For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jump starting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's persuasion, "For Darkness Shows the Stars" is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.<---more--->

My Thoughts:

This book starts out with Elliot North and Kai writing letters to each other. You immediately can see Elliot and Kai's friendship, even though Kai is the Post, while Elliot is the Luddite. This almost feels like forbidden friendship, and it takes you root for them and their new found relationship.

After this, we are brought into the present day (or the book's present day, rather), where Elliot's field that she worked hard on has been destroyed by her father. Elliot worked the field because her family's money is almost gone, and she new that the field would yield lots of money, but now that it is gone, she feels that all hope is almost lost. Elliot thinks that this is what happens when a person messes with nature in the way that she did to make things better than they already were.

So, when the opportunity hits that the Cloud Fleet, a bunch of Posts, would like to rent some of her grandfather's land to build a ship, Elliot jumps on the chance to make the money so that her family isn't thrown into poverty.

But, what happened to Kai? He ran away from Elliot and their home, to try to find a better place for him. He asked Elliot to runaway with him, but she refused, to try to protect her family's estate and the Posts on it. Everyday since then, Elliot has been dreaming of Kai and the what ifs: What if she had went with him? That is until he comes back, along with the Cloud Fleet. Elliot wants to mend their relationship, but what if Kai-- or rather Captain Malakai Wentworth-- doesn't want to?

When I first saw that this book had letters at the beginning, I was like 'Oh, crap, what did I get?' (Because I usually don't like those books that are composed of letters), BUT I was immediately mollified when I saw that it was actually a normal book with some letters between Elliot and Kai, not just a whole book composed of their letters.

I really liked this book! At a lot of points, I got a bit confused, but then what I was confused on got explained later on in the book. I thought that this book did have a background meaning to: That all of the 'improvements' in science that we make may be good in someway, but at some point, the line that's been drawn will be passed, and there is a possibility that this will happen.

Okay, so I have a confession to make: I'm not all that religious... and when I come across a book with religion in it, it is almost always stifling, like the author is trying to choke you with their religion. I didn't feel like that in this book! It felt more like she, Elliot, was questioning what she knew about her religion, and if it was wrong.

So, I gave this book five hearts because I really did like it, it didn't seem stifling, and it was in the language/tone that I would think this would be set in.