Sadly, The Dark Light's biggest problem has nothing to do with the story or the writing. The book is hugely mis-marketed. The story has less romance than the cover proposes (though the romance[s] in the story are sweet and enjoyable), which will likely put off fans looking for a straight-up YA paranormal romance.

Additionally, the jacket summary reads as if the book takes place in our world and may or may not include aliens from outer space. Instead, only the first eighty pages or so take place in our world. This is problematic mostly due to the length of time it takes for the narrator to pass through the barrier into "Brakaland." Eighty pages is far too long to string a reader along without sufficiently hinting at the massive and jarring change of setting and worldview that occurs.

The story itself would have benefited by being shortened by about fifty pages. In particular, the main characters' flight through the otherworldly wasteland slows the story down far too much, to the point that it begins to feel like an excuse to world-build.

Overall, "The Dark Light" rarely exceeded "okay." I enjoyed large swathes of the story and do not regret the time spent reading it, but it is unlikely that I will pick up any sequels. ( )

I really really liked this book and fully enjoyed reading it. I absolutely loved the world of Brakaland and the mythology of the world. The creatures described in the book are like none that I've read and its amazing to see the imaginations of some authors.

I have read some reviews that say that there was alot of info dump in the book but I found it to be very interesting and the information was given evenly spaced throughout the whole book. It wasn't like there was five chapters straight of information or anything. The info about the the world of Brakaland and who Sol and Mia really were were thoughtfully placed in the book. May be its just me but I love when a book gives you the whole picture like this one does. So many times, especially in a series book, I always feel like I'm missing something and then the books ends and you have to wait until the next one comes out. I'm really not that patient. From the way the author switched from our world into Sol's world kind of reminded me of the book "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor. Both books have worlds that are kind of similar.

I absolutely loved that the book did not center around the love story, which made the characters great. I loved how Mia thought Sol was strange when she first spoke to him and that she was planning on not speaking to him again after that conversation. She wasn't like "OMG he's really hot and I gotta follow him everywhere". Even when she went into his world, her main objective was getting her brother back and going back to her world. She didn't have the stupid notion that she was going to stay there with him. Even at the end when she thought he was going to stay in Brakaland while she went back to her town, she really was going to go back to her home regardless of where he went. She didn't say "Oh well he's gonna stay so I will too." Oh course she wanted to stay but she knew that the idea wasn't realistic and she was fully prepared to live her life in her world without him. I like Sol and Mia together because they are like a real couple- they had arguments and disagreed with each other and they had trust issues with each other at some point in the novel. It was nice to see that.

Ok so Sol was hot and I absolutely loved the fact that he had a huge tattoo on his back. However that being said he was not the person I fell for in the book. I was happy for him to be with Mia and I was rooting for them to be together instead of coveting him for myself. The person who I thought was super hot and who I fell for was Delane. He was so much fun, so outgoing, funny, a jokester, energetic and a really good friend to both Sol and Mia. He was described as being hot which was a plus but he had an awesome personality as well. Sol was wayy to serious and uptight for me. But for me, Delane was it.

I'm unsure how I feel about this book being the first in a series, which is still up in the air since the ending left room for this book to be a series or a standalone. I mean this book is on such a high scale for me that I'm worried that if they will be a second book that it won't compare or even worse....be absolutely horrible. On the other hand, if there is another book then that means more Delane♥. I kinds figure that now, if there will be another book. then it will probably take place in Mia's town with Elias coming there to find the solenetta and the other characters going there to fight him. Its just a feeling I have. I will be watching to see if there will be another book and it better have Delane in it or I will be pissed :D ( )

Mia lives with her inattentive uncle. The bright spot in her life is her younger brother whom she loves dearly. There have been a series of kidnappings and Mia is terrified that her brother will be next. When the worst happens and he disappears into one of the strange lights around town, Mia is determined to get him back. She thinks that the mysterious new boy at school, Sol, may have information that can help. When she gets into an argument with Sol, she accidentally opens a portal into another world. She lands in Bordertown with Sol close on her heels. Sol is actually from this world. There is a power hungry magician, the Suzerain, who believes destroying Earth will solve all of their problems and Sol was working to stop him. Sol’s first priority is to get Mia back to Earth, because their is something different about Mia, something that the Suzerain can use to further his plans. However, Mia won’t leave without her brother.

There were things I really enjoyed about this story and things I didn’t. First for some of the things I enjoyed. On the superfluous note, the cover is gorgeous and really grabbed my attention. Next, there is a sense of mystery, because as the reader we can tell there is something more to Mia and her background. It brings a delicious sense of anticipation to the story. Sol was really an intriguing character, though we don’t get to see as much of him as I would have liked. His ability was not something that I had seen before and I liked that surprise.

