I was so looking forward to reading Pretty Dark Nothing. The blurp sounded amazing and the cover is gorgeous!

Unfortunately, Quinn is far from the ideal protagonist for me. She obviously has issues; both her father and her boyfriend left her and she is being chased by demons and shadows in her dreams. It’s a great premise for a book, but it gives the author a choice; either the protagonist is going to be a whiny child-like girl or she is going to be an amazingly strong protagonist. Frankly, Quinn is the first kind! She is so overwhelmed by everything that happens to her, that she just give up - she just lets things happen without trying very hard to change them and she lets other people make her choices. I really hated that! And it’s such a shame because her problems, thoughts and feelings are so well described and I understood most of her actions, but at some point she just ruins everything!

Aaron is an entirely different story. He’s amazing; sweet, genuine and completely infatuated with Quinn! The POV changes between Aaron and Quinn, which means the reader gets to know Aaron so well - I adore him! He was the reason I kept reading and he made the teen drama seem plausible and real.

Heather L. Reid is an amazing writer and she kept up a nice balance between creepy passages and funny ones. The funny is mostly contained of Reese and Marcus and I especially liked Marcus’ kind of humor.

"I've never seen someone so determined to stay at school." She squinted at Quinn, deciding her fate. "I'm still calling your mother; she needs to know. But I won't send you home if you come to my office for some orange juice and cookies." "You're not going to share your liver and onions with a starving girl, Mrs. C?" Marcus asked. "Shameful. And you're supposed to be a health professional." She scrowled at him. "That's enough from you, Mr. Woods. The three of you should get to class. I'll take it from here." "What? I'm just trying to make the girl laugh. They say laughter is the best medicine. You're a nurse. You should know that."

The creepy parts are mostly at the beginning and are executed with fogs, voiced and shadows. It was pretty scary, but when the demons became more real and started having wings and hissed at Quinn the scary wore off. The ending was the worst part of the book. It changed the entire story and, even though there had been a few vague hinters, it totally surprised me - but not in a good way. Despite my rating I’m not sure I’m going to continue this series - it just got too weird for my taste. ( )

As someone who occasionally has sleeping problems where I stay up for days, this book really called to me. The description was extremely intriguing, claiming that Quinn, a young teenage girl, hasn't slept a full night in about twenty three days. She's plagued by shadowy creatures when she does finally sleep, and it started about eighteen months ago when her dad walked out on her and her mother.

Check out my full review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/07/29/pretty-dark-nothing-pret... ( )

Pretty Dark Nothing had me under its spell from the moment I set eyes on the cover. The synopsis made Quinn's story sound so deliciously dark, and it definitely started out that way! We meet Quinn as she struggles against sleep, wanting to stay out of the darkness as long as possible. I'd want to stay awake too if, each time I closed my eyes, I was plagued with demonic nightmares. Everything was on track for a quick-moving, spine-tingling read and I was so excited. Sadly, it just wasn't meant to be.

Quinn's true persona soon came through and, sadly, it wasn't one I enjoyed at all. Here we have a girl who thinks she might be insane. She can't sleep, she can barely function, and yet somehow she has energy to pine away for an ex who, in this humble bookworm's opinion, really isn't worth her time. What I hoped would be a quick-moving story soon turned into a high school drama. I can't really say I liked Quinn very much once she started debating between feelings for Aaron and her ex. It drove me crazy.

I wasn't really able to connect with any of the characters, in fact. They all ended up very one-dimensional and even Aaron, who I really wanted to like, left me with little to hold on to. Since this is a story told in dual point of view, I hoped for some good insight into what was going on. Instead, I was able to see Quinn pine for her ex, and Aaron pine for Quinn. At least I was also able to see Aaron use his physic abilities a few times. That honestly did keep me reading.

Towards the end, the plot finally started to pick up. I was more intrigued, wondering what was coming next, and WHAM...the ending. I was left with a ton of questions, and more than a little upset by how many random elements were thrown in at the last minute. I realize this is setting things up for the next book. I'm just not sure I'll be there to read it. Pretty Dark Nothing didn't follow through on the synopsis I fell in love with, and left this bookworm feeling rather slighted. ( )

Quinn's father left, her boyfriend dumped her, and she's been demoted from head cheerleader because she's failing school. On top of all that, she hears things, sees things, feels as if something is out to get her. She hasn't a moment's peace because even when she sleeps her dreams are invaded by these shadowy creatures.

Aaron's life isn't that great either. His mother and sister died in an accident that he survived. He has no memory of his life before that. And he seems to have the ability to know what other people are feeling and thinking.

Aaron can't help wanting to rescue Quinn and Quinn can't help wanting to be rescued. Neither of them can help falling in love. Except Quinn's demons won't have that. But it's okay, because they're going to get her everything she ever wanted. Just as long as she does exactly what they say.

The first 95% of this book was terrifying. It was written in such a way that it was nearly impossible to tell if Quinn was actually able to see demonic creatures or if she was having a mental breakdown. And that impossibility made it deeply frightening. As a reader, you assume the demons are real, but Quinn is an unreliable narrator so you doubt.

The last portion of the book was a fast exposition dump, explaining everything, vastly changing the tone of the book and changing my feelings for many of its characters. I closed the book a disappointed reader.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This story was very well written, but it took a very long time for anything to happen. It took me awhile to connect with the characters. There was a lot of why mes going on with the main character, which made it hard for me to connect. By the end of the book, the why mes were fading and the action was starting to take off. Overall, I give this book a rating of 3.5. ( )