Review: Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

Lovely Dark and Deep

by Elisa A. Bonnin

Release Date: March 25, 2025

2025 Felwel & Friends

Ebook ARC; 400 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250888570

ASIN: B0CVVT4JMD

Audiobook: B0DZKZBR1X

Genre: Fiction / YA / Fantasy / Dark Academia

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Ellery West has always been home for Faith. After an international move and a childhood spent adjusting to a new culture and a new language, the acclaimed school for magic feels like the only place she can be herself. That is, until Faith and another student walk into the forest, and only Faith walks out.

Marked with the red stripe across her uniform that designates all students deemed too dangerous to attend regular classes, Faith becomes a social pariah, an exile of Ellery West. Except terrifying things are still happening to students, and the dark magic that was unleashed in the forest still seems to be at work. To stop it, Faith and the other Red Stripes will have to work together, risking expulsion from the magical world altogether.

 

My Thoughts

Lovely Dark And Deep is a dark academia novel, and I will admit I went into it with some trepidation as lately, I have found them to be fairly formulaic and predictable. However, I still love this type of novel and I am really glad I gave it a shot because I really enjoyed it. Yes, the exile and magic were fairly standard stuff, but for me, it was the relationships and the way the main character developed and evolved that I found intriguing and really made this book enjoyable for me.

 

Faith's journey is one that I resonated with as she grappled with trust issues, relationship problems, and always feeling like an outside, even with her own family. Upon returning to school as a senior, she is marked with the dreaded red stripe and has to deal with the whispers and suspicions as to what really happened in the forest the year before. What stood out for me within this fantasy story however, was the way the author developed the relationships Faith has with the other red stripe students.  I thought they were quite well written and a lot of the scenes were very emotional and raw. One of the students is autistic and nonverbal and I absolutely loved her character; in fact, some of my favourite scenes involved her as they were so raw and vulnerable.  I don't want to say any more about this character though, as I don't want to spoil anything and take away the emotional impact. The other characters were just as interesting and distinct and I enjoyed them all.  

The story moved along rather quickly and I had a hard time putting down this book. The author did a great job mixing the fantasy/story line with the character development, with neither one overshadowing the other. The magic system was interesting and I liked how the author touched upon how difficult it would be for these students to grow up in the mundane world, how easily misunderstood they would be, which is some of the basis of Faith's difficulties with her family.  We actually didn't get to see a lot of the classes, which suited me quite well, as that was not the focus of the story. And happily, while romance plays a small part of the story, it is only in the background and is included only as part of being a normal teenager. There were many themes worthy of discussion running through this story including found family, secrets, relationships, trust, faith, loyalty, betrayal, friendship, and a big one, misunderstanding.

 

Verdict

Lovely Dark and Deep was an enjoyable YA novel, one that I practically devoured in one sitting. This one didn't necessarily focus on academia life itself, but went deeper into the intricacies and complexities of it without going too deep, something that I appreciated. But the real highlight for me was definitely the character development and the relationships between the characters.  For those readers interested in a coming-of-age gothic fantasy that focuses just as much on cultural and personal differences as well as the dark academia, then this book might be for you.

Review: Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore

Deadstream

by Mar Romasco-Moore

Release Date: April 1st, 2025

2025 Viking Books for Young Readers

Softcover ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593691885

ASIN: B0D8KFHC4F

Audiobook: B0D8MQGJBP

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror / Supernatural

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

After surviving a car accident that claimed the life of her best friend, Teresa is now terrified to leave the safety of her bedroom. But one night, the safe world Teresa created starts to break down. A shadowy figure appears in the background of her favorite streamer's video, and his behavior mysteriously changes over the next few days before he dies in front of thousands of viewers. Teresa finds herself at the center of a life-and-death investigation as the world tries to figure out what or who this figure could be . . . especially as it begins appearing in the other people's streams, compelling them to "open the door" and let it in—including Teresa’s own. In order to save herself and the rest of the internet from this relentless entity, Teresa must venture outside of the mental and physical walls she’s created. But will she be able to conquer her fears before anyone else loses their life?

 

My Thoughts

Deadstream was a modern ghost story that used technology as a medium to produce some frights. It also dealt with mental illness, suicidal thoughts, panic disorder, family dynamics, and in a loose way, explored the dangers of the internet and the dark net in our society. After a car accident, the MC suffers from panic disorder and has difficulty leaving the comfort of her room so she turned to social media and other online platforms to make connections with other people. When she streams a live video of something terrifying, she doesn't know what to think so she asks the community their thoughts, something that propels her own account to explode, leaving her susceptible to everything that entails in the online world.

 

I thought the book was fun and interesting, and I really loved the format. While I am not really all that familiar with the gaming side of things, I have seen enough when my son is online to understand Twitch and ARGs, etc..., so I liked how the author really highlighted the messaging and comments that would be made in such a scenario.  The story flipped from what was happening in Teresa's world to the online world, a flip that was easy to follow. Personally, I liked the formatting and though it was well done.

 

I think there are very few people who don't have social media platforms anymore, so this one certainly made me think about a lot of things.  While not overt, the theme of technology in our lives and how much we rely on it is subtly explored as well as the abuse.  Personally, I don't think the consequences of the technology was explored enough; I know it will be here to stay, but we really need to understand how much of our privacy is undermined by the technology and how much we are willing to put up with before we say, enough!  While the story was fairly predictable, and I don't necessarily think the horror went deep enough for what was occurring, it was still riveting. And when I say the horror didn't go far enough, I am not only talking about actual horror elements, although it was those too, but the effects of people who obsess about their stats and their numbers and will do anything to improve them.

 

I did think the mental health aspect was well done, and I appreciated the glimpse into anxiety/panic disorder/trauma that was explored in this book. While I don't think it is quite that easy to do the things that Teresa did, the author did write them well and with compassion.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more character development, not just from Teresa, but from some of the secondary characters as well as more in-depth formation on the relationships that are developed online.

 

Verdict

Deadstream definitely made me think about the technology that I use in my life as well as the friendships I have made online. The author highlighted how important these online platforms are for people who suffer from trauma and panic disorders, but at the same time, was warning about the consequences, so it begs the questions, How much time should we spend on our technology? How real is the online world? How do we learn to teach young people how to be critical thinkers when it comes to technology? While we know technology is here to stay, we do need to stay in touch with those around us and live in the real world. Lots to ponder, that's for sure. And while I don't think it went far enough and the character development was a bit lacking, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in a technological horror novel.