The Vanishing Spark of Dusk

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger is a young adult science fiction fantasy romance read. And before I even begin to share my thoughts on this book I’d like to say that while this one looks to be a standalone novel I’d highly encourage the author to continue with this world and characters she created and turn this one into a series. This for me was one of those books that had a perfectly acceptable ending but I so did not want it to end, I wanted the story to go on and could see so much more to explore with the world and characters she created.

Starting off reading this one I found myself comparing it to a couple of things and wondered if I would find a story that felt like more of the same old and not something new but thankfully that feeling went away rather quickly. When first meeting Lark we find that she and her family reside in a hidden community still free from slavery. As she mentions shucking corn I got this picture in my head of the farm in the Walking Dead where Hershel’s family was living in their own little bubble free from the chaos of the world around them. Now Lark’s fear and chaos of her world of course isn’t the zombie apocalypse but an alien race, the Tavdorians, that have been capturing and enslaving humans for years.

There are also things in this story that remind me a bit of The Hunger Games series. Now of course that series is simply human greed and excess and nothing to do with aliens but there were just little twinges here and there that brought it to mind. But don’t worry at all in thinking that this one is exactly like any thing else because it certainly did create it’s own world and characters that I fell in love with along the way. Lark is much like Katniss though in her determination and strength to survive to one day see her family again and that spark that is needed to fuel the change that the world created within the pages of the story needed.

As for the romance side of the book I’d also say not to worry to those that wonder if we have a case of insta-love that is so often found, no thankfully it does not begin that way. The story takes place over the course of several months and things were built into the book slowly over the course of the entire story. In the beginning when Lark and Kalen meet she knows little of the Tavdorians having never actually seen or met one so she sees them all as vicious slave trading parasites.The misconceptions and generalizations from each species remind me a lot of the stereotyping we have in our world just among humans so the issues seemed realistic but expanded to other worlds.

Now while it’s probably obvious by now that I really enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend reading it I would also warn that while this is young adult the content should probably be for more mature readers. There’s nothing overly graphic but it’s a book based around slavery and that isn’t a pretty thing in itself but also had some sexual situations brought into the mix along with partying and drinking so I’d keep that in mind. Otherwise a definite five stars and two thumbs up from this reader from the beautiful cover to the very end of the story.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Such a beautiful book! Soo happy I got to read this! It was so perfect and the ending was adorable!

The Vanishing Spark of Dusk
Sara Baysinger
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥❣

Lark lives on planet earth. Her family comply with another planets rules in the hope they will leave them alone, but when two slaves escape everything changes. The aliens are cruel. Lark's haven knows they shouldn't take in some of the slaves, but it's hard not to help the needy. Lark is betrayed by a close friend. She finds herself on her way to a foreign planet with no hope of returning.

Kalen is a son of a slave trader. He is a sympathises but wants his father to be proud of him. Lark is about to shake up his world and he can't help but save her.

Their kind don't mix. They are not equal and the certainty shouldn't fall in love.

I don't think I've read an alien romance before. The vanishing spark of dusk was really interesting from beginning to end. It had some great concepts to get you thinking and the story was really imaginative.

4.5 stars out of 5. *ARC



ebook £4.98

Expected publication: January 8th 2018 by Entangled TEEN

"The Vanishing Spark of Dusk" is a fantastic sci-fi/fantasy/romance that is suitable for older teens in the YA category or NA readers (due to content, in my opinion). We follow Lark, who is a "native" human- one of the few humans left free on Earth. Most humans have been enslaved by the Tavdorians, either to work on plantations on Earth or as slaves on the other planets they have conquered and enslaved. Although native slaves are worth twice as much as other slaves, Lark's community has a deal with the Tavdorian plantation owner next to them- they keep to themselves and he leaves them be. Everything is about to change when two runaways escape into Lark's community and they give them asylum.

Lark lives with her mother and the rest of the community in relative harmony- and blissful ignorance. Her brother left a few years before to join an army in Colorado to fight slavery- because what is being free if others are enslaved? Lark didn't really understand. She is happy with her boyfriend Josiah- until she learns that he hasn't been truthful with her during their relationship and betrays her, leading to the death of her friend. Sold into slavery, she is protected by a Tavdorian she met briefly while free- Kalen. Lark fights to secure her freedom and avenge her friend's death, but she soon learns it is futile to fight in this manner. Never losing her spirit, Lark becomes the slave for Kalen whose family owns an importing company- whose largest import has become slaves.

The book is broken into a few parts, and I felt that each part could have been fleshed out into a book. Although the ending had good closure, it was still open enough that there could be a sequel. While I absolutely devoured this book (so good I couldn't put it down!), I actually might have liked to see it broken into more books so I could learn even more about these worlds and Lark. We only get a flavor of her life as a free person at the beginning before moving on to her life as a slave. The pace after that first part does slow down a bit, but there is still a lot of content to unwrap and think about. That being said, it was all easy to follow and I never got lost in the plot or the new worlds created here.

There were a lot of views on slavery espoused by different characters in the book, echoing some of the views held by humans in the past, and this could potentially spark some good discussions. Lark's situation was a bit ideal in some ways, but she still received some small tastes of the harsher sides of slavery. As for the romance, I really enjoyed the slow build of Kalen and Lark's relationship. I think it really helped that they met (very beginning of the book) while she was still free, and so there wasn't a stark power differential from the get-go that brings in some questions about validity. The focus of the book is really on Lark, so while we get to know Kalen decently well, we really get into Lark's mind. Lark was easy to like and empathize with, the ideal character for the story, and I liked reading her perspective. Speaking of romance, there are some really steamy scenes, including eventually a sex scene (with some detail) that might make this appropriate for older teens.

Overall, this is a really fantastic sci-fi/romance, and I absolutely enjoyed every second of it- I would love to read more from this author! I highly recommend to sci-fi/fantasy lovers- this book is sure to be a hit! Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: WOW so far on of the best of 2018!

Check out author's other books? YES
Recommend this book? YES

Notes and Opinions: Man this book was fabulous! This one had a slower start but once it got going I was entrawled in the story and I couldn't put it down. In this one a girl is kidnapped and turned into a slave to fight for her freedom and find love in the most unexpeceted places. The author did a great job with the build up and just everything about this story. The characters were wonderful and I just fell in love with each of them. The world building in this one was beautiful!

Go Into This One Knowing: Redemption, Romance, Survival


This book was reviewed by Lauren