[Review] Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle

Title: Brightest Kind of DarknessSeries: Brightest Kind of Darkness (Book 1)Author: P.T. MichelleGenre: YA, paranormal
Format: E-book, 357 pages
Publication Date: June 27, 2011
Published By: Self Published
Source: Received from author for tour

 Synopsis from Tour Host

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.
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About P.T. Michelle

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.
LINKS: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Newsletter

My Thoughts
I was impressed by the professional quality of this self-published title. I tend to get a little nervous and second guess myself when I accept to read and review a self-published e-book, but this one was a pleasant surprise.

Brightest Kind of Darkness kind of reminds me a little of a toned down Final Destination with better characters and a much better romance building sub-plot. It also has a wonderful mixture of story-telling, character building, and humor.

He didn't seem to want to interact with the people around him, yet he'd taken the time to talk to me, not just at school, but here too. The realization made me feel both sad and a bit special. Well, so long as he didn't think of me like a pet.

The pacing in the story was perfect. I enjoyed moving from the dream world to the real world and back and forth through the visions, and the author never made me feel lost during these transitions. I was also happy that the author didn't use the same cop-out a lot of writers use when a misunderstanding occurs and one of the main characters immediately does a complete 360 and no longer believes in the characteristics of the second character that made them fall for them in the first place. In the passage below, even though Nara is hurt and upset by something that has happened, she can immediately tell that Ethan didn't do anything on purpose to hurt her. she still feels the pain, but she is smart enough to realize it wasn't intentional and doesn't immediately flip-flop on her position regarding Ethan and now think he is a bad guy.

Ethan's face didn't reflect triumph. It held intrigued interest; a desire for my understanding. My initial anger settled, even though I still felt a part of me was missing.

I was very intrigued by a lot of topics introduced in the story, the crows/ravens, the feathers, Nara's father, the radio, Nara's grandmother, Ethan's nightmares and connection with Nara... unfortunately, I felt like not enough of these things were explained enough to my satisfaction by the end of the book. I realize that as it is the first book in the series, some mystery has to remain, but I was left feeling like way too much was left open and I honestly felt a little lost.

My exact reaction upon finishing reading Brightest Kind of Darkness was this:

Really? That's where you are going to go ahead and end it? /grumble grumble

But overall Brightest Kind of Darkness was a very enjoyable read, and I definitely will be reading book 2, Lucid, as soon as I can get my hands on it. I really hope more is explained soon...

My rating?

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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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