Good morning, everyone, and happy release day to Dark & Dawn, book 4 in Suzannah Rowntree's Miss Dark's Apparitions series. Now, by the time you get this far into a series, you pretty much know what to expect from the rest, so if you liked the first three Miss Dark books, you'll be delighted by Dark & Dawn, and if you didn't care for the previous three, you'll feel about the same about this one. And if you haven't read any of the series, you really ought to go back to Tall & Dark and give it a try! (It's great; you should read it; I reviewed it back when it released.) However, reviews also give me a chance to externally scream in delight over this book, rather than just keeping all the screams internal, so let's go!

Dark & Dawn Is a DELIGHT

The character development is magnificent. We've known these characters for three books now, and it's magnificent to see how far they've all come since met them in Tall & Dark (or in Miss Sharp's Monsters). Vasily, of course, gets the star for having come the furthest and going still further in this book. He's still far from perfect, but he really is learning to be good and trying to be worthy of the trust and affection he desires. But he isn't the only one who's growing. We see Molly do a lot of working through her own long-held hangups and insecurities, figuring out how to really trust the rest further than she ever has before, and unraveling some of the lies she's believed for a very long time. And we also see developments from Schmidt, Nijam, and Mimi, though Vasily and Molly very much take center stage.
Vasily and Molly's relationship gets better and better. Part of Vasily trying to be worthy of trust and Molly working through her insecurities is, of course, prompted by their continued relationship. They are, both of them, figuring out what they want and what they can give, whether it's what they expected or not. And, thank goodness, that means some actual mature, difficult conversations that, while hard for the characters, are delicious for the reader.
Delving into Molly's family history (and family present) is thrilling. For the past several books, the imprint of Molly's father has been a constant . . . and now we get to find out just why he's stuck around, which involves confronting Sir Humphrey, her family's supposed benefactor. Of course, it quickly becomes evident that something is fishy and that Sir Humphrey might be less benevolent than he seems. Unwinding the truth of the past while navigating present villainy provides plenty of challenge for the crew, as well as abundant reason to keep readers turning the pages!
The setting is wonderfully lifelike. Rowntree always does an amazing job with her settings, of course. You can tell in every book that she's done a great deal of research, even as she wreaks merry havoc on history by filling the ranks of the monarchy and upper-class society with monsters. However, the setting in Dark & Dawn is especially vivid and lifelike, enough that I found myself actually cringing at the humidity and decay in some parts of the setting and as awed by beauty as the characters were in others. And this vividness extends to the people of the setting; Rowntree does a masterful job of capturing the different groups of the era and the tensions between them.
The ending is absolute perfection. Obviously I can't get into detail about it because, you know, spoilers. But I will say that there's poetic justice for some thoroughly despicable villains, as well as trust and sacrifice and love and humor sprinkled in for flavor. Plus, where the individual characters' arcs and relationships wind up is as satisfying as the end of book three was heart-rending. It almost feels like a series-ender ending . . . but, happily, we have one book more to look forward to!