The Deepest Night by Shana Abe

**If you have not read The Sweetest Dark, this may contain some spoilers. **

Book: The Deepest Night by Shana Abe
Series: The Sweetest Dark #2
Genres: YA Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Acquired: Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis:

It's 1915, and sixteen-year-old Lora Jones is finishing up her first year as a charity student at Iverson, a prestigious, gothic boarding school on England's southern coast. While she's always felt different from everyone around her, now she finally knows why: She is a drakon, a rare, enchanted being with astonishing magicl abilities. 

As war hits Britain's shores, and Lora reels from an unimaginable loss, she finds that her powers come with grave and dangerous responsibilities. At the request of Armand Louis, the darkly mysterious boy whose father owns Iverson, Lora will spend her summer at his lavish estate. To help the war effort-and to keep Lora by his side- Armand turns his home into a military hospital, where Lora will serve as a nurse. For Armand is inescapably drawn to her-bound to her by heart-deep secrets and a supernatural connection that runs thicker than blood.

Yet while Lora tries to sort out her own feelings towards Armand, fate offers an unexpected surprise. Lora discovers there is another drakon, a prisoner of war being held in Germany. And that she, with her newly honed Gifts, will be able to rescue him. 

With Armand, Lora will cross enemy lines on an incredible mission-one that could bond her to Armand forever, or irrevocably tear them apart.

Beautifully written, deeply romantic, and filled with daring adventure and magic, The Deepest Night is a mesmerizing novel of the enduring pull of destiny, and the eternal strength of love.

My Thoughts:

Shana Abe has a way of immediately sucking you into a book. This book picks up a little after where The Sweetest Dark left off. Lora is still grieving over Jesse, and has become closer to Armand in the process. They now spend time together talking about Jesse and about being drakon. Since Summer is about to begin there is a question of where Lora will go. Lord Armand has a plan up his sleeve to be able to keep her by his side. He turns his beautiful home into a hospital for wounded military and brings Lora on as a nurse. She has to deal with some unexpected house guests and some unwanted romantic gestures from a guest. 

The relationship between Lora and Armand is a little strained at first. Armand wants more from Lora than what she can give at the moment, if she even wants to give anything. (I personally hope they get married and have a bunch of little drakon babies together.) When Armand finds out some news about another drakon that is captured by the Germans, Lora knows she must go and save him. Over this journey Lora and Armand's relationship builds and she starts to grow closer to him. Along the way she gets more confused about what to do. But when Lora makes a huge sacrifice for Armand and they go through all the life and death situations she finally starts to figure out what she wants. 

This book won me over. It was a quick read and I devoured it.  I loved The Sweetest Dark, but like I had mentioned in that review it lacked some things for me. This one showed me the reason the war is relevant in this story line. It still, however, did not give me the back story I'm still waiting for. BUT I think the information is being with held for a reason and that I'm okay with. I think that it will come out little by little in the rest of the books. (At least I hope so.)