By Tera Kinsman
Dark Hope by Monica McGurk is a YA fiction book about Hope Carmichael, a teenager who was abducted as a child. Her father had raised her in a religious, overprotective environment, until she was 15. Hope’s mother gained custody, and she finally has a chance to be a normal teenager in Atlanta, Georgia.
At school, Hope makes her first real friend, Michael. He’s every girl’s dream, and Hope can’t believe he even noticed her. But there is more to him than meets the eye, and strange things begin to happen to Hope. She is dragged into an ancient conflict, centered on her.
Hope is the Bearer of the Key, the one destined to open the Gate of Heaven and unleash the fury of the Fallen Ones, a fate worse than Armageddon, unless Michael and Hope find a way to stop them.
I actually found myself liking this book. It wasn’t what I would’ve normally picked out for myself, especially considering the length of my TBR (to be read) list. I thought it would be overdone, another cheesy gothic romance. But the plot was actually exciting, and it opened my eyes to the sinister and disturbing underworld of human trafficking, which plays a major role in the events of the story.
The romance isn’t insta-love or any of the other usual YA themes. While Michael and Hope quickly fall into “like” with each other, their relationship is complicated. Hope is never sure whether she can really trust Michael, or if she is just a pawn in a battle much bigger than herself. She wants to be close to him, to pretend like they’re just friends (or more than friends) back in Atlanta, but her own inner voice, and that of her Guardian Angel, Henri, keeps her doubting.
Dark Hope is the first of a trilogy, so I think it will be interesting to see how their relationship changes in the next books.
A portion of the profits from the book will be donated to organizations to combat human trafficking, especially sexual trafficking of minors, which is super cool.
To learn more about Monica McGurk, please visit her website or follow her on her social channels.
Monica’s Twitter
Monica’s Pinterest
Monica’s Facebook
Please share in comments: What is your favorite YA book?
Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Our thanks to Clever Girls for sponsoring this post today. While we received a copy of Dark Hope and compensation, all opinions are 100% our own. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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Great review Tera! This sounds like the type of book I would have loved to read as a teen (and still would! lol) I'll recommend it to our library asap!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Great Post! Books are so cool =)
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Tera! My teen read and reviewed Dark Hope as well :) I think it's going to be popular with teens!
ReplyDeleteI don't read much YA content, but this does sound really good. & I love how it touches the very real issue of human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteWow, this sounds like a great story - I'm going to pin this for ideas of what to read in the future!!
ReplyDeleteHi Barb,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your supportive comment and for recommending Dark Hope at your local library so teens there can enjoy it.
Hi Cali,
ReplyDeleteYes, books are cool!
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'll have to stop by and read your review too.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI agree that human trafficking is a topic that needs to be discussed with our teens, so I was glad Dark Hope touched on it.
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteIt really is a good book I hope you get to read soon. Thanks for pinning and commenting.
Great review and it sounds like a good read thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteHi Dana,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope yo get the chance to read it.
Not exactly the genre I read but this does sound like a very good book! I will be putting it on my TBR list which is so long I'm beginning to wonder how I am going to read them all!!
ReplyDeleteI like reading YA books and angel ones are normally pretty good :)!
ReplyDeleteI will be checking this one out, if you are looking for other good Angel books The Fallen by Lauren Kate is a really good YA series
It says a lot that it caught you up in it even though it's not normally your thing. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteIt's weird, but this story really reminds me of the Christopher Pike books we used to read as teens. Sounds like a great read!
ReplyDeleteWow sounds like a powerful book!
ReplyDeleteSound like a great book. I do love a book with romance in it. I don't get a chance to read as often as I would like. I also love that a portion of the sales is going to combat human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteHi Miki,
ReplyDeleteI normally don't read this genre either, but once my daughter gave it such high marks, I knew I had to put it on my ever growing TBR list as well.
Hi Savannah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book recommendation. I'll be sure to keep The Fallen in mind!
Hi Liz,
ReplyDeleteI agree. Normally, this book would get nothing more than a cursory glance from both my daughter and myself, so the author did a great job of breaking out of the mold.
Hi Literary Writer,
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm going to have to Google Mr. Pike now because his name doesn't ring a bell.
Hi Athena,
ReplyDeleteYes, my daughter truly liked this book. It's still on my TBR list.
Hi Amber,
ReplyDeleteHaving part of the proceeds go to raising awareness on human trafficking was one of the biggest reasons we chose to read and review this book.
This sounds really interesting and one that would keep me reading.
ReplyDeleteheather hgtempaddy@hotmail.com