A mysterious old mansion. The family who
returned to claim it. And the girl who refused to be kicked out of her haven.
I was swept into Sophie's tale immediately.
She was a sweet and kind heroine (perhaps a little too perfect). Her part in
Dierenpark was believable and unforced. It seemed natural the reasons she was
allowed to stay. And then there's Quentin. He was a very interesting character
whose progression from cynical to kind seemed fluent. From an analytic
standpoint, his character was my favorite, being the most mysterious and
complex yet well developed. Oh and Peiter. The story would be much less without
him!
The plot was super intriguing. My mind
was spinning as the story of the Vandermarks took so many twists and turns. I
honestly couldn't guess what would happen in the end, as far as the family
history went (the lives of the people in the "current" story--that
was a little more predictable). Reading the book was like watching a mystery
unfold satisfactorily. As far as writing quality, the author's ability to snag
my interest, and flow of the story, I give a definite 5 stars.
There were a few things that bumped this
book down to a personal rating of 3.5 stars:
-The dialogue did not seem accurate to
the time frame. As I was reading the story, I had to remind myself that this
was the 17th century because it just didn't "feel" that era.
-The spiritual plot seemed weak. The
salvation message was not very clear (though it did show a person turning to
follow God, it was more of a groping towards). Though Sophie was all sweetness
and kindness, I would have personally preferred if it was mentioned that the
only way one could be sweet and kind is because of Jesus Christ. Instead, there
was more of a Pollyanna type emphasis on "everyone has some good in
them." It is commendable that she takes council of her pastor, but I'm
afraid that kissing and developing an emotional attachment to a man who is
still see-sawing on atheism is a little shallow. And one character used the
Lord's Name in a way that I would consider vain (he used it in an exclamation
of surprise).
There were a few quotes I liked, but I
didn't take the time to jot them all down. Here is one though:
“I don’t think God dwells on when we
fall down. I’d like to think he is more interested in helping us get back up
again.”
*NetGalley provided me a copy to review with my personal opinions*
Buy Until the Dawn for yourself!
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