Brightest Kind of Darkness (Brightest Kind of Darkness #1) by P.T. Michelle Published by Patrice Michelle Publish Date: June 27, 2011 My Source: review copy from the author |
After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate. Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past. -(summary from Goodreads.com)
1. The Characters. Nara & Ethan are the main characters, and they are so great to me because they are so real. They could be any person you know. They are believable and tangible and likable, and I found myself constantly wanting to know more about them.
- Nara Collins. Nara dreams the future. Well, she dreams about her tomorrows and has been doing so for about 9 years now. Her dreams have never been wrong. Even though some of what Nara knows isn’t always positive, she knows it isn’t a good idea to interfere with what is about to happen…until she dreams about an upcoming bombing at her school. Not wanting to see people hurt or killed, Nara tips off the police and they find the bomb before it explodes. Awesome, right? Nara is a smart girl, but not the most popular. She’s protective over the people that she loves, which is something I love about her. She’s pretty fierce too. Despite all of this, she’s also a flawed teenage girl, and she shows this in some of the things she says and does. She’s very real, except that she dreams the future.
- Ethan Harris. Ethan just transferred to town, having been expelled from his previous school. A loner, Ethan draws very dark, scary graphic images in class all day, which sort of freaks the other students out. Despite warnings from her friends, Nara is drawn to him and begins to spend time with him. Finding him to be a nice enough guy, she can’t quite put her finger on exactly what is different about him – she just knows that something IS. Ethan begins to practice soccer with Nara after school and they volunteer together at a local animal shelter, so naturally over time they begin to form a closer friendship/relationship.
- Fate. Yep, I’m boldly talking about Fate as a character. He’s a tough one, and he doesn’t like to be messed with. And he gets angry when Nara fights back.
- it has been happening for so long…it made her feel very secure…and now it suddenly stopped!
- now that she’s figured out which students are being targeted by Fate, she can no longer see HOW they’re going to be injured or to what degree.
3. The Genre. Paranormal and Romance with some Mystery and tons of action. This story was refreshing, you guys, because it was different. The idea of tempting Fate is one that I’ve seen explored in movies, and it was pretty scary and exciting, but I just can’t remember reading anything about it. In particular, I can’t remember reading anything quite like this, where the story was just so doggone good and exciting and romantic all at the same time. I am highly impressed and very excited that there will be a book two coming out, because I am standing in line impatiently for it.
4. The Story. The story is great, y’all. I was hooked pretty much from the start. I loved being sucked into Nara’s world and then as I found out more and more about Ethan, I fell in love. And together, they made a team that was just awesome. The plot progresses wonderfully and seamlessly. These characters are believable, the pacing is wonderful, and there is a ton of action. There is mystery that had me stumped all over the place and there were twists everywhere. The twists are good. So well-written and covered completely without any holes, although there is an open end, a perfect place for book two to begin.
5. The Romance. Oh my, I am such a sucker for a romance in a book – particularly a paranormal book where I can get all of the things I love at once. THIS IS THAT BOOK, you guys. Nara and Ethan start out a bit wary of each other but become friends, and they have this friendly foundation based on a few things in common. Then the friendship progresses as they experience some unusual circumstances together that no one else would really understand. As Nara and Ethan open up to each other, the relationship that I could see as a reader becomes clear to each of them and becomes romantic. Their relationship was not quick and it wasn’t painfully slow – it was absolute perfection. Y’all, I need more Ethan and Nara in my life. Now. I really do.
*I have failed to mention – until this point, on purpose – Ethan and his mysterious abilities/gifts/curses. See, Nara isn’t the only one with the unusual ability – Ethan has one too. It is dark and unusual and really sort of comes from nowhere. Guys, Ethan is a bit of a tortured soul, which makes him every bit the broody guy that we all pretty much love to read about. The thing is, see, my heart went out to him too. While I wouldn’t want to have to endure the things that Nara does, I REALLY wouldn’t want to have to endure all of the things that Ethan has to endure. But he handles himself quietly and bravely and with this amazing strength that only ADDS to his character exponentially. When Nara finds out everything that Ethan goes through, I think she just loves him even more and her love and admiration for him intensifies. It leapt through the book and I could FEEL it. I have NO IDEA where the author pulled his abilities from, but I love them and they are so original.*
I think that Nara is supposed to be the star in this story, and really, she is a star. She has to fight off Fate and deal with a bunch of stuff and she is brilliant as a heroine. But it is Ethan that I clung to in this story…I won’t lie. He was my favorite.
