🖤🎭 Girls of Dark Divine 🎭🖤

• E.V. Woods @evwoodsauthor

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Girls of Dark Divine is the story of a dance troupe, cursed to dance as marionettes until they turn to dust. Their limbs are controlled by invisible strings, masterminding by the show’s manager Malcolm. Emberlyn had always dreamed of being on the stage, but now she’s stuck in a twisted nightmare of her once-cherished dream. When the troupe has the opportunity to travel to another city and perform in a grand theatre, Emberlyn meets an elusive boy made of shadows who may hold the key to her freedom.

I adored the premise of this. If anyone is a Criminal Minds fan, this has the same vibes as that one episode that Matthew Gray Gubler directed, where the victims were being turned into human marionettes (or maybe I’m so in deep with the Criminal Minds fandom I will relate anything and everything back to it). It also has a distinct Phantom of the Opera energy about it, especially with Etienne hiding in the shadows of the basement of the theatre.

The romance subplot between Emberlyn and Etienne was light, and I would have loved to see more of this. Alternately, I loved the relationship between Emberlyn and the other girls trapped in the dance troupe. I also think Malcolm had the potential to be a really interesting and complex villain, but unfortunately I did think he felt slightly caricatured.

I’d heartily recommend this to fans of gothic fantasy, eerie stories and vivid, compelling descriptions. I’m so very excited to see this go out into the world, and what E.V. Woods has in store next!

Girls of Dark Divine releases on August 5th. Thanks to @usborneya for the ARC copy!