Brightest Kind of Darkness by P. T. Michelle
Publisher: Self-Published
First published: June 27th, 2011
Source: Received from author
Pages: 248
Goodreads Summary:
Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.
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.
/ 5
First thoughts:Even before starting this novel, I had heard positive things about it and therefore the most important thing is: I wasn't disappointed. It's a lovely story about trying to being able to make your own decisions when your fate seems to want to push you into a different direction. And it's highlighting the importance of helping other people and accepting them the way they are.
More detailed:
Brightest Kind of Darkness is a great novel that captivated me with its beautiful writing and its intriguing and unique storyline. Dreaming about your future is both, a very interesting and a very scary concept which made reading this book a lot of fun. I can just imagine how easy it would be to rely on this "gift" and seeing Nara struggle with her dreams fading was interesting.
On the one hand, Ethan and Nara are a little bit like a typical YA couple. For everyone else it's surprising that they are coming closer with time and some even tell Nara to stay away from him; Ethan seems to be like the YA cliché of a dangerous, brooding love interest. But on the other hand, both of them are very special because of their abilities and their past and I would never put them into the cliché-category.
Something about their relationship never failed to make me smile and / or swoon. Ethan is completely in love with Nara and would do anything for her, and vice versa. They have their lovely (and hot) moments that I loved to re-read and they experience moments of fear - but always together. Yes, they have flaws, but they manage to make up for them and accept each other the way they are.
Only a few questions, which come up while reading Brightest Kind of Darkness, are answered toward the end. There is still so much left that I want to know about Nara's dreams, about Ethan and about the crazy situation they are in and I'm desperately awaiting the next book in this series. That's probably the only reason why I didn't rate this 5.0, because I was left a little bit frustrated with the ending of it - a little bit abrupt.
But all in all, Brightest Kind of Darkness is a wonderful start for a new series which isn't easy to forget. Its unique storyline and the beautiful and easily flowing writing makes it possible to be sucked into a new world and I can't wait to find out more about this. You should definitely take a closer look at it!
Have you read Brightest Kind of Darkness? What did you think about it?
Do you plan to read it?
Carina
