Dark Metropolis

by Jaclyn Dolamore

Thea waits tables by night, and by day, she takes care of her mother, who is plagued with bound-sickness; her mother was magically bound to her husband when they were married, but Thea’s father disappeared in a war.  Those who are bound-sick are taken away to the asylum, and Thea lives in constant fear that someone will notice her mother’s deteriorating mental state and that she will be left entirely alone.  Then Thea meets Freddy at the Telephone Club, where she works, and her friend mysteriously disappears.  Thea is thrust into parts of the city she didn’t know existed and, along with Freddy, discovers the darker aspects of their community.
Although there was a lot going on for just about all of the book, there was a severe lack of depth to the world.  There was magic, but it was only mentioned or used in direct relation to the plot.  The magic wasn’t part of the world except as it was used to make the story work.  The characters also did very little that wasn’t directly related to the main storyline, and they didn’t seem to have lives outside the plot.
The book was fast paced, but it was also evenly paced, which I enjoyed.  I hate books that have a lot of depth and build-up only to reach the climax and end in about ten pages.  This book did a good job of building up, and realizations were made at the right times with enough spacing so the ending wasn’t rushed, but it still kept moving.  However, the climax was a little anticlimactic, which was pretty disappointing.  There were several realizations, some characters made decisions that were questionably in-character, and there was too much of the characters talking at each other and trying to convince everyone that they’re right.  The main thing that really bothered me was that, after significant sneaking and hiding of plans, characters simply revealed what they knew to each other for no apparent reason.
This book is a 3.2 and comparable to a small piece of white chocolate.  For the most part, it was enjoyable to read, like white chocolate is enjoyable to eat.  However, there isn’t much past the short burst of sweetness, and there isn’t any nutritional value.  This book is good if you like plot-driven, fast-paced books that aren’t too thought provoking.