Review: Six (Sundancer #1)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 26, 2013
The idea behind SIX is what hooked me first. Half human, half witch, darklings, like Emma, do not feel emotions. As they age, they either forget what emotions feel like, or give them up to gain power. As someone who prefers to not show emotions (except maybe anger :D ), I was super curious to see how the author would pull of an unfeeling character.Emma is a hard character to grasp at the start of SIX, and that’s on purpose. Because she doesn’t have most emotions, it’s difficult to relate to her. I thought the author did a good job of showing what little Emma feels at the start, both with the style of writing and how Emma interacts with those around her.As a Darkling who is very nearly “gone,” or totally unfeeling, Emma is in danger of being killed by her new allies. She must either relearn emotions and live, fail and be killed, or surrender to be the wife of the ruler of the darklings. Only the first option is a good one, since both of the others would result in her death.Over the course of SIX, Emma does manage to relearn most emotions. I’ll let you read to see if she succeeds in finding all of the six: fear, anger, sadness, surprise, joy, and love. Love, naturally, is the hardest to feel, but Emma is sure that she’ll be able to feel it with Finn, the first male darkling she meets. Considered an abomination, male darklings are not allowed to procreate, and Finn guards his heart so that he doesn’t fall for anyone.For a good part of SIX, I wasn’t convinced with the relationship between Emma and Finn. I wasn’t sure why Emma was so captivated by Finn (even though he is hot and a nice guy). It seemed a bit weird to me that she would be so interested in the first male she’s ever seen, to the point of wanting to love him. Eventually there is an explanation, which helped the relationship make more sense to me. I’ll let you find that one out, too.Emma’s process of relearning emotions is one of the best parts of SIX. She’s aided in this by both Finn and Lana. Lana was the standout of the book for me, a total kickbutt character who spoke her mind alllll of the time. Lana protects and befriends Emma, and gives her a kick in the behind when necessary.SIX is set in a really interesting world. That world was my other favorite part of the book, so I wish there had been a little more information on it, but what is there is really cool. Darklings like Lana who give up their magic live in circles, where there is mostly nothingness. In the Dark Citadel, where dark witches who have embraced their powers and given up emotions, the world is built on magic, and mostly fake. It’s a good contrast, and I like that SIX is a New Adult Dystopian book.An interesting read for sure, especially if you like seeing characters grow and change in a book.Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.