Book Review: A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Title:  A Beautiful Dark

Author:  Jocelyn Davies

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Publish Date:  9/27/11

Source:  Around the World ARC Tours

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  Skye never questioned the story of her life. Her Aunt Jo adopted her after the death of her parents when she was just a child, and together they flip through memories the way some people flip through photo albums.

She never questioned if the stories were true.

Until the night of her 17th birthday, when the arrival of two strangers intrudes on her cozy life. Polar opposites, like fire and ice, Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair, cold, and aloof. Skye has no idea what they want—only that their presence coincides with the beginning of some shockingly strange events. Events that Skye, if she dares to think it, might be responsible for causing.

High up in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, Skye finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient battle, one that began untold millennia ago. Torn between unpredictable Asher, whom she loves, and the infuriating Devin, who she can’t stay away from, her fate is murky as a starless night. And as the secrets of her true identity are revealed, Skye realizes that her destiny may reside in the Heavens—or somewhere darker.

My Thoughts:  17 year old Skye lives with her "Aunt" Jo.  When Skye was 6, her parents died in a car accident.  Miraculously, Skye came out of the accident untouched.  The book starts on Skye's 17th birthday where she has headed into the local coffee shop to meet with friends for a party. While there, she meets Asher, a mysterious and very cute guy.  She also meets Devin when him and Asher start to fight inside.  From that point on, Skye's life turns upside down and she finds out that everything she thought she knew about herself was wrong. 

I really liked Skye for the most part.  She is torn between Devin and Asher but the romance didn't take over the story.  Throughout the book, I struggled with who I wanted Skye to be with too....until the last few chapters.  Then I was rooting for Asher!  He was your typical rebel.  He didn't like to follow rules but he was always there for Skye.  Devin was too much of a "good" guy for me.  He followed rules, he didn't push Skye (except with her powers) and he just didn't have a ton of charm and personality for me. 

I enjoyed the secondary characters as well.  Cassie was so fun and chipper all the time.  I would love to have had her for my best friend in high school.  Plus, the girl can sing and she is pretty.  Ian is the guy that likes Skye but Skye likes him as a friend only.  Dan is Cassie's good friend and I love how their relationship develops.  I also really liked Aunt Jo.  As is usual for YA books, she was hardly ever there but I did like that there was a legit explanation for her missing and when Skye got hurt on the ski trip, Aunt Jo showed up.

The ending was amazing!  The cliffhanger has me wanting to read book 2 now!  However, I wasn't impressed with what happens to Cassie but that's just because I don't know how it ends and I really like Cassie.  No more on that though or I'll have to add a spoiler alert! 

I also enjoyed this book because it was about angels but not your typical fallen angel story.  It has some interesting elements to it and I loved the legend that Asher tells at the campfire. 

The only thing I didn't really like was how Cassie, Ian and Dan (but especially Ian) disappear from the story for awhile.  I realize that Skye was overwhelmed with all the new information she was getting but Ian really just disappears for a few chapters.  He does make a comeback though so it wasn't enough to really ruin anything for me.