Claire Contreras

A young woman investigates the dark, hidden secrets of her past while exploring her deep feelings for the young man who's always been her protector in this friends-to-lovers New Adult romantic suspense series.

There Is No Light In Darkness

Samantha 

4.5 stars

Grrrrr!!! Damn cliffhanger! Now I need to buy the next book as soon as possible. 

So I have to say how much I loved the whole past/present chapters. I am also completely in love with Cole! 

Great story!

Shawna Gavas

This was such a uniquely written book. I was pleasantly surprised!

Jumping between past and present, the story is told through the eyes of Blake. Blake is a young woman from a questionable past. She witnessed her mother's death, was taken against her will and brought up by a woman she calls "Aunt Shelley". Despite this, Blake finds love and happiness with her Aunt although nightmares and questions haunt her daily. After Shelley's death, Blake is once again moved into a new life, this one becoming her "family" of today. This is also where she meets Cole, the love of her life.

But questions need to be answered. And these answers are showing up on Blakes' doorstep. Why was she taken all those years ago? Is her father still alive? Who are these people following her?

Not just an NA, this book also contains mystery and intrigue. The plot was refreshing, taking the NA genre in another direction. Bring on book 2!

Chelsea Bates

I would give this book even more than 5 stars. Maybe 8! It was so good! One of the best books I've read lately. Claire Contreras has become one of my favorite authors and I want more! 


  "I open them one last time as I try to search for light, but I know I'll never find it, because there i sno light in darkness."


Blake Brennan has been through a lot and that's putting it lightly. She loses her parents at a young age of four, on her birthday. But she continues on with life and finds love and family in the places that offer it. She lives with her aunt until she passes away with cancer. She is then placed in Maggie's home, where she meets her future. 


  "My wounds have somewhat healed, but it doesn't mean I'm less frightened. I am scared of the unknown. I am scared to be alone. I am scared to not be alone. I am scared to have people love me, and I am scared to have nobody love me. I live my life in a constant state of fear and need for control. I try no to be obvious about any of my feelings. I put a smile on my face every morning and pretend that I'm as normal as everybody else -- even though I know I'm not."


She builds her family there. Aubry, Cole, Greg, Becky and Maggie become her family and the only five people she can trust in her world. 

Not only do we get a book of loss and terror, but there is a love story among the pages. A deep, passionate love story. One that I started rooting for the minute the seed was placed in my brain. They belong together. Their horrible pasts help them bond, but their love is what keeps them fighting for one another. 


  "He made sure that no man would ever live up to him. In the end, he hurt me more than I hurt him. I broke his heart, but he tore mine into a million pieces. Even if I wanted to piece it back together, I would never find them all because he would always be holding some."


The horrors that Blake is put through can only be handled by the strongest of people. This book took a piece of my heart and ripped it up, while at the same time piecing it back together.

Kinsey

3 Freaking Cliffhanger Stars!



A past hidden in darkness. Her present cloaked in secrets. The future holds the only truth that cannot be escaped.


  When you lose something you can’t replace.
When you love someone, but it goes to waste.
Could it be worse? ~Fix you, Coldplay


After reading just the prologue I was hooked! This story is a nice blend of mystery, suspense, and romance. While it didn't keep me reading into the night, I did find myself always coming back to it at every available opportunity! I wanted + needed some answers! 

What's it about?

After the mysterious and tragic death of her parents, Blake Brennan is taken to a foster home to live with her new guardian and her 3 other foster kids. While there she meets and befriends Cole-the handsome playboy who takes an interest in her...

Years later, she's in law school living in a constant state of fear and apprehension, for vivid nightmares haunt her sleep, unlocking answers she's been searching for about her parents tragic death..answers that are better left in the dark...

Blake is determined to unravel the answers to her past. Every day she uncovers more information about her family and upbringing and those closest to her. While her questions are being answered, it seems for every answer she uncovers a new question pops up. Will she ever uncover what truly happened the night her parents were murdered? 

