When three strangers arrive with a desperate plea for help, Lee and her friends are swept up in their quest to break the curse that plagues their home. Unraveling the mystery of the curse will take them from an island where merfolk swim in the coves to a city hidden beneath the streets of Seattle and beyond. As the danger grows, relationships are tested, new ones are forged, and in the face of impossible choices, Lee learns the hardest lesson of all: Where there is love, there is also heartbreak.
With time running out, failure could cost their lives—and success could cost them everything else.
More info on Goodreads.....
Review:
Brightly is the stunning sequel to Kaye Thornbrugh’s arresting debut novel Flicker and is easily as good, if not better than its predecessor! If ever Cassandra Clare and Julie Kagawa had a love child, the Flicker series would be it! Utterly perfect!
Lee Capren has begun to settle into her new life after the events of the last book. She has great friends, a wonderful boyfriend and a job with her roommate and friend Filo learning about magic. Everything seems to be going wonderful, until three strangers arrive at Flicker with a dangerous request. With no choice but to agree to a very difficult mission, Lee, Filo, Nasser, Jason and Alice travel to a small seaside town on a secluded island where the locals seem to be affected by a mysterious disease that begun when a new colony of merfolk decided to call the island home. Tasked with curing the town, Lee and the gang find themselves delving into dangerous places in order to complete the job, but none of them could ever have predicted the sacrifices they would have to make and the way it would change their lives forever……
Eeep! My goodness do I love this series! Kaye Thornbrugh won me over with her debut, but Brightly is as easily as good, if not better. Thornbrugh’s stunning world, attention to detail and lyrical writing blend with wonderful characterisation to create a story you instantly get swept up in. Told in the third person, Thornbrugh’s ability to go from character to character allows an incredibly well rounded story where you really feel for her characters and you get lost in the lush worlds within the story.
Every individual within Brightly owns a little place in my heart. They’re so personable and likable and endlessly interesting. From their own individual thoughts and feelings to the way they interact with each other…..I’m one hundred invested in their journeys. I love the authentic way Kaye Thornbrugh has written her characters. They’re not perfect. They’re flawed. They make mistakes. They suffer. And goodness knows they’ve all experienced different levels of hardship and pain throughout their lives.
However throw them all together….Lee, Filo, Nasser, Jason and Alice….and they make up this complex, devoted and heart-warming family that cares so deeply for each other. The friendships between them; all very different, but none less powerful than the others, are wonderful to read about, and I love that Thornbrugh is still developing them and still adding more layers to them---honestly I can only imagine where they’ll all go and I can’t wait to see it unfold before my eyes.
There’s so much going on within this story but never once does it seem too much. New characters mingle with old and you can see there’s a purpose behind every shared moment, revelation and discovery between the characters. It’s pretty clear Kaye Thornbrugh has a lot up her sleeve and a definitive plan for the overall storyline even as little bits are revealed over time. Personally I’ve really enjoyed the fact that both Flicker and Brightly have had their own individual little storylines, but each plot arc seems to be a part of a bigger picture. Every development within this story only adds to the complexity and makes you want to know more and read more.
Brightly was highly emotional towards the last half of the book, with the characters having to make a tough choice where one of them is concerned. It really was quite painful to witness the aftermath and the agony in which they struggled to find their way back together. They’re a bit frayed at the seams right now, but I know, know, things will have to get better. In fact I may hunt Kaye Thornbrugh down if it doesn’t!
Highly entertaining, but oh so underrated, Flicker, and now Brightly are quite possibly some of the best indie books out there and deserve to be sitting on the shelves with some of the greats. Brightly’s ending is superb in setting up the next story and leaves me extremely eager to get my greedy little hands on book three, Lights, as soon as possible!
Rating:
Source: Sent for review by the author (Thank you Kaye!)
Format: Kindle ebook
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords
My Recommendation: If your a fae fan, be sure to add this series to your TBR list--you won't be sorry!
Cover: Pretty and fits with the first one perfectly, but I don't think it gives the story inside justice either.
Will I read sequel/continue with series: YES! Can. Not. Wait!
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