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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
For some reason I always seem to start with very low expectations when reading self-published books, but Brightest Kind of Darkness truly surprised me. It has one of the most original plots I have read in quite some time, a meaningful romance based on more than just good looks, and is so well written that the story completely sucked me in right off the bat.
Nara has for the last nine years had the gift of dreaming her next day the night before it happens, and the only person she has confided in is her Gran. Knowing every little detail of her next day, from the questions on her math test to when something embarrassing will happen, has had quite the influence on Nara and how she goes through life. She tries not to interfere with other people's lives, but when she dreams about a bomb going off in her high school she never questions that stopping it is the right thing to do.
I absolutely loved Ethan. As for YA goes, he is one of my favorite male characters ever, because of a few simple things. He is not insanely good looking. He is not the most popular guy in school. He is not arrogant, and has no bad boy tendencies at all. And most importantly, once he gets to know Nara he would do absolutely anything to keep her safe. Their relationship develops gradually, and is based on the time they spend together, the secrets they share, and the chemistry between them; this is not your typical YA insta!love.
Brightest Kind of Darkness raises some big questions about fate, and about how changing one little thing in the present can change your whole future. I have to say that I probably would have freaked out if all of a sudden I had Nara's gift, because I really do like going in to each day of my life unprepared, but I see how knowing what will happen can be very convenient as well. Either way I am very happy that I came across Brightest Kind of Darkness, and I can't wait for the sequel!
Nara has for the last nine years had the gift of dreaming her next day the night before it happens, and the only person she has confided in is her Gran. Knowing every little detail of her next day, from the questions on her math test to when something embarrassing will happen, has had quite the influence on Nara and how she goes through life. She tries not to interfere with other people's lives, but when she dreams about a bomb going off in her high school she never questions that stopping it is the right thing to do.
I absolutely loved Ethan. As for YA goes, he is one of my favorite male characters ever, because of a few simple things. He is not insanely good looking. He is not the most popular guy in school. He is not arrogant, and has no bad boy tendencies at all. And most importantly, once he gets to know Nara he would do absolutely anything to keep her safe. Their relationship develops gradually, and is based on the time they spend together, the secrets they share, and the chemistry between them; this is not your typical YA insta!love.
Brightest Kind of Darkness raises some big questions about fate, and about how changing one little thing in the present can change your whole future. I have to say that I probably would have freaked out if all of a sudden I had Nara's gift, because I really do like going in to each day of my life unprepared, but I see how knowing what will happen can be very convenient as well. Either way I am very happy that I came across Brightest Kind of Darkness, and I can't wait for the sequel!
I got this book and read it after having read "Ethan", a shorter companion book. I found "Ethan" to be a bit confusing and thought I would understand more if I read this book. I still found quite a bit of it confusing. Nara dreams about the next day every night and uses that as a guide to do well each day. It works for her until she interferers. When she dreams that a bomb goes off in her high school, she calls in a bomb threat and saves people - or so she thinks. But, then she meets Ethan, who she really likes, she loses her dreams and strange things start happening. People who like teen paranormal romances will most likely enjoy this book. I found some of the plot elements too unbelievable and odd though.
Inara "Nara" Collins is different than most kids her age. She has dreams that show her what happens the following day. This helps her in many aspects of high school. She knows when there is going to be an embarrassing moment and how to avoid it. She is the star goalie for her soccer team because she already knows which way they are going to kick the ball. She knows the interactions she is going to have between her and her best-friend, Lainey O'Neil. This is monotonous and boring to her, and she wishes for a "surprising day" where she doesn't know what happens.
Then she meets Ethan Harris. He is the strange new kid at her school. He doesn't interact with any of the students. The only interaction Nara has had with Ethan was during the hall when she almost ran into him. This changed the day she decided to interfere with what she saw in her dreams. She dreamed that there would be a bomb at the school. She alerted the school about the bomb and school was closed. Ethan actually talked to Nara while they were standing in the parking lot.
Strange things start happening in Nara's life. She loses her dreams; students at the school are getting hurt; Nara sees things that are odd; Nara's father contacts her after walking out of her life when she was little; her relationship with Ethan intensifies... It is up to Nara to figure out what is happening and how Ethan plays into that.
My Opinion:
I LOVED this book! From the very start of the book when Nara made the 911 call about the bombing at the school to the very end, I was drawn into the story. The last ⅓ of the book was a nail-biter. I couldn't put the book down. This book caused me to make up a new category, I'm Not Sure About.
The Cover
I think the cover is beautiful. Nara looks like how she is described in the book. I don't know where the red dress fits in with the story, but that is insignificant. I love the fall colors in the cover. The fact that Nara is in the woods goes along with a few points in the story.
I like:
•Nara. I love Nara. She has these dreams and when she sees something catastrophic, she interferes with it. She is strong-willed. The passion that she has is admirable.
