Tuesday, October 23, 2012

ARC Review: After Dark by Emi Gayle


Title: After Dark (The 19th Year, #1) 

Author: Emi Gayle 

Rating: 2 Stars 

Release Date: October 31st, 2012 

In all honesty, I don’t have much to say about After Dark. When I first heard about this new debut, I was more than a little excited and thrilled to pick it up: a paranormal novel with a protagonist who could shift shape, but only at night? In YA Fiction, shape-shifting hadn’t been explored as widely as everything else, so naturally, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into this one. Unfortunately, I have to admit that After Dark is another classic example of a debut novel chock-full of potential that simply went wrong. Not only were its characters obscure and difficult for me to connect to, but the plot dragged on far too much as well and ultimately, I have to throw this book onto my shelf of “2012 Disappointments.” It isn’t the first debut up there and I doubt it’ll be the last this year as well – I’ve simply become too difficult to please.

Mac Thorne is a Changeling. Nope, she’s not a fey child whose life has been swapped with that of a human’s – don’t make the same mistake in assuming that as I did. Instead, she’s a being who can change her shape at will, but only at night. In the dark, she can shift into any paranormal creature she wants; but there’s a catch. When she’s nineteen, she must choose one form and stick to it, representing that race in a council and thereby making them the most powerful race – until the next Changeling comes along and chooses a different race, of course. Yet, ironically enough, Mac barely knows anything about who she is, her race of Changelings, or what her future holds. When she sees Winn, a classmate of hers, with a book about paranormal creatures, she makes it her mission to befriend him. What she doesn’t count on is falling in love. What she doesn’t count on is danger. What she doesn’t count on is a lot more than what she did count on and that just may not be so good...

After Dark starts out by immersing you into the world Emi Gayle has created, straight from Chapter 1, and while that isn’t a bad thing, you are floating around rather clueless for…awhile. Nevertheless, the world-building does kick in, and while I wasn’t a fan of the way it was introduced, it’s there. Thus, while I was rather disconcerted about the world Gayle had imagined, it didn’t bother me too much. What did bother me, however, was Mac. Mac was a character I couldn’t really connect with, no matter how hard I tried. You see, Mac is a human for the entire duration of the day, but she hates humans. Why? I don’t know. I honestly just don’t know. Mac is antisocial because she doesn’t want to talk to humans, she sticks to herself, and she generally doesn’t want friends. But, this entire book is about how Mac makes human friends and falls in love with a human and while I recognized that this was meant to be a moment for character growth, I didn’t understand why Mac hated humans or why she suddenly didn’t hate them.

Furthermore, Mac’s back story seemed too unbelievable. Much like Pia in Origin, who was brought up as a scientist but never felt curious about the world outside her “fence”, Mac never begins to wonder about her unique race or what she is and can do until she sees Winn with a book about paranormal creatures. Thus, from that moment on, Mac’s curiosity is completely insatiable. In fact, she even follows Winn into his house just to see this book because she is so desperate for answers when she didn’t even care for the past eighteen years. While reading this book, all I could feel was that it was so outlined and convenient; the only reason nothing happened before this book was because it needed to happen in this book and overall, that left me feeling more than a little detached from this novel.

Mac aside, I found the plot of After Dark to be disappointing. It isn’t boring or slow, but nothing much really happens in it. If anything, it can easily be condensed into a few short chapters and I’m sure this entire trilogy could be contained as a stand-alone novel if the author really tried. Also, plot-wise, as the romance goes, it was cute, but nothing earth-shattering. Winn was a decent love-interest, one I even liked, but I couldn’t understand why Winn grew to like Mac, especially since all they did was sit in his basement and read a book. Furthermore, there is no way that these two love each other; at least, it definitely didn’t feel that way to me. It wasn’t that the romance in this novel was bad, but it was such a clichéd and typical school-project-romance and unlike Kelly Creagh in Nevermore, Emi Gayle didn’t manage to make it meaningful, deep, or, for that matter, even work.

Overall, After Dark is a good book, but it didn't live up to my expectations or "wow" me in the least. Its MC was confusing and hard to connect with, many of the other characters were present for "comic relief" and weren't very amusing, and overall I think I expected this book to be something different from what it was. I contemplated giving it up more than once, but I did manage to finish the whole novel, even if I skimmed the last 30%. Thus, I'd recommend After Dark to the majority of people whose opinions don't correlate with mine since I tend to be that picky reviewer, but if you tend to feel the need to understand your character well, crave a more well-developed romance, or even want to read this book because the character can change into multiple paranormal creatures (not the standard 2-3 she flits between – seriously, haven’t vampires and faeries been overdone already?), then, I'm sorry to say, look elsewhere. 

