Pretty Dark Nothing (Pretty Dark Nothing, #1) by Heather L Reid

May 16, 2013 Jeann rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, review-copy

This ARC review has been posted on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Pretty Dark Nothing came with an interesting premise, a dark story about demons invading a high school school girl named Quinn. Upon starting the book however, it was evident that the dark, disturbing whispers in the night was only a side story to the high school drama that prevailed.

Quinn was a really annoying teenager who I just couldn’t relate to. She’s haunted by nightmares and demons whispering in her ear an...more This ARC review has been posted on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Pretty Dark Nothing came with an interesting premise, a dark story about demons invading a high school school girl named Quinn. Upon starting the book however, it was evident that the dark, disturbing whispers in the night was only a side story to the high school drama that prevailed.

Quinn was a really annoying teenager who I just couldn’t relate to. She’s haunted by nightmares and demons whispering in her ear and warping reality, yet she is fixated on her ex-boyfriend and trying to win him back. Jeff, her boyfriend of 4 years, has run off with another girl called Kerstin which immediately interfered with Quinn’s perfect life as the head cheerleader. The whole book has Quinn pining away for Jeff and about Aaron, a boy who feels the need to protect her against bullies and bitches.

While there are some parts that have potential, the dialogue is incredibly simplistic especially when it came to the high schoolers talking to each other. Moments with Quinn’s friend, Theresa had me cringing. “Anyway, I’ve picked a fashion hit for tomorrow. Sure to make any boy drool,” she says. While the girls get together to talk about boys and what to wear, the boys talk about how studly they are and how they want to get with girls. Regardless of how this happens in real life, it’s quite shallow and these where characters I hardly cared about.

A very brief stint halfway through the book had potential, where the shadows were haunting Quinn so much that she was turning into a psycho, and rumours began spreading about her apparent drug use. She starts hallucinating and seeing the demons twist her reality into disturbing scenes. This however, quickly melded into the high school drama again that I didn’t have a care for. I also had a problem with how her peers turned her back on her as soon as she lost Jeff, and voted her in as the school prom Queen just because they got back together.

The ending was also really weird and unexpected. However, it was too little, too late and I hardly cared about the big reveal at the end.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Apr 30, 2013 Syahira Sharif rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, young-adult, demon, drama, horror, romance, paranormal, angel

"Pretty Dark Nothing" is probably not a best book for the average YA Paranormal readers in a good way. Most YA Paranormal in the market focus more on the romance part and the thematic genre as the secondary storyline. This is a surprisingly very psychologically draining book and reminded me of the first season American Horror Story and Stephen King's Carrie. If you're seeking the conventional "If you love Twilight, you would love this...", this book is one to avoid and tread with caution because...more "Pretty Dark Nothing" is probably not a best book for the average YA Paranormal readers in a good way. Most YA Paranormal in the market focus more on the romance part and the thematic genre as the secondary storyline. This is a surprisingly very psychologically draining book and reminded me of the first season American Horror Story and Stephen King's Carrie. If you're seeking the conventional "If you love Twilight, you would love this...", this book is one to avoid and tread with caution because it wasn't a sappy love story.

"Pretty Dark Nothing" is about Quinn who was once a valedictorian, head cheerleader and perfect popular girl with a great boyfriend and a family. Until her life fall apart, her father left her family, her boyfriend dump her for an evil cheerleader who love to torment her daily, a former cheerleader due to her failing grades and suffered night terrors that made her too scared to fall asleep. Too scared is an understatement. I suffered insomnia too but her problems is schizophrenic. She sees things that wasn't there, she constantly doubt her sanity, she seeing things in the dark with claws and wanted to hurt her and whispers things. I rarely find a good YA author doing this in Paranormal Horror and even there's some galley-related flaws its quite up to my own style of writing. There's the tension coming from most of the antagonistic elements in this book and most of the part came from the voices in her head which give her doubts and demean her in every way. As psychological goes, this reminded me of Dexter of some sort.

I was utterly convinced that she was insane even with the help of Aaron's POV which are a definite marker that this isn't just an ordinary case of psychosis and that the demons she sees are real but again and again we're thrown in a loop wondering if all that was happening to her was real or not. Despite the on-off relationship Aaron and Quinn had in the story, I was extremely engrossed by Quinn's psychosis because the author is really a good at writing those crazy parts. Another entry to my sadistic storyteller listing. Add to that with the school drama, which goes surprisingly.

At the risk of becoming too much of a spoiler; As for the romance part of the story, I couldn't quite agree about folks blaming Quinn for her feelings for her ex, Jeff. It was obvious that she love him more in the early part of the book even if Aaron is a pleasing alternative. But I am not a fan of those instant romance. I get what the author trying to explain with her character. In all her life, Quinn have no one to turn to except for Jeff. All these years after her father left her, Jeff was always there as her rock. Why won't she have real difficulties in letting him go? She was in a state of confusion and distraught and her holding out for Jeff meant that he matters a lot for her. Why won't she be? She is still learning about Aaron but then how can you be certain he's the one? People have to make mistakes and learn from it. Whether you like it or not, not everything have to be a fairy tale and easily be solved in seconds.

Quinn is notably a damsel in distress.... but even to me, she is a very realistic and problematic desperate damsel in distress. Her desperation is real. While she at most time have difficult times in keeping everything real, Jeff is probably one of those that give her hope in helping her retaining her own sanity. The voices are very against her being together with Aaron and uses him against her. In a sense, they succeeded in manipulating her into making a lot of mistakes that gave her enough motivation to lead her to that fateful end.

I hope there will be a sequel to this book considering it give an interesting cliffhanger although there are some resolved question about Quinn and Aaron but it would be just too sadistic not to have a continuation. Like I said, there are elements in this novel are not for the soft hearted. This book's similar in vein to "Carrie", so it would be really wrong to group it similarly with the YA genre. But whatever rock your boats, there's always a reader for this kind of YA.

The ARC is provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Emma Adams rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, paranormal, young-adult

Thank you to Netgalley and Month9Books for offering me an egalley to review.

Quinn used to have it all, but now her nightmares are wrecking her perfect life. Monstrous, terrifying creatures plague her dreams and are now beginning to cross over into reality. But things take an interesting turn when she falls asleep at school and her fellow student Aaron, who developed psychic abilities following a tragic accident, accidentally enters her nightmare. From then on, a connection forms between the two...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Jenn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, netgalley, reading-challenge-13, paranormal, young-adult, sidekicks-were-better, standalone, annoying-protagonist

2.5

The premise of the book is interesting enough. Girl dreams of demons that start to bleed into her waking life. Boy, who has some physic power himself, is able to see into her dreams and see the darkness around her. He feels this urge to help her and she can’t say no. Along the way they find that their journey is not what they expected.

