Name: Bright Lights from a Hurricane
ISBN: 9780648475705

Grace McGinty

Olivia made a promise to finish her best friend Angela's bucket list after she died. But the list contains her fears and secret desires, she's terrified. Abandoning her well-ordered plan, Olivia joins the travelling carnival for the summer, working through the bucket list as they travel along the bottom States of the US, finding love and herself.

Bright Lights from a Hurricane

Nicole Lambert

NOTE: A special thanks to Nine Tales Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book for review! All opinions are my own.

Where to start with this book? How about the emotional roller coaster that it launched me on? Or how about the down-to-earth realism that made me swoon at every page? Bright Lights from a Hurricane was like nothing I have ever read before. It had the perfect balance of cute and sad moments to brand it one of the more realistic contemporary novels I have read.

The novel follows our protagonist, Olivia Jefferson, who finds herself struggling to complete her best friend, Angela's, bucket list following the death of her friend. It is through the completion of the first item on her list, riding the scary Hurricane roller coaster, that marks the day she embarks on an adventure like no other. I found her character to be extremely relatable, for she always found something to fight for amidst all the tragedy that strikes her.

Dallas Hellson was the love interest in the story, and god was he swoon-worthy. To me, he represented everything a love interest should be, a perfect blend of both perfection and faults that marked him as human. I loved how much he loved and cared for throughout the book, especially when it came to the kittens that the two of them had rescued.

Finally, the plot. This is the first book that I have read that features a carnival setting, and I loved every second of it. From the first page, it is evident that the author had done her research to ensure that the realism was present on every page, and I loved how the setting and the plot blended together perfectly to create something new.

The only complaint I have was the graphic almost-rape scene that happens towards the beginning of the book. It happened out of nowhere and as a consequence hit me like a ton of bricks that I felt the need to warn my other two friends who were also reading the book of the triggering content (both of which had gone through something similar). From my understanding, the author has addressed this and has made sure that all her seller's pages reflect this trigger warning, which is amazing. The only wish I had was that me as well as the other reviewers had it going into the book, but with every new book released into the world mistakes will be made.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of YA contemporary romance.

Jo Buchanan

I absolutely loved it. I loved that i felt every emotion that she went through. There was so much love and support. it makes you realize you don’t have to be blood to be family. Realizing that this was for her and not Angela was such a big moment. This is what people go through. This is life. This stuff happens and it shouldn’t be glossed over. Life isn’t easy or simple. You go through things and find out things about yourself you never would have realized.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from NineTales publishing. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: February 14, 2019

Genre: New Adult Romance

Recommended Age: 16+ (trigger warning for attempted rape! Romance, love, self discovery, alligators, and accidents)

Publisher: NineTales Publishing

Pages: 328

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Olivia Jefferson has always been a good little automaton. At least, that’s what her best friend Angela had always told her. She was a dutiful daughter, straight A student, and a devoted friend.      
But when Angela dies at seventeen of terminal brain cancer, Olivia’s automaton life gets turned upside down. 

She made a promise that she would finish Angela’s bucket list for her.      
But number one is to go on the scariest ride at the County Fair, The Hurricane, and number two is to go on a Grand Adventure. Both seem impossible.      So when a pretty, blue eyed carnie boy offers her a place on the carnival for the summer, she couldn’t possibly go, right?

Deciding to abandon her well planned future, Olivia follows the carnival along the bottom States, from Florida to LA. What she learns as she works her way through Angela’s bucket list will make her reexamine her dreams, her beliefs and make her really question: Who is Olivia

Review: This book is a very quick read! The book is adorable and the story is unlike any other. I really felt for the characters and, while there was some play on the legal aspects, I felt that the book was very realistic. The book characters were all very well developed and the plot was interesting. The writing was also very well done and this book is not as much a romance but a self discovery book.

My only huge complaint is that the book has a massive attempted rape scene and this can be very triggering for some people. The scene comes out of nowhere and without warning. It shook me a little when I read it. I think that this can be issue if there’s no trigger warning to warn people ahead of time.

Verdict: A great book!

Imzy

ARC received for an honest review.


4.5 stars

I don't know what to say. This book made me speechless. In a good way. I was expecting a cliché contemporary romance but it was so much more. It made me smile, made me laugh, made me cry (which is very rare). The flashbacks into Olivia's old life just made the whole thing so hauntingly realistic and gave the book that added depth. I could feel every emotion she was feeling and it's so rare to find a book that can do that. 

Olivia is a girl that has her whole life planned out for her. She was born into a rich family but never received her parents' love or affection. Her best friend Angela dies before completing her bucket list and Olivia promised her that she would finish it for her. On her journey to complete the list, she joins a carnival (which leads to her getting disowned) and finds out first hand what it's like to live like the unprivileged... and fall in love. This book is about love, family, belonging and courage. 

There was significant character development as we see Olivia work her way through the bucket list. I loved seeing her relationships with each character develop (I love Dallas!) and the snipets of her friendship with Angela. There was so much growth in her character that we see in the span on one summer. It was beautifully constructed and to see a girl that started of in the beginning of the story broken and lost from the loss of her best friend come out as a brave and whole woman was truly amazing.

The writing style is so smooth and flowed so well. There was the exact amount of description that you could feel and imagine everything that was happening. I did feel at the beginning of the book that it kind of rushed into the story because we don't know anything about Olivia and it begins with her joining the Carnival, but that was made up for with the awesome flashbacks and description. Also, some elements of the plot did feel a little far-fetched but what's the point of books if they won't be a little unrealistic?

I definitely recommend this to all romance novel lovers and anyone that wants a book that has character and setting depth and development.

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Bright Lights from a Hurricane

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