•Lainey. Nara's best friend. She gets caught up in the whole high school experience and this causes her and Nara's friendship to drift apart. Even still, she is a good person.
•Ethan. Everyone has their opinion of him in this book. Ethan's character is not fully revealed until later in the book. I'm not going to spoil it for you, just know I like him.
•Nara's mother. She is distant from Nara ever since her father walked out. It's obvious that she cares for Nara, she just doesn't know how to show it.
• I love the interaction between all the characters in the book and how it was a real "high school" experience.
I Did Not Like
•Miranda, Sophia, Jared and other various high school students. They act their age or younger. It is not very attractive.
•Other characters in the book. They are not meant to be liked. I won't tell who they are because I don't want to spoil it for you.
•Coach of the soccer team. The coach is easily swayed by members of the team.
I'm Not Sure About
•Nara's father. You don't really get a sense of him in the book. The only thing that you really know is that he walked out on Nara and her mom when she was five. There are a few other details, but I’ll let you read the book to discover them. Even still, I’m not sure whether I like him or not. I'm sure he'll be more of a presence in the next book and I'll have a better opinion of him then.
Then she meets Ethan Harris. He is the strange new kid at her school. He doesn't interact with any of the students. The only interaction Nara has had with Ethan was during the hall when she almost ran into him. This changed the day she decided to interfere with what she saw in her dreams. She dreamed that there would be a bomb at the school. She alerted the school about the bomb and school was closed. Ethan actually talked to Nara while they were standing in the parking lot.
Strange things start happening in Nara's life. She loses her dreams; students at the school are getting hurt; Nara sees things that are odd; Nara's father contacts her after walking out of her life when she was little; her relationship with Ethan intensifies... It is up to Nara to figure out what is happening and how Ethan plays into that.
My Opinion:
I LOVED this book! From the very start of the book when Nara made the 911 call about the bombing at the school to the very end, I was drawn into the story. The last ⅓ of the book was a nail-biter. I couldn't put the book down. This book caused me to make up a new category, I'm Not Sure About.
The Cover
I think the cover is beautiful. Nara looks like how she is described in the book. I don't know where the red dress fits in with the story, but that is insignificant. I love the fall colors in the cover. The fact that Nara is in the woods goes along with a few points in the story.
I like:
•Nara. I love Nara. She has these dreams and when she sees something catastrophic, she interferes with it. She is strong-willed. The passion that she has is admirable.
•Lainey. Nara's best friend. She gets caught up in the whole high school experience and this causes her and Nara's friendship to drift apart. Even still, she is a good person.
•Ethan. Everyone has their opinion of him in this book. Ethan's character is not fully revealed until later in the book. I'm not going to spoil it for you, just know I like him.
•Nara's mother. She is distant from Nara ever since her father walked out. It's obvious that she cares for Nara, she just doesn't know how to show it.
• I love the interaction between all the characters in the book and how it was a real "high school" experience.
I Did Not Like
•Miranda, Sophia, Jared and other various high school students. They act their age or younger. It is not very attractive.
•Other characters in the book. They are not meant to be liked. I won't tell who they are because I don't want to spoil it for you.
•Coach of the soccer team. The coach is easily swayed by members of the team.
I'm Not Sure About
•Nara's father. You don't really get a sense of him in the book. The only thing that you really know is that he walked out on Nara and her mom when she was five. There are a few other details, but I’ll let you read the book to discover them. Even still, I’m not sure whether I like him or not. I'm sure he'll be more of a presence in the next book and I'll have a better opinion of him then.
This was so interesting and unique! I was constantly on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!
The main character was strong and didn't piss me off which was a relief. I really enjoyed the mystery in this and figuring out what was going on. Ethan was adorable and I loved her and his relationship!!!!
The main character was strong and didn't piss me off which was a relief. I really enjoyed the mystery in this and figuring out what was going on. Ethan was adorable and I loved her and his relationship!!!!
a low three...parts i really liked...but it fell flat for me...and i'm not sure i buy into the villain at this point.
this is a first book in a series and i did find it free on amazon. Now in this one you follow Nara and Ethan as they battle fate. At first i found the story to be slow and uneventful but as a push forward with reading it it got more interesting to read and i got wrapped up with the story line and all the twist Nara and Ethan go thought to defeat fate. over all i give the book 4 out of five stars and recommend this book to supernatural lovers who looking for something i a little different.
Nara (legally Inara) has had a gift for most of her life. Well, she seems to consider it a gift, I'm not sure I would - it sounds terribly boring. Every night she dreams how her day will unfold in the coming hours, from beginning to end. Due to an event from when she was a child, she doesn't like to change the timeline because she can't see (or always understand) the fallout. That all changes when she dreams of her high school getting bombed; she cannot just sit back and watch, so she makes an anonymous tip to the police from a Wal-Mart. This good deed throws her life into chaos. Her powers seem to have mostly disappeared (except sporadically), and she doesn't know how to live her life in the real world without the precognition that's known for so long. Even though that was boring to her, this is terrifying.