This book started out pretty good for me. I was instantly drawn into Quinn’s nightmares and wanted to know why she was plagued with these horrible dreams of de...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Beth Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars

YEA!!! MY SISTER'S BOOK1111

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May 14, 2013 Lindie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The way this story is set up is as a nice, intriguing mystery. I really liked that part, the string along and slow reveal as we figure out what's going on with Quinn. She's having nightmares, seeing shadows that shouldn't exist, and have little demon creatures whispering awful things in her ear. The demons are like that little voice in the back of your head that tells you all the ways in which things can go wrong, all the ways you fail. The voices are haunting Quinn, pushing her, manipulating he...more The way this story is set up is as a nice, intriguing mystery. I really liked that part, the string along and slow reveal as we figure out what's going on with Quinn. She's having nightmares, seeing shadows that shouldn't exist, and have little demon creatures whispering awful things in her ear. The demons are like that little voice in the back of your head that tells you all the ways in which things can go wrong, all the ways you fail. The voices are haunting Quinn, pushing her, manipulating her, driving her insane.

I liked Quinn. I liked that she's neurotic and pretty much falling apart. She's broken up about being dumped, on academic probation, benched from cheerleading and suffering from so much sleep deficiency that she passes out at school. She's a mess. Had the entire story just been about Quinn's struggle to reclaim herself, or her spiral into darkness, it would have been an easy 5 star for me.

Sadly, that is not the case. Pushing the mystery of Quinn's circumstances to the back was more relationship drama than you can shake a stick at. Quinn and her mother don't understand each other. Her father left to start a new family. Her boyfriend broke up with her without saying why, and then started dating someone Quinn hates. Her friends aren't that supportive, and quickly turn on her.

And then there is Aaron, the love interest. Saying I didn't like him is an understatement. He sucks. He's a weeny. Suffering from amnesia due to an accident, he is supposedly this brooding, sensitive musician. Who can read minds/emotions. I'm sorry, what? He reads her emotions, can see how out of her depth she is, and instead of giving her space, or being supportive, he whines. A lot. At no point does he actually fight for the girl, he just skulks off to attend pity parties for one.

This is one of those stories where most of the conflict could be avoided if people just talked to each other, but no, everyone is secretive and cryptic and unwilling to explain, or allow anyone else an explanation.

I was riveted for the first 150 pages, but the story seemed to nosedive from there. (less)

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May 06, 2013 Ian Wood added it

I rated this one worthy with a small reservation or two. You can read a spoiler-ridden review on my blog.

Ihave to say up front that I had a few issues with this story. It's a very dark tale and there's a lot of dark with very little leavening. I found this acceptable given what else it had to offer, but I have to admit there were times when I wondered if I was going to want to finish the book! I did finish it and didn't regret the reading, although the ending didn't go where I thought it might,...more I rated this one worthy with a small reservation or two. You can read a spoiler-ridden review on my blog.

Ihave to say up front that I had a few issues with this story. It's a very dark tale and there's a lot of dark with very little leavening. I found this acceptable given what else it had to offer, but I have to admit there were times when I wondered if I was going to want to finish the book! I did finish it and didn't regret the reading, although the ending didn't go where I thought it might, and seemed like it might well have been the ending for a different book altogether!

Perhaps my biggest beef is that the main characters behave all-too-often like they're thirteen years old instead of seventeen. Not that seventeen year olds and adults cannot behave like juveniles, but a break from that would have been nice: a few shades of gray here and there instead of the endlessly stark black and white!

Since this was an uncorrected galley, I don't want to be overly critical of the state of the text. For the most part the actual writing was very well done; Reid can write write! But there were some items bordering on obscurity which caught my eye. For example, at one point, the male protagonist Aaron chases after the female protagonist Quinn, on his motorbike and he arrives breathless! I'm not sure why - unless he was wrasslin' the handlebars all the way! Perhaps he forget his helmet and couldn't breathe on the journey? Was he pushing the bike the whole way?! That just seemed weird. There were one or two other bits like that, but fortunately not very many.

There were some spelling or word-use errors, like 'alter' when it should have been altar (p130). 'stripped' when it seems she meant striped (p137). Then there was the use of this phrase: 'display of PDA' (p143), which decompressed would read, display of public display of affection' which is awkward at best. People seem to readily forget, once a common phrase becomes an acronym, what the original phrase was, so we have people talking about the ATM machine, and the PIN number. That's irritating to me, but it's the way people are!

I frowned slightly when Reid used the phrase 'Texas to Canada' (p246) - as though Mexico isn't a country but Texas is! Texas was a country but it ain't no more, and Reid should know this because she lives here! OTOH, maybe it's because she's a native Texan that she thinks of it this way?!

I also had a cringe-worthy moment with a passionate kiss between Quinn and Aaron right after she's vomited (p159). No, very briefly chewing some gum isn't going to get rid of that awful stench no matter how passionate you are for your loved one! Another such moment was when they had scores of lit candles during a rock concert when the night was 'cloaking the audience in dusk (p192). Seriously, candles at a concert? have we learned nothing form the fires which have killed people when pyrotechnics got out of control? I blogged about this not long ago

This was all made up for with a really weird moment I had on the way to work this morning, I listened unexpectedly to a portion of Carl Sagan's Cosmos which appeared out of the blue when I was scanning stations, and then disappeared - I guess after I got out of range or the thunderstorm messed with the atmospherics or something, and then on break at work I read this novel and the main characters mention Cosmos (p166)! That was a moment! I highly recommend Cosmos.

It bothers me that there is no such thing as moderation in this novel - everything is black or white, everyone is always flying off the handle, everything is maximum intensity, all or nothing, turned up to 11. There's too much drama at times.

It bothers me that Quinn is so obsessed with cheerleading, especially at age 17! I would have preferred her to have a less stereotypical interest in life. It bothers me that coach White didn’t have a thing to say about Quinn's condition after the incident in the locker room where a mirror is smashed and Quinn has visible (although minor) injuries. It bothers me that no one has anything to say about the trashed up locker room! It bothers me that Quinn's father is mentioned briefly in a seemingly important way and then pretty much written completely out of the novel. maybe this is fodder for a sequel?

Quinn is too self-absorbed, although she has way more reason to be so than does Luce in the 'Fallen' disaster. Aaron nowhere near understanding enough given what he knows, and especially in the light of revelations about who he really is towards the end, revelations (I use the word advisedly!) which pop up out of nowhere. The problem is that both of them are seriously damaged people, and in such circumstances, were this reality, the chance that they would do each other far more harm than good is overwhelming. But this is fiction, so we can believe it will go the other way and be the best thing for them.

