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Dark Rites
The actors in the 1922 production of Weinstein’s Wonderacts have a secret: they aren’t just performers, they’re members of a Circle, a coven dedicated to enlightenment through magic. To enhance their power, they have their eye on the new girl in the cast, Margarite, a natural witch. But the coven’s leader, Vincent, isn’t satisfied. He’s hungry for more, to become a Complete Man. He turns to a mysterious wanderer for counsel, but could the teacher’s intentions and rituals be malevolent? Being the only one with true gifts, it’s up to Margarite to save her friends from enacting these dark rites.
- GenresFiction
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2015
456 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Jordan King
4 books20 followersJeremy Jordan King grew up in New Jersey, somewhere between the Pine Barrens and the ocean. His debut novel and introduction to the Immortal Testimonies series, In Stone, was published by Bold Strokes Books in 2012 and was listed in Advocate’s “Top 10 Books for Young LGBT Folks and Anyone Who Wants to Understand Them” and recommended by the American Library Association’s GLBT Round Table. His sophomore release, Night Creatures, was a finalist for the 2014 Rainbow Award in fantasy. The third installment of the series, Dark Rites, hit shelves in February. In addition to fiction, Jeremy is the librettist for the new musical, Eighty-Sixed, which is currently being developed. He lives in Manhattan.
Learn more at www.jeremyjordanking.com
Learn more at www.jeremyjordanking.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 6, 2015
Find this review & more @ bookishsilvertongue
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for a honest review.
Among the cast and crew of Weinstein's Wonderacts, hides the Circle: a coven of paranormal enthusiasts who seek enlightenment through magic. When Margarite, a natural born witch, joins them, some feel it's time to go further than small spells for luck, money and whatever glory can be found on a stage. Vincent, the main star of the show, sees the chance to finish his training to become a Complete Man, a great magician with the power to radically change the world.
But Margarite is not trained in magic, Vincent too eager in his quest for knowledge, and the two find themselves unwillingly caught in others' plans.
Not all teachers are to be trusted...
why read it:a very nice fantasy novel set in the 1920s, with a pretty diverse cast. Most characters are from a showbusiness background, of course, which means they're immersed in the Roaring 20s atmosphere everyone loves.
why not: the novel is set in the 1920s, and doesn't shy away from depicting the prejudices of the time. It might be upsetting for some people, especially as the main characters sometimes uphold those bigoted views (the narrative quite clearly condemns them, in case you were worried).
Wow. I don't even know where to begin from with this one, there were so many good things.
I feel I must preface this by pointing out I haven't read the two preceding novels in the series. I didn't even know it was a series - it's not stated anywhere on NetGalley nor on Goodreads - until I noticed "Immortal Testimonies" written on a side of the cover. Still, I feel it works perfectly as a stand alone novel, and the author himself points out, in his announcement for the second book: " all the books take place in the same world but don't necessarily need to be read in any particular order".
Anyway, I will likely go and catch up on the two previous novels eventually, because I adored Dark Rites.
I am in love with the characters. All of them: good, evil, protagonists and minor ones. All. Of. Them. They were interesting, both as individual characters and in relation to each other.
I especially adored Margarite, Vincent, Clarissa and Salvatore. While I like Margarite better (because how could I not, she's such a fluffy, wonderful girl), I think Vincent has the most amazing personal conflict. It was good, and realistic, seeing someone who wants to change the world for the better battle with his own prejudices. He ended up making me cry, and then Sal made me cry even more, but I must admit it was a wonderful storyline.
The way Rita's natural powers worked was unusual and brilliant, though sometimes the results made me die from second-hand embarrassment.
I wish we could have seen more Paramounts other than Sight, but there's all the time in sequels for that, right? (I desperately want a sequel, but the book is part of a very loosely connected series, so I guess there isn't much hope to see more of Margarite's adventures).
Even though my interest in the “Roaring 20s” is almost non-existent, the atmosphere was charming and sucked me in from the first few chapters. Though I must say I still found the parts about Prohibition and alcohol smuggling boring. It's just not an appealing topic for me.
At times the plot was a bit predictable, although I never guessed the full ending.
In the end, I think my only “real” complaint with this novel is that some passages made me hope for a same-sex relationship between two female characters, but I was disappointed. Then again, I always hope for female characters to be in a same-sex relationship, and it doesn't happen most of the times.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for a honest review.
Among the cast and crew of Weinstein's Wonderacts, hides the Circle: a coven of paranormal enthusiasts who seek enlightenment through magic. When Margarite, a natural born witch, joins them, some feel it's time to go further than small spells for luck, money and whatever glory can be found on a stage. Vincent, the main star of the show, sees the chance to finish his training to become a Complete Man, a great magician with the power to radically change the world.
But Margarite is not trained in magic, Vincent too eager in his quest for knowledge, and the two find themselves unwillingly caught in others' plans.
Not all teachers are to be trusted...
why read it:a very nice fantasy novel set in the 1920s, with a pretty diverse cast. Most characters are from a showbusiness background, of course, which means they're immersed in the Roaring 20s atmosphere everyone loves.
why not: the novel is set in the 1920s, and doesn't shy away from depicting the prejudices of the time. It might be upsetting for some people, especially as the main characters sometimes uphold those bigoted views (the narrative quite clearly condemns them, in case you were worried).
