The Dark Glamour by Gabriella Pierce: A Review

The Dark Glamour by  Gabriella Piere  

When Was It Released?: 30th August 2011 
Where Did I Get It From?: Laurie Conners at Willow Morrow was kind enough to send this to me in exchange for a review
Who Published It?: William Morrow
Number Of Pages:  294 pages

The Dark Glamour is the second novel in the 666 Park Avenue series, with the first novel being aptly named 666 Park Avenue. I was very excited to read this novel when I first heard about it. I love novels which involve witches in any shape or form. I think this stems from my love of the television show Charmed when I was younger, and perhaps a little bit from The Witches. Ever since then I have been fascinated with witches and whenever a book comes along features these interesting characters I am always eager to snap it up.

Jane married the man she thought was her prince charming, however her happily ever after never came. Why? Because she found out not only is she a witch but so is her controlling mother in law, who tries to steal Jane’s powers. Jane manages to run away from her mother in law on he wedding day and is now hiding out. When Jane realises that everyone is looking for her she learns the one thing her mother in law wants most and sets out to try and get it. What Jane hopes will take her away from her mother in law ends up taking her right back under their noses. With the help of her friends and a unique spell Jane is transformed into someone else entirely, Ella to stop anyone realising her true intentions. Will Jane be able to find what her mother in law wants most and will she be able to escape once and for all?

Even though The Dark Glamour is the second novel in the series, and I am still yet to read the first novel, I found that I did not get lost in the plot at any point. This is a novel that you an very much read as a stand alone as well as part of the series. Many of the previous events are explained in detailed therefore I was able to follow the storyline easily. That being said the new storyline still moves along at a good pace without being held back by explaining the plot of the first novel. I really enjoyed Gabriella Pierce’s style within this book, I particularly enjoyed the dialogue with the character interactions finding them to flow freely and realistically. As well as this I really enjoyed the descriptions as well. At times I felt as though I could have been wherever Jane was. I really enjoy when I am able to get carried off into a book with the use of descriptions.

In terms of the characters I really enjoyed reading about Jane, I found her to be likeable and I felt moved by the situations in which she is placed. When Jane turns into Ella however, I felt that not only did her outer appearance change but also it seemed as though her inner character changed too. Ella acts more provocatively then I imagine Jane would do. Within the storyline there is a relationship between Ella and one of the other male characters, which I felt moved along much too quickly for my liking and made it appear as though Ella was very promiscuous. I did however find all of Jane’s friends to be fun to read about, adding a much needed injection of humour to the plot at times. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the character of Charles for the very same reason. I have to say that I did not enjoy reading about Andre. I found him to be very mysterious but yet I just did not like him at all. His character comes across as very self absorbed and I did not learn much about him from the novel. I feel maybe if Gabriella Pierce had added more about Andre and who he is, then I would have been more interesting in reading about him.

There are a couple of places in the novel where I felt things were missing. For example there is talk of passports for Jane’s alter ego before she transforms into Ella, but for Ella herself there is no talk of a passport. Ella travels to London within the novel, yet how would someone who does not exist be able to get a passport? I also felt as though there was a large amount of time within the novel where Jane mentally debates many things that she is doing. This became a little too much at times and the plot slowed down significantly during these instances.

Overall I really enjoyed The Dark Glamour, finding it to be fun, intriguing and glamorous. I found this novel to be almost a mix between Gossip Girl and Charmed, therefore if you like either of these I’m sure you will love this novel. The cover of this and the previous novel is gorgeous with the mix of gothic and girly and think both novels would look great on any book shelf. The ending in particular was fantastic and leaves the storyline open for a potential third novel in the 666 Park Avenue series. After reading The Dark Glamour I am defiantly looking forward to the third instalment and would without a doubt read more from Gabriella Pierce in the future.