And that ending is definitely not expected! So I am going to recommend this one because it is so intriguing and offered a roller-coaster ride which I don't normally appreciate in a novel of this nature, but which in this case I was willing to ride. I'm not sure why! I can't say I'm waiting with baited breath for a sequel, but this particular volume I judge to be worth my time. Heather Reid is a writer with an interesting voice and she deserves our support to encourage her to voice some more novels our way.(less)

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Apr 30, 2013 Stormi (Lightning Book Promotions) rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is the debut novel by by Heather L. Reid and the premise sounds really interesting but it just fell flat.

Quinn hasn't be sleeping because when she does she dreams of demons. Now the demons are coming out of the dreams and she really is starting to think she is crazy. At school she has gone from one of the most popular girls, being head cheerleader, girlfriend to captain of the football team, etc to pretty much being an outcast. She had her life taken away from her by the mean girl of the st...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Katie Cody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dreams are more than they seem.

This is a thrilling story that will keep you up at night!

I loved the eerie atmosphere that this author creates and the nightmarish imagery that will put you right there with Quinn and Aaron.

The mystery and suspense added to the eerie atmosphere surrounding these characters. I had a great time trying to figure everything out!

Quinn is strong and determined girl. She is no stranger to hard work, but these nightmares have taken over her life. I liked that she never gav...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-reviewed, arc, book-tour, paranormal, ya-books

I was drawn to this book because of the creepy paranormal factor, and it didn't disappoint in this regard. At the beginning, we are introduced to Quinn as she attempts to stay awake, something most of us would love not to have to do. My friends and I talk about how we need to have a national naptime. Of course, the human body can't resist sleep forever, and Quinn does fall asleep, and we find out why she doesn't want to sleep. Enter her dark world.

This is a tension-filled book, as Quinn tries to...more I was drawn to this book because of the creepy paranormal factor, and it didn't disappoint in this regard. At the beginning, we are introduced to Quinn as she attempts to stay awake, something most of us would love not to have to do. My friends and I talk about how we need to have a national naptime. Of course, the human body can't resist sleep forever, and Quinn does fall asleep, and we find out why she doesn't want to sleep. Enter her dark world.

This is a tension-filled book, as Quinn tries to figure out what's going on and how she can solve the mess that is her life. She's a decent enough character, and it's fairly easy to sympathize with her. However, she does tend to wallow in self-pity. It's not like she was always like this. She was a normal teen before her life fell apart. I think I would have been able to relate to her more if we saw more of her other side even as she slips into her tendency to pity herself. Though she does tend to rely a lot on the people around her though, she isn't a total damsel in distress. She has her moments.

My favorite character does have to be Aaron. He goes through a lot as well, and he still manages to be so supportive of Quinn even though she pushes him away. I really wanted to see more of his character and abilities developed--and, well, more of him in general.

The characters and their relationships feel like one big high school drama, something I'm not particularly fond of, and the characters lack the depth that would help me sympathize with them more in a high school drama setting.

On the whole, the best part of this book is the paranormal focus, which we really start getting into midway into the novel. I really enjoyed exploring the dark world that consumes Quinn. By the end, I was engrossed enough into this that I would read a sequel if there were one. (Though I do admit this is partly also because a new twist was added at the end that I wasn't expecting and I feel should have been introduced earlier if this is going to be a standalone.)

I recommend this book if you love a good creepy paranormal book.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog Imaginary Reads.

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Apr 08, 2013 Inkyfox rated it 2 of 5 stars

Also posted on my YA Lit Review Blog: http://ireviewyalit.blogspot.ca/2013/...

*Made Possible by NetGalley.com! Thank you very much!

Introduction
Quinn’s life is not as perfect as it used to be. Her love of her life, Jeff, suddenly dumped her. Her dad left for a life with another woman. Her mom works non-stop and is never home. It has been twenty-three days since Quinn has slept for more than ten minutes at a time. This is because demons have been haunting her dreams. She survives on energy drinks...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Ionia rated it 4 of 5 stars

From the first page, "Pretty Dark Nothing" grabbed my attention and refused to let go. This book is well written and interesting and just grows more mysterious as the pages go by. The reader is fed bits of background on the characters little by little as the story progresses and I felt this helped keep the mystery going in a way that made me eager to keep reading.

Quinn is an interesting character that has a lot of confusion and strange events plaguing her life. Through her journey, the reader i...more From the first page, "Pretty Dark Nothing" grabbed my attention and refused to let go. This book is well written and interesting and just grows more mysterious as the pages go by. The reader is fed bits of background on the characters little by little as the story progresses and I felt this helped keep the mystery going in a way that made me eager to keep reading.

Quinn is an interesting character that has a lot of confusion and strange events plaguing her life. Through her journey, the reader is able to see multiple parts of this story. Aaron is another strong and vital character and he makes up the other part of the book that Quinn does not. This book would be suitable for older teens. There is some swearing and sex, but nothing that is intensely graphic or inappropriate.

By about halfway through the novel the paranormal aspect consumes much of the writing space, and I was impressed with the author's take on this subject. Rather than taking the familiar beaten path, she chose to make her own way using unique paranormal happenings to colour and give life to her writing. There are moments in this book where the activity is so frightening that you almost want to turn your head away from reading and wait for your heart to return to a normal rhythm. There are certainly no dull spots in this book.

There were a few unexpected twists along the way. I actually found the relationship between Quinn and Aaron to be a bit frustrating at times, but if the author intended to go for high school drama that resembles reality, in that respect she did a great job. Nobody in this book knows what they want or how to hang on to it. The indecisiveness of the characters annoyed me a little, but also one must keep in mind that I am not a teen and have a different perspective on things as an adult than a younger reader might.

There are a couple of characters that you will no doubt love to hate. Heather Reid did a super job of making her characters have depth and their own individual quirks and personalities. If you are looking for something to read and like books where the characters make you want to hug them and strangle them at the same time, this is a great choice. I personally enjoy detesting a character. If a book can make me feel something, then it has done the job I asked of it.

The not so good for me was the way it ended. Not sure if this is going to be part of a series (hope so.) If it is, then I could understand why it ended the way it did. Don't get me wrong, I like a story where everything doesn't turn up roses at the end. But this one had a huge revelation that was somewhat of a stunner and then it was over. Just like that. Done. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Overall this was an engaging read that kept me wanting to come back for more. If you like paranormal YA this is certainly a book that I would recommend, even in spite of the abrupt ending.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher. (less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Anny rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded up
This book drags you in from page one, where Quinn, the protagonist, fights to stay awake for fear of her dreams, and maintains a hectic pace throughout when her dreams find their way to her waking hours. It's dark and intriguing, driven by mystery and full of twists and turns that flow smoothly with the romantic aspects of the story. While I would definitely recommend it to fans of paranormal romance, it wasn't without faults.

The writing was good, not great. The author seems to hav...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Charlotte Black rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs

This is a 3.5 more than a 3 star.

Thank you to Heather Reid and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion.