Meanwhile, Cole is also in the same predicament. He has questions. Questions about his past, money being deposited, and what happened to the man that dropped him off at a strangers house when he was only a little boy. These are questions that have been plaguing him for years, and as Cole and Blake go on a journey to uncover the truth, past feelings + hurt come to the surface. Blake will do everything in her power to keep Cole at bay. From being hurt by him in the past-to believing that everyone she loves dies, its a lose-lose situation and Blake is determined not to cause any more casualties. The question is, has the darkness of their pasts already consumed the light of their love and future? 


  
    "You’re the only one that fucking matters ... only you ... always.”
  


Blake--



I really enjoyed reading Blake's character. I found her to be very self-sacrificing and strong considering all that she has been through. While she can be a bitch sometimes, it's understandable and makes her character weirdly vulnerable at the same time. Every time she had a nightmare, my heart hurt for the pain and confusion she went through as a child. Her messy and passionate relationship with Cole when they were teenagers broke my heart for her. Overall, she was just an interesting heroine. A heroine with faults, but a heroine that you root for just the same. 


  
    "I found myself wishing I wasn't so scared of everything. Of loving him. Of losing him. Beyond that, I was thankful that he loved me the way I was—scars and all."
  


Cole--



Cole, I had conflicting feelings for you! While I found his love and protectiveness for Blake swoon-worthy and endearing, I also felt that he didn't treat Blake right a lot of the time. He was constantly hurting her. Even knowing that she didn't want to be close to people for a reason, instead of staying and fighting for her, he went and slept his way through all the college girls he could. I found myself slowly warming up to him though, ESPECIALLY at the end. Bring on the tears, that (view spoiler)[letter (hide spoiler)] was absolutely heart-wrenching, and totally made me root for Cole Murphy! 


  
    "I don’t know how to be without you anymore. I don’t know how to wake up without your good mornings or go to sleep without your good nights. I don’t want to know what that’s like. I don’t want to not touch you when I see you during holidays. I don’t want to know what it’s like to share you with someone else. The thought of that makes me sick. I can’t share you, Blake. Please don’t make me."
  


Overall, There Is No Light In Darkness was good start to a promising series! While I found some of the topics to be unbelievable, (view spoiler)[the fact that no one reported that guy for almost raping Blake in the locker room was totally unrealistic! Why wouldn't you say anything? I don't get it. Also, after someone breaks into Blake's apartment, when she calls Cole, he doesn't even bring it up. He doesn't ask what happened, if she was alright, they talked about mundane things. That didn't make sense to me. I think this book needed a lot of editing. (hide spoiler)] it was mostly a really good book! We're left wanting more answers, not to mention that FREAKING HORRIBLE CLIFF-HANGER! I can't wait to get my claws on book 2. 




  Some Quotes I like:


“I’m in love with you, Blake. I’ve been in love with you from the moment I saw you. I’ve been in love with you from the day I was born and possibly even before then. I belong to you. My body belongs to you. My heart belongs to you."

"I’ve never felt that before either,” he let out a breath. “That—I can only feel that with you, baby. Only you.”

“Sometimes you need to do things that hurt in order to protect the ones you love.”

"I love you. I love you more than anything else in this world. It’ll always be you."

"I fucking love you. When will you understand that? I don’t wanna see other people. There is nobody out there that will ever be what you are to me. Nobody will ever be pretty enough, smart enough, funny enough, or as big of a pain in my ass as you are. You’re the only one I want. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted."

“You mustn't be afraid of love, Blake. No matter what you go through in life, don’t be afraid to love. Loving is the only thing that keeps us sane. If it weren't for love, the suffering we experience wouldn't be worth it. If it weren't for the suffering, we wouldn't cherish the good things life gives us. Sometimes it’ll seem as though life only knocks you down, but you have to learn to pick yourself up and fight back."




  
    "I try to search for light, but I know I’ll never find it, because there is no light in darkness."

I really liked this book. It was a great mix of romance, angst, mystery and heat. Yeah, yeah, some parts of it were more than a little predictable... but I didn't mind at all. I liked seeing how the author unfolded the story. 

That said, CLIFFHANGER. My god. Thankfully I was able to launch right into the second book, Darkness Before Dawn, right away. I think had there been any wait between the two, I would have lost my mind. 

I was thoroughly taken in by this book and hope I will be as I read the second as well.

There Is No Light In Darkness

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