Girls of Dark Divine

The Marionettes are a famed troupe of dancers whose beauty and skill draw huge audiences night after night. But a dark curse hangs over them. The Puppet Master controls them and the girls live in fear, performing under his control until they turn to dust. Star of the show, Emberlyn, is determined to escape and sees her chance when the troupe is taken to a new theatre in the city of Parlizia. However, she meets an elusive boy made of shadows and together, they must find a way to overcome the evil power the Puppet Master holds over them.

Not my usual kind of read, I found ‘Girls of Dark Divine’ both compelling and unsettling. Offering a mix of romance, friendship and dark fantasy, the real focus of the story for me was about the control and manipulation of the young girls, or Marionettes, who were forced to dance to the tune of Malcolm, the Puppet Master.

In Malcolm, the author has created a character with absolutely no redeeming qualities. His callous control and abuse of the girls and their total fear of him makes him completely repugnant. Throughout the book, he attempts to shift the blame for his actions onto the girls, taking no responsibility, showing no common decency, telling them that it is their fault, not his, that he acts in this way and that it is for their good. My fury levels were off the scale at certain points.

Brought together by their desire to perform and their love of dance, each girl has been tricked into joining the troupe and once initiated, is unable to speak about it to anyone who does not already know about it thus preventing the Marionettes from warning potential new members. Bound by the way they live and their shared suffering, a very close bond has developed between them. When Emberlyn decides she must act in an attempt to save them, she initially tries to distance herself from the others, causing hurt and confusion. For the reader, both her sense of isolation and the reaction of the others deepens the feelings of empathy for their plight. I won’t add anything about the romantic element so as not to spoil it for others.

The story is dark and disturbing, but the ending offers a real sense of hope and possibility as the girls are freed from the darkness of their existence and are able to make their own choices. Although the story is obviously fiction, the experiences of manipulation, control and gaslighting are ones which are, sadly, all too common in some people’s lives, adding a level of poignancy to the story.

Girls of Dark Divine

E V Woods

Usborne ISBN: 978-1805077633