Firstly, I liked this book, the story drew me in immediately. Quinn isn't a strong person in the story and to be honest that was a little refreshing as I've been reading many books with great inner strength. But Quinn was totally different. Full of insecurities, doubts, worries and most of all that feeling of being unloved by her parents.

So, Quinn has a demon prob...more This is a 3.5 more than a 3 star.

Thank you to Heather Reid and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and give my honest opinion.

Firstly, I liked this book, the story drew me in immediately. Quinn isn't a strong person in the story and to be honest that was a little refreshing as I've been reading many books with great inner strength. But Quinn was totally different. Full of insecurities, doubts, worries and most of all that feeling of being unloved by her parents.

So, Quinn has a demon problem. They reach into her dreams or nightmares and torment her to death. They whisper in her ears and mock her when she's alone. And she daren't go to sleep, at all.

Aaron sees everything but hangs back away from the crowd. Everyone in school knows that Quinn is still hung up on her ex-boyfriend. The one who started dating another popular girl straight after. The school seem to worship Jeff, and Aaron can't stand him. Especially the way Jeff treats Quinn. But Aaron knows Quinn is vulnerable and after a few happenings where Aaron happened to be at the right place at the right time, he really believes at last that he'll have a chance with Quinn.

Told from 2 POV's this story weaves around high-school and brings forward all the fears and doubts that everyone goes through at that age. Most of the time (not knowing where the story was heading) I actually began to read the demons as metaphors. Hoping right at the end something miraculous would happen and Aaron would save the day. After the school homecoming scene I actually thought the story dipped and I confess that I was a little disappointed that the big reveal happened right at the end. A very surprising ending I might add. Not what I expected AT ALL!!

This is a story that definitely fits into the good v evil category. What really held it together was the grief and turmoil that Quinn goes through throughout the book. I really hope there aren't any students who actually go through this in real life (and yes, I'm using demons as actual metaphors this time). The way her school friends and colleagues treated her was so awful, I felt so sorry for her.

Anyway, the writing style is excellent so full marks to Reid. I'm hoping there will be a second book because I really liked Aaron and I'm now curious as to what happens next!!

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Mar 20, 2013 Dianne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: demons, netgalley, new-adult, paranormal-romance, own, ya-paranormal-romance, ya

Quinn has had a bad year, her father has abandoned the family, her mother retreats in her work and her boyfriend of four years dumps her for one of her least favorite people. Now demons are invading her dreams, giving her horrifically vivid nightmares of her death. Lack of sleep and caffeine are taking their toll. Quinn's grades are falling, she has been kicked off the cheerleading squad, she is a mental and physical wreck. When she passes out at school, hot guy Aaron rushes to her rescue! Aaron...more

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May 15, 2013 Florentine rated it 4 of 5 stars

As seen on my blog: Readiculously Peachy

I received an ARC copy from the publisher via NetGalley.com to read and review in return.

Pretty Dark Nothing was definitely a very fast read for me. From the very first sentence I was hooked to the story. When I started reading the book I was cozy in my bed, it was quite late at night, and I had a little light on my night stand, for the rest it.was.completely.dark. Well... I have to say that I was pretty freaked out when I got through the first chapter,...more As seen on my blog: Readiculously Peachy

I received an ARC copy from the publisher via NetGalley.com to read and review in return.

Pretty Dark Nothing was definitely a very fast read for me. From the very first sentence I was hooked to the story. When I started reading the book I was cozy in my bed, it was quite late at night, and I had a little light on my night stand, for the rest it.was.completely.dark. Well... I have to say that I was pretty freaked out when I got through the first chapter, but I just could not stop reading! Ms. Reid definitely has a talent for vividly describing demonic creatures lurking in the dark, describing their features, abilities, and snide actions... I got to say that this was one of the first books which made my scared flooding my room into darkness when going to sleep! Let's get into the details, shall we?

The story plunges the reader immediately into suspense, into the darkness and wrath of the demonic nightmares Quinn finds herself trapped in. Quinn is the main character of the story. She is beautiful, smart and used to have it all together before her father left her and her mother for another life, and her long loved boyfriend dumped her for the pretty popular redhead at school. That was when the nightmares began. The moment Quinn shut her eyes and sailed off to 'dreamland' she was haunted my demonic and terrible creatures and surroundings which were slowly trying to engulf her. Quinn saw this first as a justification to her dad leaving and being dumped by her boyfriend, and used anything she could like energy drinks, caffeine pills and very, very loud metallic music to keep herself awake, but her fatigue eventually took control. The demonic creatures no longer only haunted her in her dreams, and they slowly found a way to haunt her during the day of her full awake state, lurking in the shadows, in the darkness, waiting for her, watching her, and slowly possessing her life. During one of her gruesome nightmares, she sees Aaron Collier, a dark-mysterious handsome guy from her school, who somehow stepped into one of her nightmares and had the strength the ability to temporarily save her from the darkness. She feels she can finally rest, but unfortunately for Quinn, this does not last for very long.

I found Quinn to be a very interesting character. We immediately get to know her character as an independent and courageous girl, but when the darkness and demons seem to crawl not only in her dreams but also in her conscious state, does she begin to wither into a very small, weak, self-conscious, and sad character. This sometimes got a little annoying, but then again I also found her emotions, actions and reactions realistic. I mean, come on, how the heck would you react if dark scary foggy demons were lurking in each shadow you walk ed past, whispering dark thoughts into your mind, and slowly trying to take over your life and physically possess you? That's right, you would first freak out, be in denial of its authenticity, and then FREAK OUT some more... Quinn used to have it all, she used to have the perfect quarterback boyfriend, popularity status, she was Valedictorian of her school, but this all crumbled down once the demons took over.

Aaron is you're typical, dark haired, handsome, and mysteeerious boy who seems to of course have an eye on Quinn. He feels a certain connection between them which he at first does not understand. Aaron is of course not your ordinary boy, as he seems to have the power to feel other peoples emotions when physically touching them and can even influence and alter these emotions. But with Quinn this is totally different, he can feel her emotions and get into her mind without being in contact with her. Aaron is completely obsessed with Quinn, and whenever she seems to be the damsel in distress, Aaron is always there to find and help her.

Their relationship is quite difficult and this often became very frustrating since their relationship never fully seemed to function on a healthy level. Quinn was being threatened by her demons, forbidding her to reveal their existence, hence it stood so much in the way of their relationship (obviously). It was bothersome to see how many times Aaron was shot down (emotionally) by Quinn. But of course, love conquers all, and can lead you into very crazy situations, and that is definitely was it does in this book.

Despite my minor irritation of the repetitive damsel in distress moments and dysfunctional romance between the two main characters, I found Pretty Dark Nothing definitely an enjoyable and quick read, with very spooky moments, nonstop suspense, and great main and accompanying characters. I would definitely recommend this book to those who love a little scare here and there and to be intrigued by a unique and consuming story line! I look forward to reading the sequel!(less)

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May 11, 2013 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels, demons, fantasy, horror, indie-authors, arc-galleys, paranormal, young-adult, urban-fantasy, first-in-series, bad-boys-of-all-flavors, high-school

I really had no expectations while reading the book. The synopsis drew me in and I was curious to know what the book was all about, but I must say that this book was not for me. I will say that I did enjoy the authors writing style, which flowed with ease and maybe the only reason I finished the book. It was the characters and the confusion that made me dislike the book.

Quinn, who hasn't slept in weeks, is being haunted and followed by demons who invade her dreams and mind.They never leave her...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Jessica Mangicaro rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, young-adult

Review cross-posted on my blog

This was a complicated book for me. I really wanted to like it, but I just had so many conflicting feelings while reading it! This wasn't a very fast-paced book for me. It definitely took some getting into. Reid did do an excellent job describing Quinn's nightmares and I thought her imagery was incredible, so that was a perk for me.

The storyline however, didn't do it for me. Until the end. The whole book just seemed like there was way too much high school drama and...more Review cross-posted on my blog

This was a complicated book for me. I really wanted to like it, but I just had so many conflicting feelings while reading it! This wasn't a very fast-paced book for me. It definitely took some getting into. Reid did do an excellent job describing Quinn's nightmares and I thought her imagery was incredible, so that was a perk for me.

The storyline however, didn't do it for me. Until the end. The whole book just seemed like there was way too much high school drama and it overshadowed the paranormal elements. It wasn't until the end where the puzzles pieces finally started to fit together that we gained an understanding of why Quinn was having these nightmares and hearing voices.

Quinn, the main character, is dealing with horrific nightmares and not getting any sleep because she's too afraid of what will happen. Her boyfriend broke up with her and is now dating a different girl, her grades have plummeted, and she's on probation from the cheer squad. Things are definitely not going her way. I did not like listening to Quinn obssess over her ex-boyfriend, Jeff. Especially when good guy Aaron comes around.

Aaron is drawn to Quinn and has secretly liked her for quite some time. He decides he wants to try and make his move now that Quinn is single. Quinn, still hung up on her ex, doesn't really give Aaron much attention, until he swoops in and 'saves' her from passing out in the hallway.

I hated how Quinn treated Aaron. Here, you have a great guy, who genuinely likes you and wants to be with you, and you're hung up on your dirtbag ex who is dating a girl you don't even like! I realize Quinn is plagued with these nightmares and hears voices, but that doesn't give you the right to jerk the guy around. I did like Aaron's character a bit more than Quinn. He couldn't stay away from Quinn, no matter how hard he tried, and practically just kept asking for his heart to be broken. We do find out the reason why he can't seem to let go of her at the end of the book, however.

I think that is my biggest issue with the book- I just didn't like our protagonist. If I can't find anything relatable to my main character it's usually a no-go for me. And Quinn just got on my nerves.

I saw that Reid is writing a sequel and I will read it because I am curious as to where she is going to go with the book, especially after all the revelations at the end. Hopefully now that Quinn knows the truth and after having a harrowing experience, she'll grow up a bit and will redeem herself in the next book.

*Thanks to netgalley.com for allowing me to review this book in advance in exchange for an honest opinion.*(less)

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Apr 17, 2013 wanderherz rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received this e-ARC for free on netgalley.com and in exchange I will do an honest review.

Initially the beautiful cover drew me to Pretty Dark Nothing. The plot doesn't reveal much, so I started reading it with an open mind and I had no expectations at all. I liked the idea of demons haunting Quinn's dreams and the book started off great. The demons and nightmares were depicted really scary and realistic.

Unfortunately I couldn't connect with Quinn at all...in fact I absolutely loathed her. She...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Amy H rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-netgalley

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is what i have to say about this book. i would have gave it 3 stars, but the only part i didn't like was the ending. i totally enjoyed this book to the point that i didn't want to put it down. then when i got to the end of the book BAM!!! just like that the story changes. WTF! now i am not only confused but mad. this part should have slowly been added into the book. i will be honest and say i almost walked away from it, but being the great reader that i am i finsh...more GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is what i have to say about this book. i would have gave it 3 stars, but the only part i didn't like was the ending. i totally enjoyed this book to the point that i didn't want to put it down. then when i got to the end of the book BAM!!! just like that the story changes. WTF! now i am not only confused but mad. this part should have slowly been added into the book. i will be honest and say i almost walked away from it, but being the great reader that i am i finshed it to the end.

this books is a bout a girl named Quin. The thing about her is that she refuses to sleep. Why? you may ask. is because everytime she falls alseep the dark creatures attack her. they attack her so bad it feels real. Quin starts to take lots and lots of red bull and caffine pills to help her stay awake. thus, only leaving her 2 hours a night. Quin was captian of the cheerleading squad, but since this sleeping issue her perfect grade point average dropped and now she is suspended from the team, but as punishment she still has to go to the games and watch practice from the bench. Oh, did i mention her replacement for captian is now dating her boyfriend. oh yup that happend. the coaches think with the recent break up that she is overly stressed and needed a break. no one will know the real reason why.

these dark creatures, (deamons) that she finds out now not only haunt her in her sleep, but they started to bug her in the daylight. showing themselves to her everywhere. telling her bad things and that she will be dead soon. So, she starts yelling and batting them away. the only problem is that no one else can see these deamons and now the school thinks she is a drug addict. still morning over her ex boyfriend she is partnered with a guy named aaron for a school project. Aaron is hot. and the good news is that he is in love with her. he stars at her from afar and just wanted one moment with her.

Arron has a special power. just one touch of someone he can sense there feelings and there thought. he even can get into their mind and see there memorys and what they are thinking. he always wears long sleeves no matter what the weather. he is also hiding a dark secret. having to take care of his family because a tragic death killed his mother and sister while his father cannot get over the fact that they are dead leaves him at a stand still with his brother. he now feels when something is wrong with Quin. he senses that she is in trouble and aways comes to her rescue just at the right times. he knows she will be creeped out,but for now it is working for him to get closer to her.

