A Drop of Night
A genre-bending thriller from internationally bestselling author Stefan Bachmann perfect for fans of The Maze Runner and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods. “A fast-paced thrill ride . . . Chilling . . . The suspense begins from the first page. I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Frankenstein.”—YA Books Central
Seventeen-year-old Anouk has finally caught the break she’s been looking for—she’s been chosen to participate in an exclusive program that includes an all-expenses-paid trip to France and a chance to explore the hidden underground Palais du Papillon, or Palace of the Butterfly. Along with four other gifted teenagers, Anouk will be one of the first people to set foot in the palace in more than two hundred years. But the expedition is not all it seems. The students’ supposed benefactors are trying to kill them. And so is the palace itself, which is filled with deadly traps and invisible monsters. Can Anouk and the others figure out how to work together and escape? Bachmann’s masterful scene-building alternates between Anouk’s flight through the palace and the struggles of Aurélie, who escaped the French Revolution by fleeing into the Palais du Papillon in 1789. “Certain to please those who demand constant action blended with their historical fiction.”—Booklist
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Community Reviews
Okay. Either Iâm like the worst person to read horror because it takes a LOT to disturb me or scare me or⦠this book just wasnât truly horror. It relied more heavily on the mystery and lack of answers aspect than horror. It was like a mind-game was being played with the characters and yet⦠there were no clues being offered up throughout the course of the book to even give the reader (or the characters) a chance at figuring out the puzzle.
The MC
God. The MC, Anouk. I thought that I could get along with Anouk. I thought we might have something in common (snarky attitude and what not), but no. Anouk is just a raging bitch with literally NO redeeming qualities. She canât even find it in herself to be civil with other people and Iâm anything if not civil with people, even those whom I hate. So, this really irked me because I hated reading from her POV.
Dual-POV in Different Times
Ugh! This bothered me so much! I actually really liked Aurelie and her POV, BUT it was not appropriate for this book. For many reasons, in fact.
1) Her chapters acted as a âheads-upâ to the present day chapters, taking away all the potential thrill factor from them. *sigh*
2) Didnât offer anything to the story that wasnât already placed within the present day chapters.
3) I wouldâve preferred to read the historical sections for the entire book than the present day sections because of the narrators. -.-
Oh the loose ends
One thing that kind of bothered about this story was that it was just like: âhere! Answers!â And I was like⦠um⦠those donât add up. Because they didnât. It gave explanations to what was going on and most of it made sense, but there were a couple aspects that literally just didnât fit into the way the story was designed. Thus, it left an unclean ending and made it feel as though there were plotholes.
Lesson #2 - Don't read alone at night, especially right before bed.
Lesson #3 - Just.. don't read it alone, okay?
A Drop of Night was so much more than I was expecting. It's a genre-mashing thrill ride that took my imagination to new heights. I swear, my body was covered in goosebumps while reading this book. There were times when I would shudder and set the book down because I was wholly freaked out. But yet, I loved it.
We actually get two stories told parallel together that are equally important. We see the events between 1789-1790 that started it all, and then we get the present; 5 teenagers thrust together in an underground palace fighting to live. It flowed nicely, never giving us a dull moment or time to breathe.
Anouk was strong-willed, tough and borderline unlikable. She has that unrealistic narration I like in thrillers, too. Her sass and dark humor made light on some of the
It was hard to connect to Anouk, well all the characters really, on the level that I like to. But after finishing and thinking about it, this wasn't necessary for me. It doesn't take a strong connection to root for a group of teenagers to live. To bite your nails in anxious anticipation because every room has a trap and you aren't sure who will survive. While yes, at times their actions and lack of thought process frustrated me to no end - I mean who wouldn't assume something shady is probably going on when going to France alone? - I was rooting for them from the start and their development with each other was nice to read. They still bicker and frustrate each other but a bond was formed in the process.
The ending took a turn I didn't see coming - which isn't saying much with the twists A Drop of Night had within its pages. I was hoping for more, but this is all me and wanting to know about THE AFTER. That's not the story, though, and considering all the different ways it could have went, leaves much to my imagination. And.... to keep me up at night.
All in all - I loved it! A Drop of Night is unique with its blend of genres and creeptastic shenanigans. It's ability to hook from page one and keep me up at night, speaks volumes in my book. I highly recommend it!
I received this book for free from The Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.<.i>
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