Book Review of "The Space Between" by Brenna Yovanoff

Title: The Space Between
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Classification: YA Fiction, Paranormal
Source: Bought

Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

A lyrical, character-driven, thrilling paranormal with a slight creep-factor!


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Summary (from Goodreads): 

Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

This second novel by rising star Brenna Yovanoff is a story of identity, discovery, and a troubled love between two people struggling to find their place both in our world and theirs.

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My Thoughts:

WARNING: Reading this book may slice and dice your heart and put it back together again several thousand times. I am of the opinion that books which do not do this are not worth reading. If you feel the same way, carry on.

This deeply lyrical novel was such an emotional rollercoaster! I love when a book is able to deliver a full range of emotions throughout the story, while also keeping you incredibly entertained. Yovanoff was also able to do this in her debut, The Replacement, but I feel that The Space Between is the stronger of the two.

The connection that you feel as a reader to Daphne and Truman, as well as a host of minor characters, is nearly instant. The characterization is very skilled in this book, with both Daphne and Truman's current situation, past experiences, and relationships with those closest to them being illustrated with ease.

When we are first introduced to Daphne, the strangeness of her world is almost a little unsettling. Pandemonium, a version of Hell, is in itself a little difficult to understand, as is her relationship with her mother, Lilith.

However, the novel moves fairly quickly, which allows you to get over the slightly confusing descriptions of Pandemonium and the relationships between the characters who live there.

By the time that Truman is introduced and Daphne heads to Earth for the first time to rescue her brother Obie, the characters carry the narrative along. Yovanoff gets her hooks in deep with characters like Truman, impossibly tortured, bordering on mentally destitute, breaking my heart with every page.

Daphne is such an interesting narrator, because growing up in Pandemonium makes her a veritable fish-out-of-water on Earth. This results in several non-sequiturs between her and other characters that really help to lighten the mood!

Pairing Daphne's other-worldliness with the fragility of Truman's situation creates a relationship that only these two characters could have. Daphne is honest and already understands Truman's hardship going into their first meeting, making it impossible for him to hide behind whatever walls he usually puts up to cope.

The mystery side of this novel, who kidnapped Obie and why?, is very fast-paced, leading Truman and Daphne on a strange journey where they meet even stranger characters along the way.

At the end of the novel, the changes that you see in Truman and Daphne are exquisite, with enough character growth and development of their relationship to make their journey of strange incidents and suffering and mystery seem all too worth it.

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Overall Grade:

A+

I thought...

A lyrical, character-driven, thrilling paranormal
with a slight creep-factor!



Add to Goodreads | Order from Amazon

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