That brings her eyes up as she laughs heartily, the sound like a beautiful bell that clashes with the tinny sound of Fergie coming through the bar speakers. I think where I struggled with the book was with the titular character of Neon. I don't think she's badly written - she, too, is very human and flawed, hypocritical and judgemental and yet also vibrant and charming. But it's difficult to understand how the reader is supposed to view her. I didn't find her very likeable, and this may absolutely be intentional, but when all the other characters think she's amazing, it's hard to know what the author intends. This could 100% be my own problem, however, and nothing at all in the author. I adored the other characters, though, and in general found them all to be very multi-dimensional.

Each of these artists uses the qualities of the night to add something special to their photos. Ekaterina Mishchenkova ID?” the guy asks when I reach the gate. He squints at me through the smoke and I smile at him, the motion of my mouth curving feeling foreign and fake like always. Although it's advertised as a standalone, if you're like me and want perfect context and hindsight in your stories, I would recommend giving TBS a listen through beforehand, otherwise you will be thinking about what you might be missing throughout the book as it does leave some questions unanswered. When it comes to plot, there is admittedly not much of that. I consider this book to be more of a character study but I’ll get to that later. Whatever there is of a plot is simple and easy to follow with hints of what the universe of the Bright Sessions is about. Even if you are not familiar with it though, you can still be engaged by the story. The atypicals in this book are called by the main characters as unusuals. Much like a reader who has no idea what’s going on with the special powers these people have, the protagonist thinks he is alone in this and that there are not others like him but soon discovers that he is in an X-Men sort of world and what we see in this book is only scratching the surface of that. It’s interesting enough to keep the pace up and keep you going non stop. Throughtout ages, all the prophets of all the religions have been saying the same things. Earlier it was kings then society, now its screens.

Hello darkness, my old friendI've come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence

I feel like my biggest issue with this one was the unexplored plot. Like it felt as if it was going nowhere. The whole thing is that Robert finds this group of unusuals and "befriends" them and ends up helping them find their kidnapped friend who was apparently experimented on and such. It would've been cool to see that explored more.

Storyteller, director, writer, and fantastic playlist maker Lauren Shippen’s second YA novel release is just around the corner. A Neon Darkness is a character-driven story that will focus on Damien, one of the more troubled characters. Nerds and Beyond was fortunate enough to get an advanced reader copy through NetGalley to review. A neon darkness is a book about a thrilling, but dangerous power and its consequences,about family, friendship, free will, accountability, want and belonging to something and someone. His abilities operate on an unconscious level. People around him are compelled to behave as he wants them too. This includes responding to his verbal requests, but speech is not required.

There’s a couple cozying up in one of the booths—ugh, no, I hate dealing with couples. That kind of closeness is alien and impossible to navigate, my desire always swinging from wanting to be more than a third wheel to wanting to break the whole damn bicycle. But my gaze lingers on the pair, watching the guy’s arm grasp his girlfriend’s shoulder, watching her put her hand on his face, and I feel the same pang I felt out in the street. I’m in a much smaller space now though—much closer to them than I was to the crowd outside—so if I’m not careful, I might find myself dealing with a couple all the same. I tear my eyes away. Honestly, anything Lauren Shippen writes at this point I’m going to buy without a second thought. I devoured The Bright Sessions with such a hunger that I didn’t think I had when it came to consuming content. But, I did. I raked through it with such a voracity that I could tell you every detail about most of the characters. I really, really disliked Robert from the start. At first I understood that he was struggling with his power (to make others want what he wants), and empathized a bit. It was an interesting twist to have a character who gets everything they want, but still isn’t happy. However, when it became clear that Robert’s arc wasn’t going anywhere, I was extremely disappointed. Neon, Indah, and the others just keep having the same “don’t use your powers on us” argument with him over and over, which eh would then ignore, and it got really tedious and repetitive. The introduction of Isaiah and the mysterious organization is interesting and eerie at the same time, leaving the reader and the characters to wonder who are they, what do they want, where are they, a shadow on their lives. Pattern and colour are a staple of Ekaterina Mishchenkova’s work. Her architectural photos, portraits and night photos are bursting with colour.