Combine angry and hurt girls + diversity + Japan setting (present and historical) + time travel + everything awesome, and you get the incredible A DARKLY BEATING HEART. From the first page, this gritty and dark novel consumes you, and it doesn’t stop until the last page (and if you’re me, you’re still going to be thinking about it months after).

There are few things I love more than a story that isn’t afraid to get intense, specifically when talking about the protagonist. Reiko’s journey is incredible, full of self discovery, pain, and finding hope. She starts the book suicidal, eager for vengeance, and eventually, obsessive about Miyu’s life. She goes through a lot before she reaches where she needs to be, and her path will make you frustrated, leave you in tears, give you a few laughs, more than a few swoons, and overall, make you want to flip back to page one and follow her journey again.

The writing is lush and brilliant, capturing modern day Japan and historical Japan wonderfully (and 10/10 will make you want to travel). The imagery is especially solid, and the visual descriptions paint a clear picture. This was my first Lindsay Smith novel, but I am absolutely going to go back and read her other books because of this incredible writing.
Final Verdict:

Evocative, powerful, and simply magnificent, Reiko and her story will tear into your heart and stay there for a long time.

Originally posted at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2016/10/review-darkly-beating-heart-lindsay-smith/