For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars, Book 1

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I saw this novel a lot when it was released in English but it’s true that I never looked closer. It must be said that for me the cover gave me a science fiction feeling, a story set in space and it is far from things that really interest me. However, the French release intrigued me and after seeing so many positive reviews, I told myself that I really had to try that! And I must say that I’m really happy because I had a great time.

The world is not what it was after trying to change the genetic codes of the population. Now the society is divided into different castes: the Luddites who have not accepted to undergo the treatments and who now take care of the others who can not live alone. But from these people are now the Posts, the descendants, who have very good abilities but are still used as “slaves” by some families. It is in this context that we discover Elliot, a young Luddite who tries somehow to manage her domain. Years ago, her friend Post, Kai, ran away, leaving her alone … Ever since, Elliot has been hoping that he is well and that she will one day hear from him, even though she knows it is surely futile. Yet one day, as she decides to rent the shipyard from her land, here he is back in her life. While she was hopeful, her feelings are quickly crushed when she realizes that he has no intention of talking to her and that he hates her.

I felt so bad for Elliott and I even shed tears several times. The poor girl already had a very difficult life but the return of Kai really does not help. It’s true that it’s hard to understand why he’s hurting her that way when she seems to have done nothing. It must be said that this boy was everything for her: her escape from a tyrannical father and her lonely life. We also find their exchanges during childhood in the chapters. They allow us to understand a little more the universe, to see the relationship that binds them both and to understand the social disparities between the different castes.

It was an exciting novel and I’m really glad I tried it! I just have a small question. I was wondering if there was any punishment for Post people who escaped from the estates. It seems as if and yet it seems easy. But hey, in any case, I’m conquered. I learned that there is a second volume that does not include these characters but that runs parallel to these events and I admit that I am curious to learn even more about the universe! I recommend it!

 

 

 

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