Wow. I don't even know where to begin from with this one, there were so many good things.
I feel I must preface this by pointing out I haven't read the two preceding novels in the series. I didn't even know it was a series - it's not stated anywhere on NetGalley nor on Goodreads - until I noticed "Immortal Testimonies" written on a side of the cover. Still, I feel it works perfectly as a stand alone novel, and the author himself points out, in his announcement for the second book: " all the books take place in the same world but don't necessarily need to be read in any particular order".
Anyway, I will likely go and catch up on the two previous novels eventually, because I adored Dark Rites.
I am in love with the characters. All of them: good, evil, protagonists and minor ones. All. Of. Them. They were interesting, both as individual characters and in relation to each other.
I especially adored Margarite, Vincent, Clarissa and Salvatore. While I like Margarite better (because how could I not, she's such a fluffy, wonderful girl), I think Vincent has the most amazing personal conflict. It was good, and realistic, seeing someone who wants to change the world for the better battle with his own prejudices. He ended up making me cry, and then Sal made me cry even more, but I must admit it was a wonderful storyline.
The way Rita's natural powers worked was unusual and brilliant, though sometimes the results made me die from second-hand embarrassment.
I wish we could have seen more Paramounts other than Sight, but there's all the time in sequels for that, right? (I desperately want a sequel, but the book is part of a very loosely connected series, so I guess there isn't much hope to see more of Margarite's adventures).
Even though my interest in the “Roaring 20s” is almost non-existent, the atmosphere was charming and sucked me in from the first few chapters. Though I must say I still found the parts about Prohibition and alcohol smuggling boring. It's just not an appealing topic for me.
At times the plot was a bit predictable, although I never guessed the full ending.
In the end, I think my only “real” complaint with this novel is that some passages made me hope for a same-sex relationship between two female characters, but I was disappointed. Then again, I always hope for female characters to be in a same-sex relationship, and it doesn't happen most of the times.
February 5, 2015
I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I was disappointed in this book. I expected more from the synopsis of the book. The tale is set in the early 1920's and follows the cast of Weinstein's Wonderacts, an extravagant song and dance production. Not only are the stars of the stage performers, they are also members of the Circle where the seek enlightenment through magic. This book should have been so much more. I kept feeling like something was missing from this book. The characters were under developed and hard to make a connection with. Marguerite is supposed to be the main female lead, but she hardly gets any page time. What page time she does get isn't very substantial. There isn't much detail in this book. I wanted to read more about what Marguerite and Vincent brought back from the other realm. I wanted detail on how Vincent was losing his mind and breaking down. I wanted more of a back story on Marguerite. She is introduced at the beginning of the book as a child. You learn she can see and talk to ghosts and that her aunt doesn't want her to have anything to do with an occult lifestyle. The book then jumps to ten or so years in the future where you learn Marguerite is the new performer in Weinstein's Wonderacts and her aunt has passed on. What was her upbringing like? How did her aunt shield her abilities. Was it awkward growing up knowing you could talk to ghosts? To me, this book had no substance. It was just surface fluff.
I was disappointed in this book. I expected more from the synopsis of the book. The tale is set in the early 1920's and follows the cast of Weinstein's Wonderacts, an extravagant song and dance production. Not only are the stars of the stage performers, they are also members of the Circle where the seek enlightenment through magic. This book should have been so much more. I kept feeling like something was missing from this book. The characters were under developed and hard to make a connection with. Marguerite is supposed to be the main female lead, but she hardly gets any page time. What page time she does get isn't very substantial. There isn't much detail in this book. I wanted to read more about what Marguerite and Vincent brought back from the other realm. I wanted detail on how Vincent was losing his mind and breaking down. I wanted more of a back story on Marguerite. She is introduced at the beginning of the book as a child. You learn she can see and talk to ghosts and that her aunt doesn't want her to have anything to do with an occult lifestyle. The book then jumps to ten or so years in the future where you learn Marguerite is the new performer in Weinstein's Wonderacts and her aunt has passed on. What was her upbringing like? How did her aunt shield her abilities. Was it awkward growing up knowing you could talk to ghosts? To me, this book had no substance. It was just surface fluff.
August 29, 2015
Dark Rites brings roaring twenties, show business, secret societies, magic, witches and gay stars and their phony public romances together in interesting and creative ways. It is quite enjoyable. It's about a group of stage actors who join together to use witchcraft to gain powers. And guess what? That never ends well does it? The narrative switches between many characters, and does not hit you over the head with all the connections you need to make to understand the story. You have to do some thinking. One of those is the relationships between all the characters, which shift quickly in the story, another being the intricacies of the hidden gay life of Vincent and Salvatore and maybe Rita? I did not know this was a series but it really isn't a series of connected people as much as it is a theme. I can see in the end how it can become more of true one, the plot open and inviting. I enjoyed learning about Margarite, Vincent, Clarissa and Salvatore, but could have stayed more with Margarite for my taste. It could have focused more on LGBT issues, but the focus was clearly the magic plot. There are some holes and switches that occur too fast and leave too much open, but it didn't detract from the book. I was pulled in to the sights and sounds of Broadway in the roaring age and had a good time.
January 20, 2017
I really love this series! A fun third installment.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews