Find this and other reviews on my blog: Love is not a triangle

Lucid is the second book in P.T. Michelle's Brightest Kind of Darkness series. Be warned of SPOILERS if you haven't read the first book yet.

In Brightest Kind of Darkness (BKoD) we meet Nara Collins. Every night she dreams exactly what is going to happen to her the following day. Nara has been dreaming her future for so long that it is normal for her. She also knows she's not supposed to interfere in the events she sees. But when Nara dreams about a school bombing that will hurt her friends, she decides to take action and change her future. Her decision sets in motion the events on BKoD, which culminate in a battle with fate that she ultimately wins (for now).

We also meet Ethan Harris in BKoD, a boy who for some reason never shows up in Nara's dreams. He has his own powers, absorbing people's dark thoughts and nightmares when he comes into physical contact with anyone. He also has a large raven sword tattoo on his back, which inexplicably showed up one day on its own. Because of the darkness of his "ability," Ethan was loner until he meets Nara (I love that there is a very concrete reason why he originally comes across as a broody bad-boy). Although Ethan and Nara's powers are different they also compliment each other. The two of them make a great team, and Ethan sees Nara as a bright light (Sunshine) in the darkness he is constantly facing. In BKoD they build a friendship that turns romantic, and in Lucid they are a definitely couple.

However, when Lucid begins, Ethan has gone home to Michigan to fix his relationship with his parents, which fell apart when he began to get his powers. An admirable task, if that's what he was actually doing (I'm skeptical - you'll have to read the book to form your own opinion. It's too much of a spoiler to talk about why I think that).

With Ethan gone, Nara meets Drystan an exchange student who is also drawn to Nara. He practices parkour, has a hot accent and an ability of his own. Though I didn't like that Ethan was gone so much of Lucid, I really liked getting to know Drystan. But before you think this is going the way of the dreaded love triangle, it is clear through the book who Nara is in love with, and so far I am not worried. Drystan encourages Nara to learn self defense and seems to be a more open person than either Ethan or Nara. He also provides some great romantic tension.

While I did enjoy Lucid, I had some problems with the story. Also, with Ethan gone for most of the book and with few of the many lingering questions answered, it very much felt like an interlude in the overall story arc. Nara especially got on my nerves in this book. Several bad things happen to her, and it is clear that they are connected. But she just keeps going off on her own and not telling anyone about it. I like that Nara's her own person, but I don't like when characters take unnecessary risks and keep crucial information from each other.

In Lucid we get a lot of similar plot elements as the first book, especially in terms of Nara tempting fate by changing future events. And she spends a great deal of time researching ravens. While some of that was interesting, I honestly didn't understand how researching the bird would help Ethan figure out what was going on with his tattoo. However, I do get that for Nara it was also about staying connected to him.

Too many people were keeping secrets in this story, especially Nara from Ethan and Ethan from Nara. At the end of Lucid we are left with a lot of questions, and several new plot lines, but not many answers. I wish a few more elements had been cleared up before new questions were introduced.

Despite my problems with Lucid, there are some great moments in this story (don't worry, Ethan and Nara's relationship does heat up a notch) and several interesting revelations. I love Ethan and Nara as a pair, and am eager to see how Drystan plays into the mix (as long as that doesn't mean a triangle). I hope the next book features answers, instead of more questions. Also, Ethan and Nara need to be more honest with each other for their relationship to move forward. Hopefully, the secrets they've been keeping (ahem Ethan), don't hurt their relationship in the future. Even with my reservations about Lucid, I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!

Cliffhanger Scale: Mild/Medium, No mortal danger, relationships are settled. But LOTS of questions left unanswered.
Love Triangle Factor: None so far (hope it stays that way!)