Aaron and quin finally get close,but she keeps pushing him away every chance she gets because her ex boyfriend jeff comes in the picture like a lost puppy. he tries to make her jealous by going out with his band partner and friend jen. this works and all hell breaks loose.

now quin has to decided who she wants to be with while fighting with these demons. now she makes a deal and will it be the end of her? will aarons secret come out? i will not talk about the ending because that is what i hate. it changes the whole book and it should have slowly been brought up thru the book and not just the last couple chapters i was so confused and angry that i almost didn't even finish the story.

i got this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Apr 13, 2013 Sienna Logan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, to-review, arc

For more of my reviews visit http://losttobooks.blogspot.com

Rating 1 but maybe a 1.5 at a push

Initially it was the cover that drew me to this book, it's beautiful and once I read the description it intrigued me into requesting this book. It sounded like it would be a dark, action packed book that would be a gripping read and right up my alley. However this book was more like broken-hearted teen who was just messed up than what the description suggested and quite frankly it was a big disappoint...more For more of my reviews visit http://losttobooks.blogspot.com

Rating 1 but maybe a 1.5 at a push

Initially it was the cover that drew me to this book, it's beautiful and once I read the description it intrigued me into requesting this book. It sounded like it would be a dark, action packed book that would be a gripping read and right up my alley. However this book was more like broken-hearted teen who was just messed up than what the description suggested and quite frankly it was a big disappointment.

When I started reading it did hook my interest. The fact that Quinn hasn't slept for 23 days and is seeing demons started the book of nicely and I thought it would set itself up for some really exciting action. However once I got three chapters in the book just didn't seem to go anywhere. Instead of any action all you got was Quinn being frightened over the demons but not doing anything about it, pining over Jeff (her ex) and then another pov from Aaron who was pining over Quinn. I did stick with this book though as I've read novels that start like that before and normally the character grows out of it. Unfortunately this was not the case with Quinn, if anything she got worse! I mean seriously? It gets to the point where the reader is done feeling sympathy for the character and it just becomes plain irritating. There needs to be something else to the story.

Throughout the whole book there was very little character development and it made the writing incredibly annoying to read. The best part was when she hooked up with Aaron finally and they started sharing secrets. I thought it would be the turning point in the book and from there get better and we would see Quinn's character grow, but no...a few pages later it was back to "I love Jeff, no Aaron, no Jeff, argh why don't these demons leave me alone!" And by that point I just wanted to scream at her.

There was practically no action in this book which really confused me. Where was all the fighting demons and banishing them back to the underworld that was written about in the description??? It was seriously misleading. Not only that, one of the most annoying things about this book is that you never get an explanation for anything! The demons Quinn hear - I have no idea what they are, what their purpose is or what they want. They were just voices that made Quinn's internal monologue unbearable at times and forced me to skip long sections as it sounded like an over dramatic teenager.

As well as this the ending confused me a lot. What happened to Quinn was predictable but the rest of what happened just lost me. There were name changes, new paranormal elements involved and the secret that's been hidden from Aaron, well it's never really explained so you can understand it, so be prepared to be confused if you read this book...

The ending seemed like where the paranormal story should begin but it ended abruptly with no natural resolve. The rest of the book was like a bad contemporary. It seems to me the author couldn't decide what she wanted this book to be; a contemporary teen drama picking up on issues like self harming, drugs, and cheating or a paranormal book and for me the way in which it was written did not link the two together well at all. There wasn't enough detail in either genre to make it one or the other or satisfy the reader. I don't know if there is going to be a sequel but if there is I can't imagine what the author is going to do with this book next. Maybe it will go into more paranormal aspects promised in the description but for me that should have been the main focus of this book.

Overall this book was a major disappointment and I feel it could have been so much more. The lack of detail and explanations left me confused a lot of the time and the characters never really grew or developed. I was either distant or annoyed by them and their internal monologues which were just whiny. There was hardly any action and I feel the description although intriguing is very misleading as it's not really what happens. As it stands at the moment the title sums this book up pretty well it was definitely a big 'dark nothing' and I wouldn't recommend it to paranormal lovers. Maybe of you like teen dramas but for me this book is too undecided on what it wants to be.
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Mar 23, 2013 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley-books, arc-s, ya, meh-books

This was more like 1.5 stars for me.

After reading the description for this book I was really excited to read it because it sounded really interesting. So it sucks to say I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I couldn't connect with the book or the characters at all. It took me a lot longer to read this book and finish it than I wanted it to. Which stinks because I really wanted to like this book.

The heroine Quinn is a 17 year old girl who went from being "Quinn Perfect" to some one who's strugglin...more This was more like 1.5 stars for me.

After reading the description for this book I was really excited to read it because it sounded really interesting. So it sucks to say I wasn't a huge fan of this book. I couldn't connect with the book or the characters at all. It took me a lot longer to read this book and finish it than I wanted it to. Which stinks because I really wanted to like this book.

The heroine Quinn is a 17 year old girl who went from being "Quinn Perfect" to some one who's struggling just to make it through the day. Jeff, her boyfriend of 4 years just out of the blue broke up with her via text then started dating her arch enemy. That of course leaves her devastated. Her father also walked out on her and her mother for another woman and started a new family. So naturally that messes her up a bit and her mother is never home because she's a workaholic. To top it all off Quinn has demons & shadows following her around. These demons are whispering to her and manipulating her. She refuses to sleep because these demons torment her in her nightmares so she lives off of Red Bulls, coffee, and caffeine pills.

I'm not a fan of Quinn. To be honest I didn't like her at all. I found her to be whiney and a pushover when it came to her douchy ex boyfriend. She was extremely insecure, selfish, annoying, indecisive, and she led Aaron on. One minute she said that she loved Aaron then the next minute she ran running back to her cheating ex boyfriend. She also caved when it came to the demons. She new they were evil so why couldn't she fight harder? She gave up so easily at any opportunity she could.

Now, Aaron was the only reason this book was any good. I loved Aaron! Aaron was in love with Quinn and was loyal to a fault. No matter what happened Aaron was always there for her and he kept giving her chance after chance after chance even after she ran back to Jeff. Aaron also has psychic abilities and is connected to Quinn somehow. He can feel when she's in trouble and he can see her nightmares. He doesn't know how he can see into her nightmares or whats causing them. By the end of the book he's determined to save her!

This was a really slow placed book with some plot holes and at times a little confusing. The ending of the book left me saying "seriously"? I felt like it was something that should've been incorporated throughout the book and not just the last few pages. There were so many unanswered questions like "WHAT HAPPENED TO AARON?" I want to know what happened to the one thing I liked about this book! Hopefully there's a 2nd book for Aaron's sake.

To end on a good note I want to say that just because this book wasn't really for me doesn't mean it's not for someone else. Also, I thought the cover was beautiful and that's part of the reason why I wanted to read this book.

