Review: Loved the setting & the story was very suspenseful and romantic
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 1, 2013
I really liked the idea of being able to go back and get this prolonged flashback into Daniel's past and see more of who he is as a character and where he's come from. I do want to point out, though, that you must wait until after you've read Something Strange and Deadly, the first book in the series, to read this novella, even though it's technically listed as "Something Strange and Deadly #0.5." There are a few (moderate) spoilers in this novella for things that happen in the first book, even though it does take place before it, because the novella starts and ends during the final scene of Something Strange and Deadly.But I had a lot of fun reading this story about Daniel's life before he met Eleanor, and absolutely loved that it was set on a steamship. It was the perfect atmosphere for late 1800s-era steampunk, and really made the story come alive. It was almost like the ship was a character itself, as it contributed to the story quite a lot.Unlike the first novel in this series, I wasn't able to figure out who the "bad guy" was until the twist was revealed...so that was a big relief. I loved the suspenseful tone of this novella, and enjoyed getting to learn more about the zombie-ghosts. We get to find out more about how they work and what they are, which was exciting, because they aren't really explained in-depth in Something Strange and Deadly. And I always like my fantasy/science fiction-ish literature to make a lot of sense, so I really liked that aspect of A Dawn Most Wicked.I didn't think that I was going to enjoy reading about Daniel's prior love affair, as I really liked the romance between him and Eleanor in Something Strange and Deadly and was worried that reading about him and somebody else was going to ruin it for me. But his relationship with Cass was a lot different than his relationship with Eleanor, and they were both had different personalities...although they are both strong female individuals, which just goes to show that Daniel kind of has a "type." And I liked that, because I really enjoy reading about girls who are independent and smart, but also feminine in their own way.The ending of Daniel and Cass' love story was quite heartbreaking, and I was really sad that it ended the way that it did. At the end, Daniel explains how his feelings for Cass are different from those for Eleanor, but I honestly didn't totally get what he was saying. For some reason, I was able to feel a much deeper connection to the love story between him and Cass than the one between him and Eleanor, so in that sense, it did kind of ruin for my slightly. But I'm hoping that my opinion will change as the rest of the series continues.Ultimately, I would strongly recommend that you read this novella if you've read Something Strange and Deadly, and I'm really excited to start reading more novellas from some of my other favorite series as well!