I had a difficult time getting into this book. It starts off really slowly, and didn't pick up until about halfway through. It was really slowly paced and that was irritating beyond belief. Still, I did end up really enjoying it. The concept was definitely something pretty original, and although I think it was kind of too weird, it was still an awesome story.
THE HEROINE
JANE
I had a really hard time relating to Jane. She's so different from me that I had the worst time, actually. She's a pretty unusual girl and she's gone through some pretty difficult stuff. Also, she acts like an idiot multiple times and is obviously desperate. She thinks she''s so independent, but she's actually heavily dependent on other people. Still, even though she had many stupid moments, she was an okay heroine.
THE LOVE INTEREST
LUCIAN
I liked Lucian (or Lucky, as he's called) for maybe the span of the first time he was introduced. Maybe because Lucian is a sexy name. But Lucky was anything but sexy—in fact, I thought he was a total creep. Not only was he totally self-centered, but he was pretty much the living and breathing definition of a jerk.
JACK
Now Jack is sexy. I love Jack. Not only does he have this awesome devil-may-care attitude, but it's obvious from the beginning that he really cares about Jane, despite how frustrating she finds him. He's even a bit sweet. No matter of that, though. I really adored him and I love how he's not afraid to do the right thing, or how he lets and do what she wants, even if he thinks it's not the best choice.
THE VILLAIN
HATTIE
I actually liked Hattie all right. She ended up being a really loyal friend and that's something to admire. However, something is revealed about her in the last few pages that sent me reeling and also caused my level of respect for her to drop. Hugely.
MARY VIOLET
I adored Mary Violet. She has the most amazing sense of humor and is hilarious besides. Not only that, but she's a really good friend to Jane, who desperately needs friends when she first arrives at Birch Grove. She's a little absurd, but in a really fun way.
THE PLOT
I liked the plot alright once it got started. However, it took forever to get started.
And while the concept was definitely original, it was also just a tad too creepy.
Still, I've definitely never read anything at all like this before. It was really neat to dive into the world that Marta created. Her idea was really different, as I've said.
Still, at some points it was kind of too weird to think about. Also, Lucky being such a creep didn't help anything.
Plus, there were some things thrown in that were so random that they left my head completely spinning and completely confused. I was just like, Wait what even happened here? for a good part of the novel, due to all these random elements being thrown in.
Anyway, the plot was definitely unique and enjoyable.
THE ROMANCE
Well, Lucky was a self-centered creep, so his romance with Jane was obviously not the best thing I've ever seen. But I did like the development of Jane and Jack's relationship. The romance in this book moves a little fast, but I still wouldn't call it instalove. It takes more time than that. Marta overall does a great job with the romance, and it really moves in the direction that it needs to.
THE WRITING
I enjoy reading Marta's writing. It's not my favorite, but first person usually isn't, so don't take me too seriously. Jane has a pretty real voice and it's still hard to relate to her, but I think hearing her voice does help a little. She describes everything in a beautiful way and Marta's dialogue is a bit simplistic but still nicely done. All in all, a talented writer.
THE ENDING
Actually, this totally threw me off and I was really confused as to what had happened. Marta just put things random thing in at like the last minute and it left me feeling utterly confused. Aside from that, it was a little too neat and clean for me. Stuff was brushed off too easily and such, and that bothered me. Still, the ending could have been worse.
WRAPUP
Even though I struggled with Dark Companion, I would most definitely recommend it. I'll probably read whatever she puts out in the future. I really did enjoy and like this book, and the fact that it's so original shows that she'll probably put more original stuff out too!
FINE.
***FINAL RATING: 2.90 RED ROSES***