What we have here, folks, is a very well-written, wonderfully crafted, and incredibly imaginative story that I would love to share with you guys. The cover alone is enough reason to pick it up, because it is beautiful – but the story inside is so unique and just GOOD. If you are a fan of paranormal romance, you NEED to give this one a read. I am having a royal, flailing, hissy-fit to read book two because I NEED TO KNOW what is coming up next.
Tattoos
Gah! Another book that I have to read. Thank you. Lol.
YOU'RE WELCOME!! 😉
This sounds a little bit like Nevermore. I am going to have to add it to my TBR!
Lorren, it's SO good. And you're giving me yet another reason to bump up Nevermore, especially if it sounds like this one.
Great review! I haven't heard of this book but it sounds awesome! It would be so crazy to be able to dream the future. Thanks for sharing your review 🙂
Crystal @ Elegantly Bound Books
Crystal it IS awesome. I highly recommend it. I enjoyed it from the first word until the last word!
Your review is super intriguing, Asheley! I don't usually review self published books, although I have read a few, but hearing that you loved this book so much makes me want to try it! And I love that their relationship is a natural progression. Thanks for the review and bringing it to my attention!
Absolutely, Tara. I really love this one and I think that it has a wide appeal. I hope you'll grab it and give it a chance. 😉
I just finished reading this one last night, and I'm afraid it just wasn't really for me, but I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! I think it will have a lot of appeal to fans of YA literature.
I hate that it wasn't one that you loved, Natalie, but I think you're right…I agree that it'll have appeal to fans of YA paranormal romance. I'm really excited to read the next installment!
Ooh this kinda sounds like a mixture of "Early Edition" (the 90's TV show where the MC gets tomorrow's papers instead of today's) and "Final Destination" the movie…but much better! Awesome review…definitely adding Brightest Kind of Darkness to my TBR 🙂
Fun comparisons! Glad you're putting it on your TBR, Kat. It's a great book. I hope you like it when you get around to it. 😉
No love triangle! Hooray!
Thanks for the heads up on this indie goodie.
You're welcome for the heads up Lisa! It's one of the best indies out there, for sure.
And definitely no love triangle. Nara has eyes only for Ethan. *sigh*
Ok, I've added to the tbr pile on goodreads, mission accomplished Asheley:) Brooding, quiet male lead, yes, please! excellent review!
Thanks, Heather! It's a great one! I hope you'll read it and I hope you'll like it!
Thank you so much for the awesome review, Asheley! I'm glad you're looking forward to book 2. 🙂
P.T.
You're so welcome! Thank you for writing an awesome story. And yes, I am very impatient for LUCID… 😉
I've seen nothing but great things for this one – I have a copy on my Kindle, I think I definitely need to pick it up soon.
Your review, as always, has me salivating.
Allison, honestly, I absolutely loved this book. It was a pleasure to read from beginning to end. No doubt you'll enjoy it was well. When you do read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!!
While I don't avoid self-published books to the extent of many readers, I won't pick them up unless I hear wonderful things about them first. And I'm so glad to have read this review! This book sounds like something I would love, I enjoy the concept of messing with fate vs. free will, and it sounds sort of Final Destination with a twist, and I like that (I watched just this sort of episode of Supernatural last night). This book sounds fairly unique, and yes, the cover and the fact that there is no love triangle or insta-love or we've always been in love makes me certain I'll pick it up. =)
It's a GREAT book – I loved it and the fate vs free will story line was really neat. I DO think it is unique and that is one of the reasons I loved it. 😉
Brightest Kind of Darkness absolutely blew me away. Fresh and alluring, it's sure to find a place in every book lover's TBR. I can't recommend it enough to all fans of YA fiction, especially those who enjoy paranormal and paranormal romance stories.