Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock’s hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer’s eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish. (Goodreads summary)
How does the saying go? “Good Steampunk is hard to find?”
Ok. So maybe that’s not precisely how it goes, but sadly, that fact doesn’t make the statement any less true.
I’ll admit, Innocent Darkness first caught my eye because of it’s cover. Adorned with gears, a dirigible, the obligatory corset/pocket watch/brass-‘n-leather goggles combo, and a rebellious looking heroine ready to flout Victorian-era conventions, this cover said to me, “Hi there. I’m steampunk. Grab a cuppa and read me.”
And I said, “Thank the Aether.” It’s been a while since I read an excellent book of the steampunk variety.
Sadly, I shouldn’t have pinned my hopes on this one. Typically, I don’t even mentioned covers in my reviews, but for this book I felt compelled to say something about it simply because I think the cover is misleading. Innocent Darkness is barely, barely Steampunk. Instead it’s more a story of faerie, which is fine. However, in my opinion, this book shouldn’t be visually marketed so heavily as a genre it barely touches on. Besides the altered historical time line (which the reader scarcely sees evidence of), a flying car that introduces our heroine, and several mentions of aether, airships and mechanical doodads, the Steampunk element is pretty superfluous. At least in this first book. Who knows? It could become an integral part of the world and story in subsequent novels… just not in this one.
The heroine, Magnolia, or “Noli,” is advertised as a “hoyden.” From the saucy vibe of the girl on the cover and from the blurb, I was really hoping for a sassy, kick-butt, strong female lead who’s struggling to find her place in a restrictive Victorian society. Unfortunately, the cover misled again. In the end, I found Noli to be almost the kind of girl she despised; the girl she insisted she was not. She isn’t what I’d call mindless, prattling or insipid, but she doesn’t really stand up for herself either, or even have much of a backbone. Instead she tends to do what the men in her life want her to do. She almost needs their affirmation and therefore doesn’t feel at all independent or equal to her male counterparts. She’s a follower. She’s not brash. She has rare moments of sass. And I know that the title is Innocent Darkness, but I found Noli to be very naïve for a girl who’d buck her mother’s authority and the law to fix cars and hoverboard illegally. Who she is at the beginning, compared to who she proves to be throughout, compared to who she says she is just feels incongruous. In the end, Noli just doesn’t mature as a character, and I just couldn’t find that all-important connection to her, which is unfortunate.
Moving on to the romance. Innocent Darkness does feature a love triangle, a love triangle that, in my opinion, feels forced on Noli’s part. I won’t say much about the whole sordid affair (because it’d reveal too much about the plot), but after certain revelations come to light, I just had a really hard time believing Noli’s continued interest in one of the guys. (We’ll call him Boy #1.) Especially considering who the Boy #2 is. Especially when Boy #1 means her harm. To me, Boy #1 wasn’t a handsome, troubled-yet-redeemable bad boy, he was the type of guy who screams “Danger! And I don’t mean the good kind!” Seriously girl, put your Nikes on and make tracks.
In regards to the story, I found the plot interesting enough, if not predictable. It was compelling in that I wanted to see where the love story ended up, if Noli would achieve any growth as a character, and how the main plot point would resolve. I did find the writing style a bit hard to adjust to. It wasn’t middle grade, it was definitely YA, but perhaps more simplistic in style? I also found the dialogue to be a bit awkward at times, perhaps due to further emotional development being needed in some situations. The dialogue is another reason why I found Noli to be overly naïve, I think. Also, the storytelling style and her naivete also didn’t jive somehow with the… <ahem>… somewhat mature situations that went on between Noli and her gentlemen.
Overall, while I like the idea behind Innocent Darkness, a lackluster heroine, a forced love triangle, a predictable resolution, and the whole Steampunk question ultimately left me disappointed.
Due to some mature content, I’d recommend this book for an older teen audience.
Author: Suzanne Lazear
Title: Innocent Darkness
Series: The Aether Chronicles (Book #1)
Published: August 8th 2012 by Flux
Format: Paperback, 408 pages
Website: www.suzannelazear.com
Source: Review copy provided via NetGalley
My rating: 
Happy Reading!