*thanks to netgalley & Month9Books for the arc* (less)

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Apr 05, 2013 Rodney rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley. I'd like to thank them, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
In Pretty Dark Nothing we are introduced to Quinn, a teenage girl who we find out in the first paragraph hasn't had a full nights sleep in twenty-three days. She's been plagued with what she believes are nightmares in which these shadowy creatures are stalking her and trying to drive her mad. The nightmares started about eighteen months ago after her Dad walked out on his f...more I received this book from NetGalley. I'd like to thank them, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.
In Pretty Dark Nothing we are introduced to Quinn, a teenage girl who we find out in the first paragraph hasn't had a full nights sleep in twenty-three days. She's been plagued with what she believes are nightmares in which these shadowy creatures are stalking her and trying to drive her mad. The nightmares started about eighteen months ago after her Dad walked out on his family for another woman. They have progressively gotten worse, to the point that it is destroying her life. Her grades have plummeted, her boyfriend has dumped her and she's lost her position on the cheer leading squad. Even more devastating is that she lost both boyfriend and position to the same girl, Kerstin. Her biggest rival.
Things continue to worsen for Quinn as these creatures start to invade her everyday life, not just when she's sleeping. She later learns that they are actually demons and they want something from her.
When Quinn collapses at school a boy named Aaron comes to her rescue. Aaron has a few secrets of his own. He was in a car accident in which his Mother and little sister died and he nearly did. When he awakens he can't remember anything about his life, but he has somehow developed the ability to read peoples thoughts and feelings. Especially Quinn. There is a strong connection between them and he'd like to see where it could lead. The only problem is Quinn is hung up on her Ex, Jeff. What Aaron doesn't know is that the demon's are manipulating Quinn's thoughts.
However despite the demons Quinn and Aaron become close, but these demons are very powerful and for some reason they don't want Quinn to be around Aaron and will do anything to keep them apart.
For the most part I enjoyed this book. The writing was fluid and easy to read. It made for a pretty quick read. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. Some things just came out of nowhere, for me. I wasn't expecting that ending. Very surprising. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Surprises are good. This must be the first book in a series because the ending has left me wondering what happens next. (less)

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Apr 25, 2013 Kimberley Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance, sarah-recommendations

Special thanks to the publisher Month9Books who approved my request via Netgalley.

I think it is really hard to write a review for a book you liked so much than writing a review for a book you did not like at all. Bashing things you hate is always easy but actually finding the words to aknowledge something you want the world to read is really really hard.
So before I go into much detail let me just say one thing:
If you are into paranormal books that are a little darker, if you are into love stori...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: age-young-adult, genre-urban-fantasy, language-english, on-kindle, read-2013

So this has been a new kind of story for me. I was intrigued by this pretty cover. It looks really mysterious and dark. And when reading the synopsis, I thought it sounds rather interesting, I should read this book.
This is a really dark YA-novel, which I liked. While all those High School events around our protagonist Quinn were rather clichee, those demons weren't. They could really creep you out and it isn't really a surprise that Quinn gets weirder every day. However Quinn didn't make it on m...more

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Apr 08, 2013 ABookVacation rated it 2 of 5 stars

To read my full review:

http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...

I was really interested in this novel when I first read the synopsis, but I am very sorry to note that this novel wasn’t really for me. The main character, Quinn, rubbed me the wrong way from the get go, and it’s never a good sign when I can’t connect, and don’t want to connect, with the main character. In my personal opinion, Quinn was too much of a whiney, negative character for me to feel any kindred with her at all. She made bad...more To read my full review:

http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...

I was really interested in this novel when I first read the synopsis, but I am very sorry to note that this novel wasn’t really for me. The main character, Quinn, rubbed me the wrong way from the get go, and it’s never a good sign when I can’t connect, and don’t want to connect, with the main character. In my personal opinion, Quinn was too much of a whiney, negative character for me to feel any kindred with her at all. She made bad decision after bad decision, and constantly had to rely on males, namely Aaron, to help her through her bouts of weakness. She is so weak that, at some points, I really wanted to reach into the pages and smack some sense into her, especially as she tends to wallow in her inability to take care of herself. She truly acts as if the whole world revolves around her, hurting others more than helping when she “attempts” to help, and at one point, she made such a stupid decision that I lost all respect for her. I was livid, truth be told, and I just couldn’t handle the stupidity. I understand that she does have demon’s whispering to her, and they’re at fault, but I don’t feel like she really fought back, and I just couldn’t stand her idiocracy. Now… before you write off this book completely, remember that we all react differently to characters, and I feel like many would say the exact same thing about Bella from Twilight, whereas I loved her! So… there is a very distinct possibility that my feelings for Quinn might be very different from your own. Keep that in mind.

Now, my feelings for Quinn aside, I liked Aaron enough, though he doesn’t seem to catch a break, and while I really thought that the questions about how and why the demons were attacking, and how Aaron’s amnesia fit in, weren’t going to be answered, they are, in the very last pages of the book. And you know what? It made me want to read the sequel a little bit… I mean, now that I know more information about it all, and I never saw it coming, my interest is really piqued. So, even though I really dislike Quinn, and I’m not in love with this book, it has made me feel strongly enough that I’m pretty sure I’m going to read the sequel as soon as it releases. I’ve just got to know, you know? Two stars for this round—but hopeful for the second.
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May 06, 2013 Annabell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Side Note: Thank you to the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read this book through Netgalley.

Warning: There will be sarcasm and ranting.

Review: There are not enough words to describe just how much I hated this book but I shall try to piece together some sort of coherent review.

Somewhere in the mess of this so called “book” there was potential. The concept worked, albeit it wasn’t too original, but it could have been good. The execution and especially the characters, killed wha...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Janina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-for-review-blog-tour, netgalley, own-but-haven-t-read

Pretty Dark Nothing is one of those books I went into without knowing much about it, so I really had no expectations while reading the book. The synopsis drew me in and I was curious to know what the book was all about, but I must say that this book was not for me. I will say that I did enjoy the authors writing style, which flowed with ease and I liked that a lot and made me continue on to finish the book. It was the characters and the confusion that made me dislike the book.

My dislike for the...more Pretty Dark Nothing is one of those books I went into without knowing much about it, so I really had no expectations while reading the book. The synopsis drew me in and I was curious to know what the book was all about, but I must say that this book was not for me. I will say that I did enjoy the authors writing style, which flowed with ease and I liked that a lot and made me continue on to finish the book. It was the characters and the confusion that made me dislike the book.

My dislike for the main character is what made me not like the book so much. Quinn, who hasn't slept in weeks, is being haunted and followed by demons who invade her dreams and mind to pretty much make her feel like crap and make her life miserable. They never leave her alone and she's always on guard, checking every shadow all times of the day. The girl was a ticking time bomb! But the thing about it is that she gave up to easily for me. I can't stand a weak minded character and she was the definition of it. She always settled for less, gave up, and whined. I mean the demons would start to bother her and she'd just give up and let them influence her decisions and actions. I mean, DUDE, at least put up a little bit of a fight instead of hollering 'your not real' throughout the whole book. What's that gonna do?

