Book Title: Darkness Before Dawn
Author: Claire Contreras
Genre: Romance Mystery/Suspense/Romance
Release Date: May 31, 2013
Cover Designer: Okay Creations
Is love ever enough?
Faced with obstacles she could have never imagined, Blake is brought to darkness and back by forces in her past she never knew existed.
Desperate to stay connected to the only thing he loves, Cole is forced to revisit his past and align himself with the people who knew about Blake’s disappearance.
Separation has forced both Blake and Cole to learn how to live under the worst circumstances, each of them alone in their own hell.
When they reunite, can they be the same two people they were before darkness swept upon them?
Faced with obstacles she could have never imagined, Blake is brought to darkness and back by forces in her past she never knew existed.
Desperate to stay connected to the only thing he loves, Cole is forced to revisit his past and align himself with the people who knew about Blake’s disappearance.
Separation has forced both Blake and Cole to learn how to live under the worst circumstances, each of them alone in their own hell.
When they reunite, can they be the same two people they were before darkness swept upon them?
Told in separate points of view, Darkness Before Dawn is the continuation of Blake and Cole’s fight to make it to the light.
*ARC provided by author for a honest review*
*PLEASE NOTE* If you have not read There is No Light in Darkness, my review may contain spoilers.
First, let me give you the best news. This book does NOT end on a cliffhanger!!! I love being able to include that in my reviews because I know so many of you look for complete books. And yes you do have to read the first one to get the whole story, but it is SOOO worth it. Why you ask? Two words...Cole Murphy!! Now on to my review...
Okay, it is rare for me to like the second or third book in a series as much or more than the first. That definitely was not the case here. In fact, I would say, I loved Darkness Before Dawn so much more than I did There is No Light in Darkness. And that is saying something because I LOVED TINLID! The writing in both books is amazing. The story sucks you right in from the beginning and holds you until the last word. The suspense of the storyline adds that something extra to the book. So, what you get is an awesome series written by a fantastic author!
And then there is Cole..
I loved hearing his voice in this one. Though his POV was tough to read at times. His love for Blake is so complete that the intensity of it will leave you breathless. You knew that after reading the first book, but somehow it seems even more powerful in this one. The agony he felt when she was kidnapped and he was left wondering who had her and what they were doing to her, was gut wrenching. He was broken without her. Gah, where can I find my Cole?!?!
And then we have Blake..
Blake....oh Blake. I didn't understand some of her choices through out this one. She continued to break Cole's heart over an issue I felt never should have been an issue to begin with. After everything they had been through together, I thought Cole's feelings should have more of a consideration than anyone else's. But she finally got her crap together and realized what she was doing to the one man who has been by her side from the beginning.
I will say, I was confused a few times through out the story. There were so many people introduced in this book, it was tough to keep track of them all and how they were related to either Blake or Cole. But overall, that didn't really take away from the story for me and was something I was able to overlook.
There were quite a few times I cried in this book, even at the end. But by then, they were happy tears. There was never a couple who deserved their HEA more than Blake and Cole. They have been through hell and back, but the one constant in it all was each other.
I will close by saying, we meet a new character Dean in this book. And despite the fact that I shouldn't like him, I do. He definitely is no Cole, but it is hard to resist the bad boy. Which is what Dean is and he is oh so good at it. So, I am hoping bad boy Dean gets a book of his own because I would love to get know him better!
Loud pounding on the bathroom door breaks me from my daydream and I get up quickly to turn off the water and get out of the shower. The pounding on the door continues until I yell out that I’m almost done. Once I’m dressed, I take a deep breath and decide that I will not let them break me; I won’t let my family down. I open the door and find Dean on the other side of it, wearing a plaid blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, and black boots. His voluminous dark hair is perfectly styled, and even though I hate facial hair, I notice that the shadow of a beard displayed on his face looks pretty good on him. My eyes trail down his slim body and stay glued to the tattoo I see on his left forearm, until his chuckle brings me to meet his twinkling hazel eyes.
“Well, this is a change,” he says, the side of his mouth forming in a slight smile.
“What is?” I ask crinkling my eyebrows.
“You. Checking me out instead of glaring at me,” he says as a slow smile spreads on his face.
Loud pounding on the bathroom door breaks me from my daydream and I get up quickly to turn off the water and get out of the shower. The pounding on the door continues until I yell out that I’m almost done. Once I’m dressed, I take a deep breath and decide that I will not let them break me; I won’t let my family down. I open the door and find Dean on the other side of it, wearing a plaid blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, and black boots. His voluminous dark hair is perfectly styled, and even though I hate facial hair, I notice that the shadow of a beard displayed on his face looks pretty good on him. My eyes trail down his slim body and stay glued to the tattoo I see on his left forearm, until his chuckle brings me to meet his twinkling hazel eyes.
