[ARC Review] - Darker Still

Title: Darker Still
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Series: Magic Most Foul
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: November 1, 2011

I received this book for review from Sourcebooks.

Summary: “I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen. Everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable-- utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked- bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. And unless I can free him soon, things will only get darker still..."

Thoughts: Natalie Stewart has been mute since the day her mother died. The year is 1880 and Natalie has just been discharged from the asylum. She feels like she's leaving one prison - just to enter another. The she learns about the painting of Lord Denbury and is taken on an unexpected journey.

I thoroughly enjoyed Natalie's story.  The story is set out in journal entries, news clippings and letters, which was compelling. It definitely gives more to the story.  This is the first time I've read with a mostly mute character. I found Natalie to be very interesting. A little lost, but open for anything.  Darker Still is mysterious and richly dark. A great mystery and romance. Everything I've come to love in Ms. Hieber's gothic tales. 

Score: 4 Stars

Author Website: http://www.leannareneehieber.com/

Upcoming Releases:

Miss Violet and the Great War (Strangely Beautiful #4)- 2012