Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Bright Lands

Even with it's slow start the story doesn't fail to make the reader intrigued about it's mistery and at it's climax definetly keeps the reader on their toes (my hands were quite literally shaking as I did). What's more, even if you think you won't, you ultimately fall in love with th characters and start cheering for them. The hard topics of racism and homophobia were, to my opinion, well tackled and even tho I have my criticism about certain plot points I do believe this is an important story that succeeds at talking about the kind of homophobia and toxic masculinity young men are subjected to in the world of American Football. What's more, I loved the dynamic between Joel and his brother that very much reminded me of the one I have with my own and I feel I will always carry their journey and characters in my heart (as well as the rest of the cast who, each for their own reasons, managed to make me fall in love with them too).

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rliedtke's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This will leave you saying what the f***. I wasn’t really sure where it was heading throughout the book but I definitely wasn’t expecting exactly what we got. The climax is about 100 pages long which sounds crazy but it was pretty epic and still felt fast paced, I couldn’t put it down once that scene started.

What I liked: multiple POVs, short chapters, the problems it discussed (homophobia, racism)

What I didn’t like: the writing felt mediocre to me and a few lines made me cringe

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brewsandbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

So overall, I really liked the beginning of this novel. I was interested in the mystery and loved the way I didn't know exactly what was coming. I also thought the ending was a huge shocker that I wasn't expecting and the way things linked together was fascinating and amazing. However, it lost a few points for me because I felt like it tried to be TOO shocking for me. It went to a real-life mystery to a paranormal experience. I just felt it wasn't there for me. I DO think people should read this, though. Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it isn't for lots of other people. People RAVE about this book and I think they have a point. It was just a miss for me

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katelynprice's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I was really into the mood, atmosphere, and mystery of this book. The first 70% was really good, and then...it got weird. I realize that there is a social commentary going on here, but I am just not a fan of the execution.

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lizflynn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

3.75

That was W I L D. The first 3/4 of the book is a really well-laid, suspenseful crime thriller, and then the last 1/4 twists and turns into some good ol fashioned horror and I loved the ride. This is definitely a step above the rest of the thrillers/crime fiction out there. There are so many well-done layers and secrets and conflicts and wow, I really hated that suffocating town of Bentley.

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