Now for the negatives. The biggest one for me was Mia, she is the kind of female character I don’t enjoy reading. She is stubborn and doesn’t listen to the people around her. Here she is in new deadly place and she refuses to be cautious or even use common sense. Only the fact that she is the main character keeps her alive. Several times Sol tells her to stay put and let him do the fighting and he is a very able fighter. Does Mia, who has no fighting or self defense skills listen? No. She is constantly charging in and making things worse. Her heart is in the right place, but that doesn’t make her actions any less stupid. The second problem was it was light on character development, especially when it came to the romance. There was definitely attraction between Sol and Mia, but they hardly had any interactions before they were so in love which gave it the insta love feel. Judging from other reviews plenty of people have really enjoyed it, but I would put this one on the borrow instead of buy list. ( )

GoodReads Synopsis: Mia is torn between two guys—and two worlds—in this epic, romantic fantasy.

Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she’s concerned, that’s about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.

That is, until Sol arrives. Mia’s not one to fall for just any guy, but she can’t get Sol—or the brilliant tattoo on his back—out of her mind.

Then Mia’s brother goes missing, and Mia’s convinced that Sol knows more than he’s sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol’s not who Mia thought he was—and neither is she.

My Thoughts: Interesting story about an alternate universe…or maybe it’s another dimension? Mia doesn’t leave Earth per se, more like she steps through a curtain into a previously unseen Earth.

I’m not a big fan of what I call “High Fantasy”. Those are the types where whole new worlds and creatures are invented. This was not that. But I do love “looking behind the curtain” to see how an alternate version of life as I know it can be created.

“Dark Light” starts out as a mystery with young boys disappearing and weird lights in the sky. OK, you have my attention now. Poor Mia, whose life up to this point has been nothing but abandonment after abandonment, watches as her little brother disappears in front of her eyes…and the new guy in town is there with her but denies all knowledge to the cops. Abandoned again, Mia is desperate to find answers and her brother.

Great read, very mysterious, and you feel so strongly for Mia after all she and her brother have endured. By the time you finish Mia’s whole world has been turned upside down numerous times and you are pissed you have to wait to find out what happens next!

The characters are great…Sol is very chivalrous. And Mia is a lot smarter and tougher than she seems. The incredibly strong sense of family is what really blew me away. So little YA fiction has that focus and it was very nice to read. I’m assuming there will be another book…just too many questions left unanswered for this to be a stand alone book. I can only hope I don’t have to wait too long. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Reading THE DARK LIGHT was like reading two books. The first is the one the description hints at which focuses on Mia, the mysterious lights that are related to missing boys, and also the new enigmatic guy at school who may have answers. But, that’s only the first part of the story. The second, larger part was a complete surprise, and the good news is that both parts are excellent paranormal fantasy.

THE DARK LIGHT begins in a small town with a tenacious but down to earth girl struggling to maintain as normal a life as possible for her little brother in the wake of their parents’ abandonment. Mia works hard, doesn’t complain, and embraces happiness where she finds it. Enter a bunch of missing boys, a smoking hot and secretive new guy, strange phenomenon, and Mia’s brother vanishing. Without giving away the second half of the book, the setting shifts from Nebraska to someplace entirely other with new and frightening threats both creature and environmental. Mia takes this new situation in stride by focusing on the important life and death questions, and never once wavering from her main objective of finding her brother.

Based on the cover, I was expecting THE DARK LIGHT to be on the steamy side for YA, but it’s actually pretty tame. Just a few kisses. The romance is still a large part of the story, but the focus is on the build up, the attraction, rather than physical interaction. Considering the situation Mia is in and the urgency to rescue her brother, anything more than a few kisses would have been wildly inappropriate. However, I could see the romance heating up in possible sequels (which I sincerely hope there will be, though nothing is contracted just yet). One small criticism would be that Mia had a tendency to insist on rushing into situations that she was ill equipped to handle which resulted in endangering herself and others and ultimately caused more problems. But fortunately those scenes were few and far between in this otherwise stellar debut.

Full of surprising twists and artful misdirection, THE DARK LIGHT does what few other YAs manage: it keeps readers guessing–and engrossed–until the very last page. Don’t expect faeries, but if you enjoyed Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Fey series but were hoping for a more mature story, THE DARK LIGHT will utterly dazzle you.

Sexual Content:
Kissing ( )