Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. There, for the first time, Jane finds herself accepted by a group of friends. She even starts tutoring the headmistress’s gorgeous son, Lucien. Things seem too good to be true.
They are.
The more she learns about Birch Grove’s recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the former scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien’s brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much?
As Jane begins to piece together the answers to the puzzle, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove—and what she would risk to stay there….
I requested this book just because the cover is really pretty and it seemed like a book that I might kind of like, it turns out that I actually did really enjoy this book. i wouldn't say that I loved it but I definitely enjoyed reading it.
When I first started reading Dark Companion I really thought i saw where it was going - the boarding school, the creepy stories and the mysterious people all seemed to add up and I seriously thought that I was not getting anything original. Thankfully, the things that I thought I had figured out turned out to be wrong and I got something that was pretty unique. i don't want to give anything away, I want you to be surprised in the way that I did but I really did like that I got something pretty original, if not completely believable.
The characters are a bit of a mix for me. Certain characters, like Lucian, Jack and their parents were actually quite well done. I liked Lucian and Jack as polar opposites and their parents for the mystery they brought to the book. I especially liked Jack because he was rough and tough and spoke his mind. I also like Mary-Violet, I loved reading her dialogue because she always had me cracking up. Our main character, Jane, I didn't like as much, at first I thought she was okay, she was scientific and logical and street-smart, however the second she meets Lucian and finds out she's in danger that all changes. I didn't like how one minute she's all analytical and the next minute she's throwing herself stupidly into danger, her character didn't stay constant.
I really liked the gothic tone of this book, Acosta's writing may not seem like anything too new in YA novels but she does a very good job of setting a dark and ominous tone to the book and constantly making the reader suspect every character.
Overall, a dark novel which is pretty original. I liked most of the characters however I seriously disliked the main character at points.
Overall Rating: C
Book released 3rd July by Tor/Forge
Book received as an eGalley via NetGalley for review
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