I think watching Nara trying to adjust to her powers being gone could have been a novel in and of itself. It's fascinating. It is really like she lost one of the major senses that she had used to understand her world. With it gone, she's thrown into utter confusion. Of course, she'd get used to it, but it's tantamount to someone losing their hearing or their sight; she's at a total loss when it disappears.
While all of this is going on, Nara is also navigating high school. Her soccer team-mates are less than understanding when she stops blocking every single goal that comes her way. Her best friend starts dating a douchenozzle and pulls away from her. On top of this, she's falling for the new kid who is considered dangerous by almost everyone she knows.
Here is my love interest rant: Ethan is taller than her, muscular, with long dark bangs and blue eyes. He has a mysterious past. He's been expelled from his last school. He doesn't have any friends in this new school. Her friends warn her about him continuously. He draws dark things in his notebook and is tattooed. Of course, you know he's just misunderstood. He had a reason to do whatever he did at his last school. And of course he falls madly and quickly for the heroine, doing whatever it takes to protect her. Because all heroines need protecting, obviously.
Young Adult authors need to come up with a new love interest. Fucking pronto. You could transplant Ethan into any number of YA novels and nothing would need to be changed. He's the generic "bad boy." The problem is he's not a bad boy. He's a troubled kid with no distinguishing characteristics from other troubled kids written into YA in the history of the genre. I'd blame Twilight but really this problem preceded that piece of garbage. However, I must say that Ethan was so much like every love interest since Twilight that I really was afraid that the guy was a vampire. I would have stopped reading.
Please, please, please, I beg of you, please start thinking of new male love interests for female heroines in Young Adult Literature! I'm on my hands and knees here. I like YA, but I'm sick of reading the same exact love story over and over again.
/love interest rant
What is most interesting about this book is that even though it started a pretty basic YA fantasy, moved into annoying Twilight-zone, it ended in a very interesting Final Destination type of story-line. Fate plays into it and is less than pleased with Nara and Ethan. Everything is a domino effect in this novel, starting from the very beginning and it actually caught me off guard a little. I probably would have picked up on it sooner if I weren't so focused on how much Ethan better not be a fucking vampire, damnit.
I ended up very much enjoying this novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how it ended, honestly. While nothing was really wrapped up (it the first in a trilogy) it was a unique sort of ending. The personification of Fate was really well done, in my opinion.
I think watching Nara trying to adjust to her powers being gone could have been a novel in and of itself. It's fascinating. It is really like she lost one of the major senses that she had used to understand her world. With it gone, she's thrown into utter confusion. Of course, she'd get used to it, but it's tantamount to someone losing their hearing or their sight; she's at a total loss when it disappears.
While all of this is going on, Nara is also navigating high school. Her soccer team-mates are less than understanding when she stops blocking every single goal that comes her way. Her best friend starts dating a douchenozzle and pulls away from her. On top of this, she's falling for the new kid who is considered dangerous by almost everyone she knows.
Here is my love interest rant: Ethan is taller than her, muscular, with long dark bangs and blue eyes. He has a mysterious past. He's been expelled from his last school. He doesn't have any friends in this new school. Her friends warn her about him continuously. He draws dark things in his notebook and is tattooed. Of course, you know he's just misunderstood. He had a reason to do whatever he did at his last school. And of course he falls madly and quickly for the heroine, doing whatever it takes to protect her. Because all heroines need protecting, obviously.
Young Adult authors need to come up with a new love interest. Fucking pronto. You could transplant Ethan into any number of YA novels and nothing would need to be changed. He's the generic "bad boy." The problem is he's not a bad boy. He's a troubled kid with no distinguishing characteristics from other troubled kids written into YA in the history of the genre. I'd blame Twilight but really this problem preceded that piece of garbage. However, I must say that Ethan was so much like every love interest since Twilight that I really was afraid that the guy was a vampire. I would have stopped reading.
Please, please, please, I beg of you, please start thinking of new male love interests for female heroines in Young Adult Literature! I'm on my hands and knees here. I like YA, but I'm sick of reading the same exact love story over and over again.
/love interest rant
What is most interesting about this book is that even though it started a pretty basic YA fantasy, moved into annoying Twilight-zone, it ended in a very interesting Final Destination type of story-line. Fate plays into it and is less than pleased with Nara and Ethan. Everything is a domino effect in this novel, starting from the very beginning and it actually caught me off guard a little. I probably would have picked up on it sooner if I weren't so focused on how much Ethan better not be a fucking vampire, damnit.
I ended up very much enjoying this novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how it ended, honestly. While nothing was really wrapped up (it the first in a trilogy) it was a unique sort of ending. The personification of Fate was really well done, in my opinion.
I enjoyed this book. The descriptions were very good and not too over the top. The characters were likable. I read a at least 100 pages through in each sitting without getting bored. I look forward to book 2.