Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare-a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.
Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder’s mother is cursed with a spell that’s driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules.
Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city’s secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.
Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they’re not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.
Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don’t always seem to stay that way.
ABOUT JACLYN
Jaclyn Dolamore was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate. She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food. She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and two black tabbies who have ruined her carpeting.
Jaime’s Thoughts
Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
Initially what drew me to Dark Metropolis was the gorgeous cover – it really sets the tone for the time period of this story wonderfully well. Dark Metropolis is set in an alternate Germany in the 1920’s and I think I might consider this paranormal in some respects simply because there are aspects of magic in this alternate world but if you know me I suck at categorizing books – The author has stated that she considers it “alt-world historical fantasy” so go with that! But there are also zombies.
Our main character Thea is sixteen and working in the glamorous Telephone Club trying to keep her life afloat while also dealing with her mother who is suffering from a magical sickness because she was bound to her husband and he has been missing for eight years. At her job she gets to meet the rich and famous but for some reason she has a strange connection to a boy named Freddy who, with his guardian sits at her table one evening.
When her friend Nan suddenly disappears, Nan is determined to find out what happened to her and despite only just getting to know Thea, Freddy is determined to help her get the answers she needs.
I will say that I really enjoyed the picture of 1920’s Germany that Dolamore created. It was for the most part creepy and spooky and the story itself felt a bit heavier than I expected. In all honesty, I didn’t even realize that this was set in an alternate past when I started but some of the hints to that fact can be scattered throughout.
The writing itself was well done and Dolamore does a great job pulling readers in with an easy style of writing that I think anyone will appreciate. She adds just enough suspense and drama to keep you wanting to turn the pages. We also get several different points of view with this story… and my only complaint about that is that there was no rhyme or reason to how it happened. I understand the need for it, I just wish that the chapters had flowed a bit more seamlessly for me.
The plot itself was a bit predictable, and maybe this is my fault for reading this right after I read another book that had me guessing on every page, but I was able to figure out most of the plot pretty early on. However… that didn’t detract from my enjoying the story.
Dolamore creates some intriguing characters in Dark Metropolis and while they aren’t all completely fleshed out as much as I would have liked to see, I still quite enjoyed them. Thea and Freddy, Nan and Siga I’m interested in learning more about them with the final book, and it will definitely be interesting to see what kind of impact Thea’s mother has as well.
If you’re looking for a book that offers a bit of fantasy, a bit of suspense and a bit of romance, then definitely pick up Dark Metropolis in June.
Thank you to Shanna @ A Book Vacation Blog for the giveaway!
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