E.V. Wood’s debut novel, Girls of Dark Divine, will entice readers with its unique premise and descriptive writing style, but the story’s weak character development and lack of world building might let them down. Though it is written in the 3rd person, Wood only gives you the perspective of Emberlyn, the star ballerina in a legendary troupe that is being magically controlled by an evil puppet master, Malcom, who calls the troupe his “Marionettes”. Malcom controls what they eat, what they can talk about, where they go, and he beats them viciously. The curse that controls the Marionettes also took all of their pre-Marionette memories, and is slowly killing them from the inside out. The stakes are high, but everyone except Emberlyn has submitted to their doomed situation. Her only hope for breaking the curse and saving more girls from harm is to kill Malcolm, which Emberlyn decides she must do alone.

The limited perspective really hinders the story. Because Emberlyn has no memories, can’t go outside, and isolates herself from the other dancers she considers sisters, the reader only hears her thoughts for almost 400 pages. A big disappointment is the lack of character development for the other dancers who are little more than their names. Many of the girls don’t even have one line of dialog in the book, let alone a personality. A love interest who turns to dust in the light and sneaks around the theater, also cursed by Malcolm, is introduced halfway through the story, but their insta-love hidden romance barely affects the plot. Wood’s writing style could really make or break the reader’s enjoyment of Girls of Dark Divine. On the one hand, Wood’s flowery writing style paired with the slightly gothic, romantic vibes of the story will be enough to please some readers. On the other hand, the near constant repetition of previously established facts, the brutal descriptions of physical violence, and the incredibly slow build of the plot will have many readers putting it down only a few chapters in.

Skip Girls of Dark Divine unless you have readers who only want to read about beautiful, sad ballerinas.

Reviewed by Ivy Burns, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth