Welcome to day 3 of the Brightest Kind of Darkness Tour. I'm extremely obliged to Dani at Refracted Light for allowing me to join in on such an awesome tour. Brightest Kind of Darkness rocked! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the page, so you can have a chance to win some really fun prizes! And just in case you've missed one or two stops, find the whole tour HERE.
Title: Brightest Kind of Darkness
Series: Brightest Kind of Darkness #1
Author: P.T. Michelle
Self-Published
June 27, 2011
Synopsis:
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.
Read an excerpt
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What can I say? Brightest Kind of Darkness is one of the most unique and beautifully written books I've read in a very long while. I'm a sucker for stories revolving around fate and destiny and, on a highly philosophical level, if either can be altered. I've read shelves full of books on the subject, but few capture the essence quite so perfectly.
Nara is in possession of a unique talent: she sees the next day of her life, dawn until dusk, every night in her dreams. This skill has allowed her to be Queen Goalie of the girls' soccer team, an exceptional student, and allows her to prepare for all the drama that comes from being a teenage girl. She avoided situations that might cause her discomfort, but she had never tried to interfere with fate until the day she dreams something that could possibly kill several students at her school...and thus begins the rollercoaster that loops, twists, and turns you on your head for the rest of the ride.
Ethan, the all too misunderstood bad-boy, and Nara share something in common. They both have a hero complex, a need to save the world. Wait, wait, wait...I know what you're going to say if you've already read Brightest Kind of Darkness. But consider for one moment what the world might represent. To one person, it might be the literal meaning, everyone and everything. To another, the world might be a single person. While Nara dreams of saving all her friends and family from harm, Ethan strives to keep Nara safe from Fate. And the more she alters fate, the more she has to fear from Fate.
Ethan has a curse. He absorbs people's negative energy, filling his nights with dreams of monsters and blood. But once he moved to Nara's little town, Ethan's once dark world lightens. He and Nara have a plan and are making Fate their bitch. If only Fate would just shrivel up and die, life would be much easier, but then the story would suck.
I loved this story for so many reasons. Nara is a kick-ass girl, who always attempts to do the right thing, even if it's completely wrong. She's loyal to her family and friends, with one exception and I'm not sure her father deserves her loyalty, so I'm completely fine with Nara giving him a one-fingered salute and never looking back - although, I should mention, Nara's dad may redeem himself in Lucid. We'll see. Ethan's everything Nara deserves. He's kind, trustworthy, and he loves her. Not to mention, I wanted to fall into his deep blue eyes every time he touched Nara.
I also love the mythology woven into the story. For some reason, I have a somewhat sick fascination with the lore behind Ravens. They've been known to do everything from predict the weather to being carriers of death. They are said to be highly intelligent, even trainable. Authors across time have used Ravens to depict different aspects in their books. Shakespeare used Ravens as messengers, Edgar Allen Poe's alludes to the birds in relations of love, loss, and despair in one of his most famous works, simply titled The Raven. The predatory birds have been accused of being witches' familiars. For more Raven Lore, click the link and learn some interesting facts. The day can't be over until you learn something new, so go do it...well, when you're done with this review.
And, as I've already mentioned, I love the philosophy and all the what-ifs surrounding Fate. Is there such a thing as fate? If so, can fate be altered? If fate is altered, does fate still extract its revenge? Does the balance of nature shift, demanding consequences? Yeah, a little to deep for a silly little book review, but this one left me questioning life in general and when a books does that, it's a keeper!
*I received a free eBook from the author in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. No money changed hands.
P.T. Michelle is author of the young adult series BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.
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LUCID: BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS, BOOK 2
Once Nara combines her prophetic ability with Ethan’s power to outsmart Fate at his own deadly cat-and-mouse game, she’s more determined than ever to help Ethan learn the meaning behind the raven sword tattoo that suddenly appeared on his back after their confrontation with Fate.
During her quest to uncover the tattoo’s secrets, Nara enlists the help of some new friends and discovers her own surprising connection to Ethan.
While Nara digs deeper into the mystery, her desire for answers leads her down a dangerous path full of powerful and ruthless enemies. Swept into an age-old battle, Nara quickly learns that keeping one’s enemies close can be a necessary evil, making an intangible enemy she can control far more preferable to the human enemies she can’t.
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One quick question before you enter. What is your take on Fate and Destiny? Feel free to leave me a comment telling me your theory!
I don't think I know anything about Raven lore! So this will be new to me. I am not a huge fan of Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteYeah...I'm not much of a Shakespeare fan either and this book is nothing like this. I just enjoy the different ways Ravens are portrayed throughout literature. The Ravens aren't really a huge part of the story, but then again, they are. Hard to explain, but I loved this book!
DeleteRaven Lore....new concept for me. The cover is gorgeous and so fitting for this season. Great review. Can't wait to read it. THanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe in fate and destiny! I think the more we try to escape our fate, the more difficult our journey to reach it! I also think it's really hard to figure out what our destiny is:)
ReplyDelete