark My Love should be added to every fantasy reader’s TBR list.

This is a very powerful book. It is about overwhelming grief, the loss of innocence and the slow descent into darkness. If you enjoy reading about anti-heroes and their descent into villainy then this is the book for you.

Nedra starts off as a very sweet, innocent young lady, off to school in the city. Having been raised in the country she is totally out of her league in the elite school that she has received a scholarship too. She wants to become a medical alchemist so that she can do good in the world. As she becomes more involved with caring for the people who have the plague, she becomes more aware of the politics surrounding her and the dying. She wants to make things right, not just help with the pain and the suffering but to find a cure. Her descent into necromancy is driven by grief and by the suffering that is all around her. I loved her relationship with her family and especially her twin sister, Ernestra. They were not in the book much, but when they were it was a light in an otherwise very dark book.

Greggori, Grey, is a very sweet character as well. I loved how he wanted to save Nedra from herself. Some chapters are narrated by Grey, but this book is not really about him and Nedra’s romance. His chapters told mostly the political side of things and about his not really understanding what was happening to Nedra. He was a wonderful counterpoint to her descent, as his mind was opened to what was really happening in his world. You could tell that their relationship was doomed from the beginning, but I was hopeful that some good would come out of it.

“If you do this, Nedra, if you choose necromancy… I cannot follow you into that darkness.”
“Oh, Grey,” I said, shifting my bag onto my shoulder. “What do you know of darkness?”

This book is not for the squeamish. There are scenes involving amputation that are pretty descriptive. The path to necromancy also requires some sacrifices on the part of Nedra that are not pleasant.

A beautifully dark book about grief and making choices that you can not come back from.

A solid new fantasy from the talented Beth Revis, it may be a little slow to develop, but by the end, it lives up to its intriguing title.

Beth Revis’s new fantasy brings alchemy to the forefront in the aptly titled Give the Dark My Love. Nedra, leaving behind her rural village, is heading to the main city of her island home to study medicinal alchemy at the elite Yugen Academy. Motivated to alleviate the suffering and ultimately find the root cause of the mysterious, quickly spreading plague, Nedra finds herself navigating an increasingly complicated environment, from political machinations, class conflict, and even first love. But as the plague ravages on, Nedra’s studies start taking her on a darker, more dangerous path. Written with sporadic shifts in the point of view, Give the Dark My Love’s worldbuilding and atmosphere at times felt a little rushed. Lingering over the ins and outs of the alchemic studies would have been welcome, but it remains an inventive fantasy with a strong, not-quite-heroine at its forefront.


*I received a copy of this book from Razorbill via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I loved the premise. It fell flat in terms if relationships, friendship or otherwise, as the heroine was just dry in personality. The series has potential and I am hoping book 2 will give me that bonding I look for in characters.

I loved Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis for so so so many reasons! The diverse cast, the political intrigue, the way that this universe uses alchemy for healing. So much goodness in here!

We are introduced to Nedra with two immediately juxtaposing points of view. In the prologue, she’s seen at the head of a zombie army as the Emperor’s Guards try to arrest for treason. At the beginning of Chapter 1, though, we do a quick rewind to six months prior, the day before Nedra is supposed to head out from her small village to university as a scholarship student to train to be a medical alchemist. So what could lead Nedra from a promising future as a medical professional to leader of a revenant army? Could it have something to do with Grey, the only student at the school who seems to want to really get to know her? What about the plague that seems to be sweeping the countryside? Does she get pulled into the impending rebellion against the crown? I guess you’ll just have to read to find out!

Nedra is a bookish teenager who has been awarded a scholarship to Yugen Academy to study alchemy - specifically medical alchemy. She learned a lot of herbal cures from her grandmother and is eager to learn and develop a cure for the Wasting Disease that is wiping out many of the poverty stricken people in the outlying villages on Lunar Island.. The book open on Nedra's last breakfast with her family as she says her goodbyes before heading to the big city. She arrives in time for the celebration of the new governor and the arrival of the young Emperor for her installation. Nedra begins school feeling way behind the rich, city kids who have attended Yugen for years but she catches on quickly and is taken under the wing of Professor Ostrum - a grumpy master of alchemy who shares her interest in finding a cure for the disease. As the disease reaches plague proportions Nedra volunteers on the quarantine island and becomes adept at using alchemy to ease the pain of her patients even if she can't use it to cure them. She's helped by Grey, a fellow alchemist and wealthy resident of the city. Grey and Nedra soon fall in love - but who has time for that when more people are dying daily, and the city's factories are closing down. The governor and the city elders start paying attention once the disease spreads to the wealthy, the school closes and Nedra must leave Grey to return to her family. Before she goes, Professor Ostrum hands her the journal of the city's founder, a notorious necromancer hoping that a cure might lie in that highly illegal direction..

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fresh, original story told with compassion and suspense as well as a dash of romance. Revis un-spools the tale at a steady pace until the twists and turns make it pick up speed, until I couldn't stop reading. It was a great story, unpredictable but engaging. I look forward to reading more by Beth Revis.

I was hooked from the army of the undead in the prologue! In this new fantasy series, Revis introduces readers to Nedra, a young woman on her way to learn medicinal alchemy hoping to cure a plague destroying lives in the empire. Once she discovers the root cause of the plague, Nedra must delve into dark arts to try to save the people. As readers witness the grief and loss that the lead to her fall into darkness, we see how innocence can be lost and a hero can become an antihero.
Hand this novel to your fantasy readers who liked The Young Elites series by Marie Lu.