Review: There Is No Light In Darkness (#1, Darkness) by Claire Contreras - Vilma Iris | Lifestyle Blogger

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Review: There Is No Light In Darkness (#1, Darkness) by Claire Contreras

My Thoughts

A book layered with mysteries and secrets
you’re eagerly trying to uncover.

4halfstars

Synopsis

there is no light in darknessA past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.

After the mysterious and violent death of her parents, Blake Brennan finds comfort with an unconventional family. As the dramatic loss of her parents continues to haunt her—and hinders her from reciprocating love that others give freely—Blake embarks on a harrowing journey in search for the truth.

Living in a constant state of fear and need for control, vivid nightmares reveal details that lead to perilous situations. The past begins to collide with the present, and Blake must decide if the truth is worth losing the ones she loves.

Can love conquer all as her past comes to light? Or will Blake realize that there is no light in darkness?

My Review

“I wish I didn’t have this strong urge to uncover my past, because with this comes devastation and sorrow that I’m not sure I’m strong enough to relive.”

I thought this book was a really different read that totally and completely hooked me from the beginning. It’s a perfect combination of mystery and thriller, romance and angst.  I LOVED LOVED LOVED that the main characters comprise an unconventional family of sorts — bonded not by blood, but by love and circumstance. They would do ANYTHING for each other and something about that warmed my heart and made me love each individual character to pieces.

The story starts with an OMG prologue!!! It tragically recounts what happened to Blake as a young child — a harrowing event that not only changed everything for her right then and there, but also set into motion a series of actions that forever altered her future. Chapters alternate between past and present, giving us clues to help us piece it all together. I have to say, this was a bit Games-of-Thronish with so many characters that were connected somehow, I honestly wanted to draw some kind of org diagram to keep track of whom everyone was and how they were connected! Clues were often dropped within the text unceremoniously, so I definitely had to pay attention!

Blake has had such a difficult and painful life. So many people she’s loved have been taken from her and she’s almost paralyzed in life by the fear of more loss. She’s deeply haunted by her past, particularly through vivid nightmares. She never feels safe. Doesn’t feel like those she loves are safe either. Her fear also manifests itself through everyday compulsions like locking doors and never saying “I love you” out of fear that the moment she does, those closest to her will die too.

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Blake, however, is surrounded by a group of people that love her and love each other immensely. This was one of my favorite elements of the book. They are incredible towards each other. There’s Aubry, Greg, Becky, Aimee and last, but without a doubt, not least, Cole. Sigh. I LOVE Cole. Fell in love with everything about Cole. Blake and Cole have loved each other for years, but it seems they can’t be together… can’t or won’t, you don’t really learn the why until later. But he loves her and she loves him, there’s no denying that.

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Cole, however, is determined to make Blake his once and for all. One of the best things about Cole is that he feels so passionately and is not afraid to tell Blake exactly how much he loves her. He knows without a doubt that they are meant to be together and everything he says seriously had me swooning and sighing constantly. He is so freakin’ romantic!

“I’m in love with you, Blake. I’ve been in love with you from the moment I saw you. I’ve been in love with you from the day I was born and possibly even before then. I belong to you. My body belongs to you. My heart belongs to you.”

*faints*

These books are kind of tough to review, because it’s hard to even give you a high-level view of what happens without spoiling the experience of reading the way it all transpires. But everything in both Blake and Cole’s past is shrouded in secret and the more they dig, the more secrets they find.

“Our past taints us. As much as we try to paint our own canvas, our past is always there, hovering over our lighting.”

And holy cliffhanger!!! This is a BIG one… I was finishing this book late at night and then I read the cliffhanger and my eyes popped open! I’m talking adrenaline-racing, heart-pumping, jaw-dropping OMG cliffhanger. And so I started book 2, Darkness Before Dawn immediately!

This was a really great read overall, solid writing, mystery (which I love) and a great group of characters I really connected with. You’ll likely devour it, like I did! So good!

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