10 October 2011
REVIEW: Dark Passage by M.J. Putney
dark pASSAGE
M.J. Putney
978-0-312-62285-5
St. Martin’s Press/Griffin
September 2011
Historical/YA/Time Travel Romance
BACK COVER BLURB:
Merlin's
Irregulars are grateful to have made it safely home to 1803 England, but their
view of the world has changed. Not only are they more confident and proud of
their part in the heroic Dunkirk evacuation, but their powers have increased
because of their dangerous and exhausting magical work.
Tory
and Allarde become closer everyday until an agonizing conflict threatens to
tear them apart. Allarde is deeply connected to his family's estate, the land
he will one day inherit, but only if he denies his magical abilities. Being
with Tory will deny him his heritage, and his family lets Tony know this. Will
she have the strength to end their relationship?
Cynthia
is now a powerful and respected member of the Irregulars, but her prickly
attitude keeps everyone at a distance. Feeling isolated and very alone at
Lackland Abbey over the Christmas holidays makes her even surlier than usual,
but an invitation from Jack Rainford to join in his family's festivities is an
unexpected delight. There's an attraction between the two young mages, but will
Cynthia let her guard down enough to let herself fall in love?
Then
the Irregulars are called upon again. Once before their magic helped save
England's future. Can they do it again?
COVER SNARK:
I
like this cover. It conveys the message.
FIRST LINES:
Tory had almost reached her destination when a machine gun blasted crazily from the farmhouse ahead.
LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I
really enjoy this series. I really do. To me DARK PASSAGE combines a lot my
favorite things: magic, WWII, love, school adventure, time travel, and
historical detail.
I
liked Tory as a character. She's come a long way from the first book. I am
really curious as to where Ms. Putney is going with her and especially her relationship
with Allarde. Tory's like sixteen now, will she be more open about her magic
and be stuck at Lackland until she's twenty-one? Will she just say screw it and
leave and start a life on her own? These are burning questions that I'm dying
to know.
Yet,
no matter how much I liked Tory, Cynthia (Tory's snobby roommate) really shined
in this installment. Cynthia has that edge that Tory lacked and her journey was
more of a focus in DARK PASSAGE than Tory's was. I loved Cynthia's evolution.
It was a complete 180 degree turn, yet Cynthia was still Cynthia. While Tory is
still ambiguous, I think Cynthia is actually a stronger character and I
actually don't worry about her as much, because I know that she has the
strength to pursue her own happiness.
OKAY
LOOK AT ME, I AM TAKING ABOUT CHARECTERS IN A BOOK LIKE THEY ARE MY KIDS.
SERIOUSLY, DO YOU HEAR ME HERE. I HAVE ISSUES!
Anyhoo.
The plot is rich, layered, and keep me on my toes. The minute I finished DARK
PASSAGE, I immediately re-read it. I admit that I might be biased, because I
really enjoy WWII fiction.
It
is so hard for me to describe this book. It is such a mash-up. If you're used
to Mary Jo Putney's romances, you might be disappointed, because the focus
isn't on the romance, but the development of the characters. If you don't like
time travels, you might be disappointed because the story is sooo deeply
entranced in both time periods 1803 and 1941. Even for die-hard young adult
readers, it might give them pause, because the historical details are such a
part of the characters that it's almost effortless. And once again, it's not
focused on the hero/heroine and their happily ever after, but the character's
journey. Also, I love, love, love the historical details the world full of
magic that Ms. Putney has created. I'm sorry to say that there are few
historical or paranormal romance authors out there who makes this appear so
effortless like Ms. Putney has done.
DARK
PASSAGE was a homerun for me and I'm looking forward to seeing what she's doing
next. Even as I'm saying this, I know that others might think differently
because really it's hard to put this work in a neat box. DARK PASSAGE was
written outside the box of what's being written today and it was executed
beautifully.
This
review is totally lame. I know this! My bad!
WHERE PURCHASED:
It
was a gift from my Twitter buddy Sarah who knows I love this series and sent me
the ARC she had received. I am blessed!
RATING:
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2 people posted their 2 cents:
Hm...was the first book with a mirror? Oh I need to google
Yes, Dark Mirror is the first book. I reviewed it
http://lynettestwocents.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-dark-mirror-by-mj-putney.html
My review is lame, but when I get excited about a book my reviews are always lame! LOL!