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A review by lightsnack
The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer
So, The Darkness Outside Us is one of my all time favorite books. I read it all in one sitting, finishing it at 5 am and then staring at the wall for an hour afterwards just trying to process it. I had a solid two week long existential crisis about it. But the amount of love and admiration I had for the book was off the charts. It’s one of those I am constantly trying to figure out how to pitch to literally anyone asking for a book recommendation.
All that to say, while I never imagined it would get a sequel, once it was announced I immediately freaked out. After a lot of thought, I decided to not even look at the summery. I wanted to go in as fresh and unspoiled as possible…not even knowing the premise.
When I got approved for the ARC I sat and stared at the cover page for almost half an hour, trying to prepare myself. The first book was so emotionally devastating but so, so poignant and beautiful and anytime I think about it too long my chest aches. What would this new book do? Would it hurt more? Would it be a let down?
I won’t do spoilers, because this - like the first book - deserves to have the element of surprise. But I will say that while it didn’t have the same level of “what the FUCK is going on????”, and didn’t leave me staring at a wall at 5 am having a crisis…it is a worthy successor. It still dealt with the idea of intimacy and connection as crucial to the human experience, though with different dynamics than the original Ambrose and Kodiak of Darkness. We also get a lot of The Lore that we didn’t get in the original, because Ambrose and Kodiak didn’t have it either. I was especially thrilled to get some Kodiak POV! And yeah, I was clutching my chest in pain again. But happily so. And if you’re worried about a happy ending, I can at least say we get the murky but hopeful kind of ending we saw in Darkness. Nothing confirmed, but enough optimism to make me believe there is a happy ending at least possible.
All that to say, while I never imagined it would get a sequel, once it was announced I immediately freaked out. After a lot of thought, I decided to not even look at the summery. I wanted to go in as fresh and unspoiled as possible…not even knowing the premise.
When I got approved for the ARC I sat and stared at the cover page for almost half an hour, trying to prepare myself. The first book was so emotionally devastating but so, so poignant and beautiful and anytime I think about it too long my chest aches. What would this new book do? Would it hurt more? Would it be a let down?
I won’t do spoilers, because this - like the first book - deserves to have the element of surprise. But I will say that while it didn’t have the same level of “what the FUCK is going on????”, and didn’t leave me staring at a wall at 5 am having a crisis…it is a worthy successor. It still dealt with the idea of intimacy and connection as crucial to the human experience, though with different dynamics than the original Ambrose and Kodiak of Darkness. We also get a lot of The Lore that we didn’t get in the original, because Ambrose and Kodiak didn’t have it either. I was especially thrilled to get some Kodiak POV! And yeah, I was clutching my chest in pain again. But happily so. And if you’re worried about a happy ending, I can at least say we get the murky but hopeful kind of ending we saw in Darkness. Nothing confirmed, but enough optimism to make me believe there is a happy ending at least possible.