New Reads! New Reads! #reviews

Every now and then, a book comes along and wallops me upside the head with happiness. This was one of them!

Can you imagine my dazed look of happiness? Yeah. It's kind of odd. I'll admit that.

But this was just so cool. A girl who dreams her entire next day. How exciting, scary, intimidating, and . . . boring--but that last part is only for her.

Poor Nara needs a surprise. And she gets one. In the form of a bomb at school. How could she not call this in to police and prevent her friends from being killed?

You guessed right. She couldn't.

But that phone call changes everything. The mysterious boy at school who never talks or touches anyone suddenly takes interest in her, helping her learn how to actually play soccer instead of predicting people's moves, befriending her when her best friend starts dating the school hottie and leaves Nara in the dark, slowly revealing there's more to Ethan than the bad reputation that follows him around. Which is a good thing, because now that she's a secret heroine, everything in her life starts falling apart. Her dreams are hazy. Accidents at school are hurting her friends. The bombers want to find the snitch, and somehow discover she's it.

Together, Nara and Ethan discover there are darker, more powerful forces attacking, and she's pissed them off with her heroic ways.

I do not want to give any of the juicy stuff in this book away. Yes, it has a paranormal story line that I fell in love with, something I haven't read before. A few times I thought, oh, no, please don't do be that book. And it wasn't!

Yes, it has romance. Sweet, tender romance. I thought for sure I'd yell STALKER at Ethan once or twice, but I didn't have to. It all made sense. Awesome.

I loved this book. I'd say it's appropriate for ages 14+. Minor swearing. Definite violence. Definite heart-pumping romance. 5 stars!

And not to leave out its sequel!

Ethan is GONE! I had to start out saying that because I felt that way through almost the entire book. Ethan is gone. Good God, bring him back.

Now that Ethan has Inara and some of his darkness is behind him, he goes home to settle things with his parents. (Because right now he lives with his older awesome brother Samson.) Inara makes a decision to research Ravens while he's gone. She wants to compile a book that might explain the mysterious tattoo that magically appeared on his shoulder. (You MUST read Brightest Kind of Darkness before reading this or you will be missing out...and lost.)

But someone is onto her. Someone dark. Someone deadly. Every stroke of her computer key puts her in more danger. Every trip to the Library puts her in harm's way. Even a simple trip to meet a man who's researched Ravens all his life leads to disaster--and also a really amazing scene between Ethan and Inara...even though they're several states apart.

But thanks to Drystan, a foreign exchange student who's into Parkour--and Inara, she's kept relatively safe. Drystan packs some supernatural powers of his own, and I cannot wait to see how these unfold in the next book. Ethan and Inara's relationship is strained to the point of almost snapping when he finally returns, and oh boy does he return with a bang...and some deeper darkness.

Lucid is an action-packed sequel to Brightest Kind of Darkness. Betrayals, new friendships, new relationships, new villains, and missing loved ones makes this book almost impossible to put down. I think I devoured it in two days. The romance is spicy. The wit is fun!

Solid 5 stars. (By the way, as a Washingtonian by day and a Virginian by night, I must admit that the author's facts about Washington DC were slightly skewered. She mentioned being able to see planes take off from Dulles airport though she was walking around the Tidal Basin of the Potomac, or somewhere close as they watched a plane crash into the Potomac, which, strangely, has happened before. The author should have stated Reagan National Airport. There may have been another error, but I can't remember it. The story was amazing, and these facts should not deter you from reading. I just had to point them out for any of my friends/family who might read and wonder if I missed that and I was stupid. Don't worry, guys. I still know where I live. Haven't been sucked that far out of reality...yet.)