I'm actually kind of glad that I waited so long to read this because I can't wait to get to the last book now!! 
 A different turn and all for the better -- so incredibly interesting and lots of fun. 
 Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: A Darkness Strange and Lovely has been on my "can't wait to read" list pretty much since it came out last summer and I FINALLY read it months later. Well, better late than never and hey, there's a bright side because now the series will be more fresh in my mind for when the last book comes out this summer! 
 It had been a while since I read SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY and I forgot to refresh myself before I started A DARKNESS STRANGE AND LOVELY so something I really appreciated was a brief refresher from Susan Dennard about what happened in book one. It was done so well, including dialogue between two of the characters to really recap the events of book one in a way that didn't feel repetitive and was still and important part of the story. The book surely didn't start off slowly either -- right off the bat, a LOT is set up to preface the rest of the book and set the tone of the whole novel and I was really excited to get going! 
 So as we know, the Spirit-Hunters are off in Paris and naturally, Eleanor ventures off to the only place in the world where she feels like she really belongs... Off to France we go! Since the series is already set in a historical time period, the difference between the United States and France didn't have a largely different feel for me personally (I like France, but I'm not a Francophile so I can take or leave the setting) but I did enjoy the different atmosphere and different aspects of France that ended up playing important roles in the story itself! I was glad we caught up with the Spirit-Hunters fairly quickly because I really enjoy the team dynamic a lot and of course, I was anxious to see how things would turn out with Eleanor and Daniel! 
 There's also a new character, Oliver. Given that I love all Olivers, I knew I would instantly gravitate towards his character and I really, really liked everything that he added to this layer of the story that is the Something Strange and Deadly series. Oliver is mysterious and a little bit dangerous (INSTANT like, right here) and he also encourages Eleanor to explore her abilities and really just think for herself... Although he also does it in a way that sort of makes me not trust him. DO I TRUST HIM??? I battled with it the whole book and I almost still don't know. Eleanor's friendship with him is in direct conflict with her partnership with the Spirit-Hunters so there is some major drama, concern back and forth, and a whole lot of "who can we really trust?" that had me reeling the whole book, never quite sure what to expect. 
 I really loved how the series grew and progressed in this book. Questions were answered, more popped up, and the series really reached a point where I'm ready for it to all be resolved in the final book and I can't wait to see exactly how that happens! I really only have one minor issue with the series so far and that's the language -- I'm still not quite connecting with it and some of the dialogue and time-period jargon feels a bit forced at times, but still keeps the book moving and really puts you in a different place! I haven't been totally "wowed" by it but I'm anticipating an epic conclusion and I'm excited to see how it all wraps up!