How disappointing. I was so looking forward to this one. I may have to skip it. Me and Faerie’s aren’t the best of friends.
Yeah. I’m not very big into faerie books either. However, I didn’t really have issues with that part of it, as some of the faerie parts were the most interesting. I just wish the faerie to steampunk ratio had been a bit more clear… and that Noli had been better developed. If her character had been stronger and more consistent, I think that would’ve made a huge difference in how I view the book.
Ouchie, ouchie, ouchie. There are too many no-no elements in here. I mean, I could live with the faerie thing. I like the myth. I have even touched some mixes between magic and steampunk that held promise. It’s just the other parts: the parts where the character is impossible to relate to and where you want to shake some sense into her, in the bad way.
I think I’m going to stay clear from this one from now. Perhaps I’ll wait till book 2 comes out, see what happens then.
Thanks for the wonderful review, Dani!
Thanks Ron! Yeah, connecting to the characters is super important. 😛
Too bad this one didn’t work for you, Dani! I’ve yet to read a Steampunk story–I need to get on it.
Thanks, I really wanted to like this one :/
If you’re looking for recommendations, some great steampunk stories I love are:
The Greyfriar by Clay & Susan Griffith
The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (technically this is probably more Neo-Victorian as it takes place in the future, but society has reverted back to Victorian ideals/lifestyle.)
Thanks for the recs! Dearly, Departed sounds WHACK! I’m going to start with Destiny’s Fire by Omnific author Trisha Wolfe then I may try one of those on your list.
Thanks for this review! I was planning on reading this book with the same cover-based expectations, but now I think I’ll look for a stronger steampunk book. I agree with the user who said this book has too many “no-no elements.” If I can’t relate to the MC, I’m not going to love the book.
Also, I would say that the Infernal Devices series has steampunk elements. Doesn’t it?
I hate that my opinion would turn someone away from a book, because everyone’s preferences are different. You may enjoy this where I did not. But as you said, if you are looking for a strong steampunk book, then yeah, this is not really that book.
The Infernal Devices is steampunk, yes.
I listed a few great steampunkish books in a comment above too, if you’re interested in checking those out.
Thanks for stopping by, Lydia!
Ugh…I’m so sad this didn’t turn out well. =/
It’s too bad the story didn’t live up to the awesomeness of the cover – but I get why you couldn’t relate to the main character. Especially if she wants to be strong and independent and keeps harping on it, you’d think she’d act like it.
Yeah, it was just kinda inconsistent. Oh well
Thanks for stopping by, Christina!
Such a shame. I like books about faeries, but I can understand it’s disappointing when a book doesn’t live up to it’s genre! Thanks for your honest review.
Yeah, unfortunately that was just one of the many things I didn’t like about the book… but if you know it’s a book about faerie going into it, you might enjoy it more than I did
Thanks for stopping by, Mel!
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear this isn’t a good read. I’m still looking for a steampunk novel that makes me giddy. I think I’d pass on this one, too. Noli doesn’t sound like a heroine I’d grow to care too much about and dialogue is my favorite thing and it bothers me right off the bat if it’s awkward.
Characters and dialogue are my big button issues too, and yeah, unfortunately this book just missed the mark on both for me
Thanks for stopping by, Misha!
So, “Put your Nike’s on and make tracks” is officially my favorite sentence in the world. Ever. I laughed myself to tears, and then just the tears because I wasn’t the clever gal that came up with it! On to the review, I have heard in several reviews the exact issues that you had. Mainly being the steampunk that isn’t steampunk. I can definitely understand the cover being misleading. But BOY, that cover is one of the best. I fell in like over it as soon as I saw it. I think I will still check it out, but I will go into it knowing what NOT to expect, and hopefully I can enjoy myself. Thanks for your review!
lol… glad to amuse. 😉 But yeah, if you go in knowing it’s more faerie than steampunk, you might enjoy it more than I did. I look forward to seeing what you think!
I agree the cover is beautiful! I never wanted to read the book and now that I’ve read your review, its totally a no no! Thanks for the help!
You’re welcome! Thanks for commenting, Erica