Book Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen–everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable…utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting, and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked–bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

I cannot help but notice how influential Victorian literature was on Leanna Renee Heiber when she was working on the plot for Darker Still. This is not a bad thing! I personally love Victorian and Gothic literature (Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, etc)so I noticed a number of similarities in Hieber’s narrative and that of Bronte, Shelley, and Austen. Not only does the story have similarities to these works, but Natalie, the main character, has similarities to some of the classic heroines as well. (It doesn’t hurt that Natalie is also a book worm that relishes in the fantasies provided by the Victorian writers of her time, since it does take place in 1880.) I must say I enjoyed the twist on the Dorian Gray issue in this story.

It took me by surprise that an established writer like Hieber would use the literary device of the character’s narrative being told through a journal, but I understand why this choice was necessary due to the main character being Mute. Now, Natalie is a mute almost by choice (she had a traumatic childhood experience that effectively silenced her), so it establishes her as a bit of an outcast regarding stereotypical mutes. How else are readers supposed to hear her story, told in first person, without the use of a journal or a story written down. I suppose Hieber could have used stream of consciousness, but the journal worked adequately.

I really appreciate that the main female characters, save Maggie, were very strong willed. Typically period pieces can cast the main female characters in a passive agressive lead role, but Natalie and Mrs. Northe defy this stereotype.
The plot was well constructed, but I still have questions about the “magic” used to release Denbury from his prison. There are a lot of mythical things at play from Runes to Egyptology, and sometimes the narrative was bogged down by confusing explanations of how they were related and what not. (I’m still NOT sure why it was vital for this demon to destroy Denbury and not some other random person.) But regardless of my confusion I was still engrossed in the turmoil as it unfolded.

I think the only major problem with the narrative that I noticed was Hieber’s use of what reviewers tend to call “instalove.” I understand that Hieber explains via Natalie that Denbury’s portrait is described as mesmorizingly realistic and that a typical woman falls in love with his beauty upon seeing it. Hence when Natalie and Denbury meet, we watch as Natalie almost instantly develops feelings for this man she barely knows. Now, there is a redeeming part of this, Hieber allows Natalie to question her feelings quite often which makes the relationship much more realistic (or rather, as realistic as a love story can be when one party is trapped in a painting.) I enjoyed Denbury and Natalie’s connection to one another, as predictable as it was, and cheered for them the entire story.

Overall, I think it is an impressive start to a series and a good debut for Hieber in the YA market. What can I say? I couldn’t put it down. 4 Bards.