Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bottomofthebookshelf 's review for:
The Bright Lands
by John Fram
Welp, this was a freaking ride from start to finish. Joel Whitley never thought he’d return to the conservative hometown that caused him so much pain, but when his quarterback kid brother sends him some distressed messages from back home, he makes the choice to return in order to be the big brother he’s failed to be in the past. But when he arrives, his brother soon goes missing and puts into motion a series of events that draw connection to other missing football players of the past and something disturbing that has it’s hold on the town of Bentley.
This was nothing like I thought it was going to be, but it was a great read all the same. I was expecting a paranormal horror story of sorts, but what I got was a thrilling mystery with lots of twists and little notes of horror. It was also gay to the max which I can appreciate, especially in a genre that’s been overwhelmingly hetero in the past. This book was full of plot twists around every turn and it kept me guessing the whole time. This story, however, is incredibly dark and disturbing so do keep that in mind if you’re planning on picking up this book. Some of the themes it deals with are racial profiling, homophobia, corrupt police, and grooming.
It took me a bit to connect to the characters in this one, but once I started to learn more about everyone they really added to the story. I especially enjoyed the multiple perspectives and found they really added to the sense of mystery of the book. For example, seeing things from the perspective of a police officer interrogating someone, and then switching to the perspective of the person being interrogated really added intrigue to the narrative.
Overall, this was a great book! I don’t want to say I enjoyed it because that was DISTURBING AF, but I definitely recommend it. If you’re looking for a twisted mystery that deals with some real issues, this one’s for you!
TW: Homophobia, sexual assault, outing, drug abuse, suicide, pedophilia, and extreme violence
This was nothing like I thought it was going to be, but it was a great read all the same. I was expecting a paranormal horror story of sorts, but what I got was a thrilling mystery with lots of twists and little notes of horror. It was also gay to the max which I can appreciate, especially in a genre that’s been overwhelmingly hetero in the past. This book was full of plot twists around every turn and it kept me guessing the whole time. This story, however, is incredibly dark and disturbing so do keep that in mind if you’re planning on picking up this book. Some of the themes it deals with are racial profiling, homophobia, corrupt police, and grooming.
It took me a bit to connect to the characters in this one, but once I started to learn more about everyone they really added to the story. I especially enjoyed the multiple perspectives and found they really added to the sense of mystery of the book. For example, seeing things from the perspective of a police officer interrogating someone, and then switching to the perspective of the person being interrogated really added intrigue to the narrative.
Overall, this was a great book! I don’t want to say I enjoyed it because that was DISTURBING AF, but I definitely recommend it. If you’re looking for a twisted mystery that deals with some real issues, this one’s for you!
TW: Homophobia, sexual assault, outing, drug abuse, suicide, pedophilia, and extreme violence