Review: Brightest Kind of Darkness (Brightest Kind of Darkness #1) by P.T. Michelle

TLDR Recap:

Sixteen year old Nara Collins has the unique ability to dream the events of the following day every night when she goes to bed. For the most part, she tries not to change the future in any drastic ways, but when she has a vision about a bombing at her school, she can’t ignore it. After preventing the tragedy from occurring, Nara’s visions start to fade, and she finds herself falling for the mysterious Ethan Harris, a loner with his own dark secrets. Nara has a feeling the bombing was only the beginning…but how can she stop more disasters from happening if she can no longer see the future? Brightest Kind of Darkness is a GraveTells must-read!

Title: Brightest Kind of Darkness
Series: Brightest Kind of Darkness book #1
Author: P.T. Michelle
Prominent Characters: Nara, Ethan
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal romance
Recommended Reader Age: 15+
Sexual Content Level: moderate

***This review contains minor plot spoilers, but nothing major!***

Thoughts:

On the outside, Nara is your average high school teenager. She hangs out with friends, plays for the school’s soccer team, and has the occasional crush on a cute guy. What people don’t know is that she lives every day twice. Each night Nara dreams of what will happen the next day. It’s a pretty convenient ability to have, but it also means that there are no surprises in Nara’s life. She’s learned the hard way that it’s a bad idea to mess with fate, so she tries not to alter any of the things she dreams about. Everything changes, though, when she goes to sleep one night and dreams about a bomb going off at her school. Nara knows she can’t stand by and do nothing, so she tips the police off about the danger at Blue Ridge High. Nara’s life spirals out of control immediately after that. Her visions start to go away, and since she relies on them so much, she’s left feeling cautious and shaken. Soon, students at the school start getting mysteriously injured, and Nara can’t help but wonder if Fate’s responsible.

Nara also develops a deep connection with Ethan Harris, a loner who no one seems to know much about. Ethan understands Nara like no one else ever has, and the two form a bond that grows stronger and stronger as they spend more time together. I just loved the scenes between Nara and Ethan, since they were so sweet, yet full of sexual tension. Ethan’s charming, mature for his age, and overall just a really good guy, the kind of guy any girl would want for a boyfriend. He’s protective and strong, and he has his own inner demons to deal with. Nara knows he’s keeping secrets, and the closer the two grow, the more curious she is to discover the truth about his grim past.

I liked that P.T. Michelle focused a lot on Nara’s relationships with all the other people in her life and not just on the one she has with Ethan. Her relationship with her mom is complicated and sad, but I’m glad the two of them worked to improve it. Her relationship with her dad is also sad, but in a different way, since he’s absent from her life. I’m looking forward to learning more about him and the reason he left when Nara was young. I didn’t really like Nara’s best friend- her treatment of Nara was kind of crappy- but she’s slowly growing on me. And I have to mention Nara’s Gran; that woman cracks me up. I loved how she was wise one second and crazy the next. I laughed when she wanted Nara’s help to cheat at Bingo at the retirement home. I hope we see a lot more of her in the next novel.

The plot of the book was interesting and complex. In a way, the book reminded me of Final Destination because of how Nara has to fight Fate. Each time Nara changed the future, there were consequences, and that’s what a lot of this book is about. Brightest Kind of Darkness is a suspenseful, romantic book and it’s a great new addition to the YA genre. I highly recommend it!

Memorable Quotes:

Mmm, I love a confident guy…

The low bass in his voice and the protective way he clenched my jacket made me tingle in new places. I curled my fingers around his fist, totally attracted to his primal intensity. I didn’t think he saw it in himself, but Ethan exuded an amazing self-awareness and confidence that drew me in. I was the lead filings to his magnetic inner strength.

I’d lose my ability to think, too, if I were in her position…

Ethan followed me, folding his hand tighter around mine. A burst of heat shot across my cheeks, and I involuntarily swept my gaze along his bare chest and defined abs. The dragon tat only enhanced his earthiness and dark mysterious edges. Without even trying, he was devastatingly beautiful and dangerously seductive. Warmth flowed like melted chocolate sliding through my veins, its rich thickness slowing my ability to think.

If you liked Brightest Kind of Darkness…

You might want to check out The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, the first book in the Body Finder series. It’s a fun YA novel about an ordinary teenage girl with an extraordinary ability, like Nara in Brightest Kind of Darkness.

You may also enjoy Deadly Little Secret (Touch book 1) by Laurie Faria Stolarz. This book’s also YA, about a girl who falls for the new, mysterious loner in town who’s hiding a dark secret.  I think Camelia and Nara are both similar, in in that they’re both independent, stubborn characters. The writing is also quite similar!

Final Thoughts:

Brightest Kind of Darkness is an awesome first book to what’s sure to be an exciting new series. I’m definitely eager to read Lucid, the sequel. If you love YA paranormal romance books – especially the more mature ones – you need to check this novel out!

Rating: Brightest Kind of Darkness