Goodreads | Amazon

• Source: Review Copy
• Pages: 362
• Publication Date: May 13th, 2019
• Publisher: Back Roads Carnival Books
• My Rating: 3.5/5

The Night and the Land by Matt Spencer is a dark fantasy book where the main characters, Sally and Rob meet each other amongst menacing circumstances. Living among ‘Earth-liners,’ Rob has always known there is something different about him. Sally is on the run from her dangerous family and finds herself in Brattleboro, Vermont. The two meet and fall for each other but soon realize they are star-crossed lovers as a Spirelight and a Crimbone cannot be together.

The book starts with a scene where Rob is a child. Some murders take place nearby and he notices his father acting weirdly. They are visited by a man who is a stranger to Rob but seems to know his dad well. Rob doesn’t know what his dad is hiding but is aware that something about his dad scares other people.

It took me a while to get into the story. We don’t get to know about the background until the middle of the book and that left me confused as to what was going on. The plot picks up pace after that.

I admired Sally’s courage. She had been through a lot and she never let her guard down for anyone until Rob came along. At first, I didn’t like Rob. He is described as someone who is lazy and he fell in love with Sally too quickly. However, he turns out to be a more complex character as the book progresses. There are many other characters in the novel, especially sinister ones, like Sally’s family.

The story gets very gruesome in some places. There is a lot of violence.

I didn’t love the writing style. It was very crude and perhaps, that kind of narration is not for me. I think the writing style could have been more polished as it felt sloppy at places.

The Night and the Land is a good book for someone who enjoys fantasy on the darker side. It has lots of action, intriguing characters, and a romantic story filled with hope.

Connect with me on Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads