2 out of 5 stars
I would like to thank Curiosity Quills for approaching me to review this book for them. I was sent a free electronic copy and was not paid to review, it was a totally volunteer basis thingy. I feel I was approached as I have thoroughly enjoyed the other books in this series – ‘The Dark Choir’.
However, I don’t know if they will approach me again after the constructive criticism I am about to give. I don’t think Mr Sloan is going to have me marked as a favourite reviewer any more either. 😉
But please, please, please realise I am just trying to be honest about how I feel this book matches up to the rest of the series. If you can’t tell by my rating, I didn’t think it matched that well at all. To put it bluntly, I didn’t feel the story actually truly got started or got to the point set up by the previous books until I was about 75% through it. Everything that came before that came across as world building… which isn’t usually so complex when you’re reading the 4th book in a series. Pretty much all of the world building should be done by then.
I have really been dragging my heels on posting this review – I finished the book back in November last year and have been using the messed up sad chaos that has been my life these past eight or so months as an excuse not to publish a review. But, I want to get a clean slate for my reviewing this year and so have put on my big girl pants and here it is.
I am really hoping this is just one of those “mid-series slumps” as I honestly found this a watered down version of Dorian and really more a fluff piece to remind us all about the series, than something that truly added to the series as a whole. Well, except for the last 25% of the book – that was an addictive read like the previous books and the clanger dropped at the end of it… I think I may just have groaned out loud it was such an epic “oh my god no!” It almost beat my reaction to what happened to Julian in earlier books in this series.
So, if I was to base my opinion on the last part of the book alone then I would definitely say Mr Sloan was still on winner as DAMN that was good.
But the rest of it? Yeah, it really came across as padding and world building as if the story needed to turn and start down a new path, but that new path or reason for it wasn’t truly explained. I mean, the writing was still good and if I hadn’t had such high expectations based on the first three books in ‘The Dark Choir’ series, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot better and given it a higher rating. Seriously, this book had a “put on the back burner” feel to it and was then served up half cooked when it should have stayed on that creative cooking stove a little longer. Sorry Mr Sloan, I love your work and you are a fantastic writer… I just didn’t gel with ‘The Dark Interest’.
Would I recommend this book to others?
I would, but only if they had read the first three books in ‘The Dark Choir’ series. This isn’t a stand-alone book and anyone trying to read it as such is doing their imagination – and Mr Sloan – a great injustice.
Would I warn them about how I felt about it? Well, they are going to read that here… but if just asked I would say “it’s alright but not the best book in the series”. I can’t offer more than that.
Would I buy this book for myself?
Of course I would and simply because ‘The Dark Choir’ series is one of the best supernatural series I’ve read in a long time. And while I may have found the majority of this book was pretty “meh” I would still own it to ensure I have the whole series. I am just hoping the next book is better.
In summary – not the best book in the series, but ended with a brilliant cliff hanger.
Janis's Journal 