And the thing that ANNOYED me the most, was her constant indecision about her ex. Why would you want to go back to him? He cheated on you, broke up with you via a text, never returned your calls, and started dating your enemy...Seriously?! You kept pushing away Aaron, who was a great guy by the way, for some false hope of you getting back with the ex. I couldn't stand it. I went through this torture pretty much the entire book. And I didn't understand why this would consist of the majority of the story. Aaron is what pretty much kept me flipping the pages because I actually liked him. He would give up on Quinn and that would annoy me a little bit, but then why wouldn't he? You kissed and hugged your ex in front of his face like Jeff was the best thing since sliced bread. I would have stopped dealing with her a long time ago especially since he didn't have to stay around

The ending was confusing as well. It kind of came out of nowhere and I still don't think I understand it. So what happened to Aaron for sure? Overall, I think the book had a lot of potential, but certain aspects of the book ruined it for me. If you can handle all the things that I couldn't then I think you should go ahead and give the book a try! This is just my personal opinion. I received a copy of this book through netgalley for an honest review.(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Kat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Kat's Review

This novel has a cool premise. The main character, Quinn, is being plagued by demons infiltrating her mind and influencing her actions. Despite her best efforts to fight them off, they get closer and closer, causing her to have nightmares and visions that are terrifying and making her behave in strange ways. She's recovering from the loss of her father, who moved out to start a new life and family, as well as the loss of her boyfriend of four years, who mysteriously broke up with her...more Kat's Review

This novel has a cool premise. The main character, Quinn, is being plagued by demons infiltrating her mind and influencing her actions. Despite her best efforts to fight them off, they get closer and closer, causing her to have nightmares and visions that are terrifying and making her behave in strange ways. She's recovering from the loss of her father, who moved out to start a new life and family, as well as the loss of her boyfriend of four years, who mysteriously broke up with her after going on vacation with his family over the summer. She spends her days fantasizing about getting back together, even while watching him date another girl at school.

This is where Aaron comes in. Aaron is the new guy with a mysterious past, who feels a connection to Quinn that he can't explain. He's dealing with his own demons; the loss of his mother and sister in a car accident, the same accident that killed him, only to be revived by paramedics. He came back to life unable to remember anything about his past, and with a new ability- he can read the minds of those he touches. Only, Aaron finds that his connection with Quinn runs deeper than that; they have the ability to connect even while far apart.

This book is part paranormal thriller, part high school romance. I liked the character of Quinn well enough, except when it came to her inability to let Jeff, her ex, go, even after starting a relationship with Aaron. Her devotion to Jeff made sense in the beginning, but not closer to the end, even despite the urging of the demons to take him back. The supporting characters were fun and well drawn, and the author did a good job of showing Quinn's behaviour from the view of outsiders who didn't know what was really going on.

My biggest complaint with the book is the ending. Quinn takes off from the school dance and is urged by the demon in her mind to do something crazy. When Aaron shows up to save her, there is a big long section that explains his role in Quinn's life. It felt like one long info dump that came out of nowhere. There was never any real hint of Aaron's true role outside of his psychic ability earlier in the text, and it felt like too much, too fast, but not soon enough. It's the one thing I really disliked about the book. The whole section was confusing, and I had to read it twice to wrap my head around it. It does set up the sequel quite nicely, but I didn't feel like it matched the rest of the book.

Other than that complaint, I really enjoyed the novel and thought it was well written and unique.

Rating: A Good Read

I will qualify the rating by saying that it's a good read except for the part at the end. I was able to get past the confusing info dump and still really like the book despite it, but others may not be able to. It would be a shame to let that stop you from reading this one, because I really did enjoy most of the story. Looking forward to the sequel. Perhaps everything will be cleared up!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley & Month9Books in exchange for an honest review.
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May 06, 2013 Trish rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: amnesia-hero, kindle, love-triangle, netgalleyarc, no-hea, paranormal-demon, young-adult-paranormal

2.5 Stars
ARC provided by NetGalley

The eerie cover attracted me on the spot. I love the colors, the wisps of fog, and the young girl lying on a large tombstone. Intriguing. After reading the blurb, I had to read it. It sounded dark, disturbing, and different. Right up my alley as an avid reader.

Quinn has been seeing demons in her dreams. Nightmares that are described with a superb eeriness by the author. These demons are taunting Quinn and now they are spilling over into her waking hours. And Qu...more 2.5 Stars
ARC provided by NetGalley

The eerie cover attracted me on the spot. I love the colors, the wisps of fog, and the young girl lying on a large tombstone. Intriguing. After reading the blurb, I had to read it. It sounded dark, disturbing, and different. Right up my alley as an avid reader.

Quinn has been seeing demons in her dreams. Nightmares that are described with a superb eeriness by the author. These demons are taunting Quinn and now they are spilling over into her waking hours. And Quinn can no longer tell her dreams from real life.

Quinn's long relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Jeff, is over. Her father has left her and her mother for a younger woman. And people are starting to talk about her in school. She feels lost and abandoned with the exception of her best friend. Now she has been put on probation as captain of the cheer leading squad. And the battles with the demons are worsening each day.

Aaron has a crush on Quinn. But he's afraid to ask her out. And it doesn't help that Quinn hasn't gotten over her ex, Jeff. So he watches from the sidelines, so to speak, and pines away for a girl he will never have. But he cannot stop the pull she seems to have over him and despite his inner arguments that he is better off, he rescues her one night and kisses Quinn. There is a definite spark--a connection.

One beautiful night, Aaron whisks Quinn away on his bike and the two share a romantic moment under the stars. Aaron confides to Quinn his darkest secret--about the night his mother and little sister were killed in a car accident, leaving him 'dying', only to be brought back to life with no memory of his past. Feeling hopeless and desperate, he tries to take his own life, and again, fails to die. He feels that he survived twice for some purpose.

Quinn wants desperately to reach out to Aaron. She can see herself falling in love with this boy. But the demons are not happy that Aaron is in the picture. They torment Quinn, and stop her from telling Aaron her biggest secret--the nightmarish hallucinations that plague her and the demons that won't leave her alone.

From here, the story fell apart for me when Jeff makes an appearance and tries to make amends with Quinn. He wants her back. And Kiersten, Jeff's new girlfriend, has made Quinn's life a living hell. She is determined to keep Jeff and Quinn from reuniting by revealing a huge secret of her own.

Despite the macabre theme that bordered on too-much narration, the romance of Quinn and Aaron fell flat for me. There wasn't a balance of paranormal and romance. Too much time was spent on the dreams, the hallucinations, and the voices that Quinn heard. There wasn't enough development on the relationship. And when you get to the end of the story and see what kind of connection these two actually have--I felt cheated. I wanted more of that story.

And the story only picked back up near the end, when explanations were given as to why Aaron was connected to Quinn. But by then I had lost faith in Quinn and Aaron's relationship. The ending was abrupt and chopped off, leaving a huge cliff hanger that I hope will be resolved in another book.

Overall, Pretty Dark Nothing is heavy on the unearthly but light on the romance.
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Pretty Dark Nothing (Pretty Dark Nothing, #1)

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