I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher, J. Taylor Publishing, on behalf of the DAC ARC Tours in exchange for a honest review. Thank You!  

22 comments:

  1. Aw, it's a shame this didn't blow you away. I was actually interested in this book, not so sure anymore. Thanks for the honest review!

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  2. I've never heard of this one before Keertana, but the premise is intriguing. I think it would be fascinating to be able to shift into any paranormal entity you wanted at will, I wouldn't mind that ability! If I were Mac though, I would be chock-full of questions about everything, so I agree with you that it seems strange that she never thought to question anything until Winn came along. Thanks for the beautifully thorough review as always!

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  3. Too bad this one ended up being such a disappointment ..I was dying to read it but now I don't know if I'll even pick it up because it doesn't sounds like something I'd enjoy. Thank you so much for the honest review Keertana =)

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  4. Shoot! I'm a sucker for pretty covers, and darn, look at that hair! I love how you say at the beginning that you don't have much to say about the book, and then end up writing a novel. :) I think it's adorable!
    So, no real plot and no real heat in the relationship means I'll be staying away from this one. I really wanted to read it, and, what's more, I was SO convinced I'd like it, but now I know it's not for me.
    Thanks for taking one for the team... again.Hugs!

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  5. Not being able to connect with a character, totally ruins a book for me too! So I totally understand why you felt withdrawn from this book Keertana, it also sounds like this book had the potential for so much to happen, but just fell way short! Sorry this was a disappointing read for you but thanks for taking one for the team and saving me from this one. Here's hoping your next debut read will be a lot more enjoyable! :)

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  6. Shape shifting really isn't wildly explored and it's a shame that this didn't meet your expectations. I totally get what you mean about a character's back story being unbelievable, it's hard to swallow in that case. Still, great review as always. <3

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  7. I've always thought that shape shifting has been an extremely interesting concept, but I don't think I'll be picking this one up! I can't stand it when stories go without a reason. It just doesn't make ANY SENSE. Well, I'm glad you liked the love interest at least. :O Great review as always, Keertana!

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  8. Well I am glad you waded through it for me. I agree vamps are way overdone and I am not in any hurry to read another vamp book any time soon. Disappointing characters and unbelievable story lines would irritate me, too. Thanks for the insight!

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  9. Hmm... Paranormal stuff has not seemed as appealing to me lately, so I could see myself being disappointed by AFTER DARK, too. I wish it had lived up to its potential!
    Great review, Keertana. :)
    - Lauren

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  10. Seems like we are both victim's of the "ho hum" book club this week, huh? :) This one sounds a bit like my review of Black City, some good parts but not enough to make a real difference. And, as you know, any book that you have to skim through is usually not going to cut it in the end:)

    And I have a confession: I LOVE that you are "that" reviewer- the nit-picky one, the one that isn't afraid to tell it like it is. I always know you are giving your honest opinion. That way when you full on embrace a book and love it with all your heart I KNOW it's worth checking out:)

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  11. I hadn't heard of this one before and I'm not sure its one I would have picked up anyway but now I know not to bother. Sorry you spent your time on something you didn't care for!

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  12. I love shapeshifter stories when they're done well, but I wouldn't enjoy the issues you pointed out either, Keertana. Also, I would find the Changelings who are not fey foundlings thing confusing, too!

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  13. The premise of this story doesn't really catch my interest so I probably wouldn't have read it anyhow, but I'm sure I won't pick it up now. Sorry this didn't work out for your Keertana. Great honest review. :)

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  14. I haven't heard of the book before but the premise sounds interesting. To shift into any paranormal creature. That is kind awesome.

    It sucks that you didn't like it much. Great review. :)

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  15. Your review is one of the first I've read for this book. I'm unsure now if I want to bother with it - recently, mediocre books have been frustrating me a great deal more than they might have once done. Still, I won't strike it off the list just yet. I'm glad you reviewed this Keertana as I'll be sure to alter my expectations now if I ever get around to it.

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  16. First of all, LOVE the blog header Keertana! The font is stunning as well :)

    As to the book, the premise didn't pique my interest the first item I read it nor am I much of a urban fantasy fan, so I'll make sure to stay well away from this one... Fantastic review, as always!

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  17. Aahhh, thanks Leanne! I worked on it this weekend since I figured I REALLY needed a header after all this time, but I had NO IDEA how to go about making one since I'm not the most tech savvy person around, but I'm glad you like it, so thank you! :D

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  18. I was curious about this one because there still aren't many YA novels dealing with shapeshifters but I guess I'll be skipping this one. I'm already wondering why they can only shift at night and why it's at the age of nineteen that they have to pick one shape. Also, why would Mac randomly hate humans? Weird.

    Anyways, thanks for the review, Keertana!

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