Review: Pretty Dark Nothing by Heather L. Reid

Pretty Dark Nothing by Heather L. Reid

Publisher-Month9Books

Release- April 23rd 2013

Purchase-Amazon / B & N / Chapters

When demons invade her dreams and tease of her death, Quinn, and Aaron, a boy with amnesia, must find a way to banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.Book Summary: It’s been twenty three days since Quinn has slept for more than minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her, and teasing of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life. Energy drinks and caffeine pills don’t make a dent. When Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. The demons are determined to keep them apart, and Aaron from discovering the secret locked away in his memory. Together, they could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.

My Thoughts:
It's been 18 months of relentless nightmares terrorizing Quinn's dreams, every since her father walked out on them and never came back. Quinn hasn't slept in 23 days and does everything she can to stay awake. She can't go back there. The veil to reality and the dreamworld are to thin. The shadows will always find her, unleashing tendrils that snake around her body pulling her into an endless eerie darkness, toying with her mind and driving her insane. Threatening to take her. Soon. With no escape and no one to save her.

They even haunt her during the day, ensuring she finds no comfort or release. They hide in the shadows festering her mind, taunting, stalking, pushing and dancing on her heightened emotions.

Quinn use to feel normal. Use to be a cheerleader and had a boyfriend, but her depression and sleep-deprivation changed all that, leaving her a former shell of what she use to be as she watches her boyfriend be with another girl, taking the life she use to have with total ease. She aches for teenage normalcy and peace. Something she may never have.

Aaron Collier has always harbored a secret obsession for Quinn Taylor the minute he meet her. But he also has a secret psychic ability every since the accident that took his mom and sister away and then later his own life and memories. So when Quinn collapses in the middle of the hallway and Aaron catches her he can't help get a glimpse into her living nightmare, watching as dark creatures try to destroy her from the inside out. He does the only thing he can by trying to manipulate the situation by using the connection to bring her back. But the dark creatures recognizes him somehow and what he's trying to achieve, attacks then recoils. Could Aaron be Quinn's only hope and saving grace? Can he save her from the dark prison of evil that has taken over her entire life? Or will the demons find a way to keep them apart...

Pretty Dark Nothing is a spine-tingling paranormal debut novel that is very dark with heartbreaking characters that you can't help feel sympathy for everything they had/have to endure. This is the stuff that really breaks your soul. Heather L. Reid, really captures that deep dark desperate depression in her writing. Almost to the point where you feel like your drowning in nothing but pain and sorrow right along with these characters. There really isn't much happy times in this escape or much for these characters to look forward to. 

But then the story started to move in a different direction with your typical high school issues; mean girls, ex-boyfriend, angst and head games. I also was really upset with the whole Jeff/Quinn deal and couldn't believe that Quinn took it that far (okay, so a sinister twisting voice got in her head, but still). And to top it all off Kerstin's news shifted the whole story into overkill drama. 

However, it was the ending and the final revelation that made this book finally come together. Like all the missing pieces to a puzzle finally clicked in place for us to see and appreciate the grand picture. I found myself completely absorbed and upset that it had to end where it did, I wanted more.

Overall, this turned out to be a decent read. The writing is a tad uneven but has a lot of potential, passion and promise. Reid can write, she has good ideas, they're just a little scattered. These characters are flawed and messy, but they also had their moments of warmth and tenderness and they make you feel and make you believe, which is always a good thing. And last but not least, we have an ending worthy of a sequel and I for one have high hopes for what's still to come.

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