“Well, this is a change,” he says, the side of his mouth forming in a slight smile.
“What is?” I ask crinkling my eyebrows.
“You. Checking me out instead of glaring at me,” he says as a slow smile spreads on his
My mouth pops open for a moment before I recover my thoughts. “I was not checking you out! I was trying to figure out what your tattoo is. There’s a difference. Besides, you’re not in your uniform today. It’s weird to see you wearing grown up clothes.” I mock.
He doesn’t really wear a uniform, but most of the time he’s dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt and a leather jacket.
He shakes his head. “If you say so.” I can hear the disbelief in his voice and it makes me want to throw something at him.
“Do you have another magazine for me?”
He’s been bringing me magazines to help my boredom. I have to hide them whenever Alex comes to check up on me just in case, but that’s a small price to pay for entertainment. I may not know what’s going on in the world, but I know what celebrity couples are together and what the latest trend fashion is. So far, Drew Barrymore got married and Jessica Simpson had a baby. Maybe if I would have kept up with gossip before, this would be exciting for me to know, but frankly, I don’t give a damn. I sigh dreamily at my own thoughts and daze off thinking of Gerald O’Hara. God, I need to get the fuck out of here! You know it’s bad when you’re day dreaming of an old dead guy.
“You’re such a pain in the ass,” Dean says with a laugh, and then suddenly stops. “Shit. I was kidding, chick, you didn’t have to go and cry about it.”
I wipe my tears, but can’t stop the sobs from escaping my throat before I bury my face in my hands. How pathetic am I that I can’t be called a pain in the ass without crying? How pathetic is it that everything reminds me of Cole? Once I calm down, I wipe my face again and bring the tray onto my lap, avoiding his gaze.
“So, you don’t like being called a pain in the ass?” he asks quietly. I know he’s trying to keep the conversation light, but I’m not in the mood for any of it.
“No,” I grumble before taking a bite of toast. “I don’t like being called anything.”
He sits in front of me and watches me eat in silence. When I finish, I get up and head to the bathroom, leaving him sitting on the floor by my bed.
I wash my hands before sitting up on the counter and lean my back on the mirror hoping that he gets tired of waiting for me and leaves. I idly begin to draw circles over the green bruises on my calf and it hits me that that’s all I am these days: cuts and bruises, inside and out. At the sound of thunder outside, I snap back to reality and hop off the counter, picking up my hair in a messy pony tail as I open the door, hoping to walk into an empty room, but Dean still there flipping through my magazine.
“You gonna sit here and read old gossip all day?” I ask.
He raises an amused eyebrow. “This is new gossip.”
As he walks over to me, I notice our difference in height, for some reason I had never noticed the way he towers over me. Probably because I’m always looking at the ground unless I’m sitting on it. He’s definitely not as tall as Cole, nothing about his physical appearance is like Cole’s. Cole is tall and muscular, Dean is tall and lean. Cole has more of a playboy face, whereas Dean is more of a rugged pretty boy. The only thing they have in common is that swag, or spark that some guys have. The one that draws you to them, even though you know in the back of your mind that you will get burned once you get too close. When he leans close to hand over the magazine, making me flinch a little, I take in his scent of nicotine and cinnamon.
He holds my stare as we both grip either side of the magazine. “I wouldn’t hurt you, Chick, okay?”
“You are hurting me,” I whisper as I take it from his hand and sit down on the bed. I downcast my eyes and look at it, but it looks blurry through my eyes and I can’t make out who’s on the cover. He cups his hand under my chin and lifts my face to look at him, but I turn my face out of his hold. “Don’t touch me, please.”
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Darkness Before Dawn
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Darkness Before Dawn
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Before-Dawn-ebook/dp/B00D3VWA7E/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370010424&sr=1-4&keywords=darkness+before+dawn
Claire Contreras graduated with her BA in Psychology from Florida International University. She lives in Miami, Florida with her husband, two little boys, and three dogs.
Her favorite past times are: daydreaming, writing, and reading.
She has been described as a random, sarcastic, crazy girl with no filter.
Life is short, and it’s more bitter than sweet, so she tries to smile as often as her face allows. She enjoys stories with happy endings, because life is full of way too many unhappy ones.
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