Title: Give the Dark My Love (Give the Dark My Love #1)
Author: Beth Revis
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: September 25th 2018
Hardcover, 368 pages
Summary:
When seventeen-year-old Nedra Brysstain leaves her home in the rural, northern territories of Lunar Island to attend the prestigious Yugen Academy, she has only one goal in mind: learn the trade of medicinal alchemy. A scholarship student matriculating with the children of Lunar Island's wealthiest and most powerful families, Nedra doesn't quite fit in with the other kids at Yugen, who all look down on her. All, except for Greggori "Grey" Astor. Grey is immediately taken by the brilliant and stubborn Nedra, who he notices is especially invested in her studies. And that's for a good reason: a deadly plague has been sweeping through the North, and it's making its way toward the cities. With her family's life--and the lives of all of Lunar Island's citizens--on the line, Nedra is determined to find a cure for the plague. Grey and Nedra continue to grow closer, but as the sickness spreads and the body count rises, Nedra becomes desperate to find a cure. Soon, she finds herself diving into alchemy's most dangerous corners--and when she turns to the most forbidden practice of all, necromancy, even Grey might not be able to pull her from the darkness.
Give the Dark My Love has been on my radar for quite a while now so I was really excited to start it! (it also helped me out of a super inconvenient book slump, so yay!) This is actually my first Beth Revis book and I have heard nothing but amazing things about her writing, so I was even more eager to have this beautiful book in my hands. Though I had a few tiny issues with this book I overall loved the premise and how everything unfolded.
I loved Nedra's character a lot, she aspires for more in life then living in her small village. She wants to be a medical alchemist and help others. Being accepted into Yugen on a scholarship is her chance to make that dream come true. We watch Nedra from the start of the novel learn the magic of alchemy and her natural born talent. With the plague sweeping through her country Nedra is eager to help at the quarantine hospital where her alchemy training and abilities can help the ill. As the plague worsens and Nedra becomes desperate she starts dabbling in Necromancy, an illegal form of alchemy that deals with the dead. But what if the plague has everything to do with Necromancy? I loved how Revis showed us Nedra's decline into the darkness of Necromancy. We see Nedra's desperation to save people and the people she loves. Her desperation that nothing will stop her. She drives herself mad with the need to fix the illness she has no control over.
*Minor spoilers in this paragraph*
I think the scene that has stood out the most to me was when Nedra and her sister Nesta were quarantined with in their home when their parents had gotten ill with the plague and died. I think the rawest scene in this section when in desperation to save Nesta, Nedra had to amputate her sister's arm to stop the spread of the illness, absorbing her sister's pain. My heart shattered, the desperation and the pain both metaphorically and physically that Nedra had endured stuck out to me.
I think my only issue with this book was that at certain moments it felt predictable. I called who the villain was and where the plague originated from pretty early on in the novel. I do love how Revis incorporated these things though.
I LOVED the ending to Give the Dark My Love. In the sense that, Nedra had embraced the darkness and her remnants. There wasn't a point for her to turn back to. Everything that she had grown to love was gone, there was nothing more for her. Her love for Grey wasn't even enough for her to fight the darkness. I would have been quite content if Give the Dark My Love was a stand alone. I thought the ending wrapped up a lot of things pretty well. I am intrigued though to see where Revis is going take Nedra and Grey next.
