Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars By: Diana Peterfreund

Title: For Darkness Shows the Stars

Author: Diana Peterfreund

Source: Bought

Published: June 12^th, 2012

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Goodreads Summary:

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

My Thoughts:

I have had this book on my shelf forever, and I am so glad that I finally got the chance to read it. I loved it! Peterfreund created such a masterpiece, the plot was so rich and intricate, everything about it I loved. The book is inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion which I have no read but, I could get a feel for after reading this book. I have been reading so many series or trilogies lately so it was nice to get a whole story in one book. I definitely cannot wait to get my hands on Across a Star Swept Sea because of her beautiful writing and richness of this book.

Because of genetic experiments in the past, they caused the Reduction which ruined humanity and cast the Luddite, people who didn’t believe in genetic experiments as preservers of humanity outlawed all of this technology to preserve the human race. Elliot North is one of the Luddite tasked with running her estate with her father and sisters. They have to take care of all the reduced people and their offspring as best they can. Her childhood friend and pen pal Kai, who was a servant and worker on her farm has left four years ago leaving Elliot with something missing in her life. She choice to stay and take care of the people who live under the care of the estate instead of following her heart to be with Kai. But, as the estate begins to crumble under her father’s greed and failed leadership, Elliot has to rent out part of the estate to a fascinating and mysterious group, the Cloud Fleet a group of free post reduction people who explore the faraway lands and bring back fascinating technology to the Luddite world. Surprisingly enough, Captain Malakai Wentforth a member of the Cloud Fleet returns, and he is the Kai that Elliot has missed for years but, he is not the same boy that Elliot once loved and he wants her to know that.

Elliot was such a strong woman and great main character,  she gave so selflessly and I admired her accepting her duty to her estate and to her family over the want to join the person she loved and get to be together like a normal couple. She really cared for the servants and workers on her estate more than her sister and her father liked. She was friends with so many of them and would do anything to make sure that they all had enough to eat and a somewhat comfortable life as she could provide for them. It was so hard watching Kai not be nice to her because you could really tell that she missed him every day that she was gone, and never stopped reading the letters that they wrote to each other while he was still on the estate.

The Cloud Fleet was so interesting to the workers of the estate and to Elliot herself, they were very rich and had found success selling the technology that they had found to the Luddite People, things like solar powered lamps and sun carts. The technology was nothing to fancy. They were very close and seemed like a real family which really surprised Elliot, they knew Kai now in a way that she didn’t which I know bothered her a lot more then she admitted to herself.

Overall, this book was amazing, so much happened and the plot had a great depth and I felt like I got so much story if that makes any sense. I loved it and I could not put it down. The only issue I had was that at times the world building felt a bit confusing but, as I got into the book it made a lot more sense. I definitely think that everyone should read this book it was just so good.