Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.Lies.Words destroyed me. “I’m sorry. She didn’t make it.”“Daddy, he can’t breathe!” “There’s nothing more we can do for your son.”Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.More lies.Those syllables and letters became my executioner. I told myself that, if I didn’t acknowledge the pain and the fear, they … acknowledge the pain and the fear, they would have no power over me. But, as the years passed, the hate and the anger left behind began to control me.
Two words—that was all it took to plunge my life into darkness.
“He’s gone.”
In the end, it was four soft, silky words that gave me hope of another sunrise.
“Hi. I’m Charlotte Mills.”
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Again, I am not sure why I waited so long to read this duet, but I am so glad I finally did. In The Brightest Sunset, book 2 of The Darkest Sunrise duet, by Aly Martinez, we get the conclusion to Charlotte and Porter’s story. And let me tell you, what a journey it was!
After the ending in the first book, I had no idea where this story would go next and how it would affect everyone involved. I want to share all my thoughts on this book, but anything I share will be a spoiler for the first book, if you have not read it. All I can say is this journey was heartfelt, heartbreaking and emotionally draining and worth every minute I spent reading. I devoured this book and cannot recommend this duet any more highly.
The Brightest Sunset was truly an unforgettable journey between two broken people whose lives clashed in the most unexpected way. It gave us a story of hope, second chances and love and will stay with you even after you read the last word.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
How do you put into words a book that has left you spechless for days? It’s impossible. This book was absolutely without a doubt one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful stories I’ve read this year. Prepare yourself for another emotional roller-coaster ride that will grip you from the very first page and not let go until the very end. You will inhale every word as if it was your last breath because it is impossible to put down. This duet is hands down one of the most phenomenal reads of 2017!
Porter and Charlotte’s bond began in the darkness – a place both of them know well…a place where no questions, no judgments, no faking it, and no apologies are required…a place where they can take a complete breath, at least for a moment, creating beauty amidst so much pain, grief, and anger.
In The Darkest Sunrise, Porter became Charlotte’s lifeline – the person who stood by her side, without judgment, allowing her to keep the light out and learn how to cope with her sadness, her fear, and her need to, at times, to succumb to the blackness that constantly threatens to destroy her. While their pain and circumstances differed, Porter and Charlotte’s connection was solidified because they understood so much of the other’s struggles and they allowed one another to just be what they needed to be despite everyone else pushing for more from them.
With the events that occurred at the end of book 1 and the revelations that continued to be revealed at the start of The Brightest Sunset, Porter and Charlotte’s roles, in some ways, have changed; both are still lost and pretend better than anyone else, but this time, Porter is the one obliterated by the darkness, struggling to continue to fight when it seems like his entire world has, once again, been turned upside down, and without an amenable conclusion, he may not find himself capable of enduring this impossible situation.
Porter and Charlotte’s duet is an unbelievably complicated story line. Because there are multiple people involved in the main plot, there is no easy solution. There are too many variables at play and too many emotions to contend with, especially when it comes to the role all of the adults want to play in this little boy’s life.
Aly Martinez crafts an incredible ending to Porter and Charlotte’s emotional journey. All of Porter and Charlotte’s feelings as well as those of everyone else involved resonate from the pages of the story – they are living and breathing things – emotions that can both destroy and mend. And, even if readers get frustrated, which they undoubtedly will, with some characters’ actions and how they handle these impossible circumstances, readers can be assured that EVERY SINGLE word, act, and thought is something that can happen when so many people’s lives are categorically altered by one person’s decisions.
The Brightest Sunset is a contradictory idea that is used to illustrate just how complex Porter and Charlotte’s circumstances are. The hope for both of them is that they can bring themselves and each other out of a darkness that serves as an executioner of their hearts and souls and into one that allows them to heal their emotional wounds, which also allows them, little by little, to find a way to revel in the lightness that seems to be infiltrating the dark and to move forward, knowing that the past events will not be forgotten, but perhaps, they can be remembered as what was and the focus can now be on what is.
4.5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)
REVIEW: 5 GUT-WRENCHING STARS
“He’d made the darkness a beautiful place filled with understanding and acceptance.”
I am saying this now: this duet has got to be one of the most emotional reads I have read this year, if not ever. Not only do we get Aly’s signature humor, but we get real drama, with consequences that are entrenched deep in this book. The reality of the pain, the scariness of the possibilities, and the depth of the emotions I felt for these characters….my gosh. I didn’t want to put these books down!! Even though I read them both throughout the week leading up to Christmas, I had to step away repeatedly. It was awful putting these down, because not only did the ‘problems’ play on in my mind long after I stopped reading, but each time I got to squeeze in some of their story, I just had more time to think about it in between. Having read this slowly, having marinated in the drama, slowly rotating the what-ifs and the possibilities around in my mind, this duet took over my life for a week! I was so engrossed in Porter and Charlotte, I was daydreaming a lot just thinking about them. So good!
“Happiness was a state of mind, not something you had to hold on to for fear you’d never get it back.”
I wrote this on my Facebook page:
As a mommy, my mommy heart is broken.
As a woman, my logical heart is broken.
As a reader, my emotional heart is broken.
Because it’s TRUE!!! It’s SO true!!! I was so heartbroken over everything that was happening, and I was completely enraptured from the first page of the first book until the last page of the last book. This duet picked on my fear as a mommy on so many different levels, but it also made me SEE the other side. The reality of the situation was nothing short of soul scraping; I was hurting so much. I purposely don’t read books that have kids in pain in them. I can’t allow myself to accept and deal with it fictionally because I never want to put myself in the parents’ shoes, EVER. This book was going to test my comfort levels on all fronts: Love, Pain, Death, Loss. And boy did it ever. My heart ached the entire time I read it. It was beautiful….
In this book, words had a different effect. Words had a profound meaning. Words had an emotional punch. Anytime I read Aly’s words, they trip me up. I always stutter-step when I read them, and not because I can’t understand them….it’s because of the force of her words give me pause. She breathes life into her words. She makes me think. She makes me question. She makes me feel. I ‘heard’ the rasp in his voice. I ‘felt’ the searing pain from her tears. Aly doesn’t just tell a story….she makes me feel the story. Every. Single. Time. It tells me something when I’ve ‘just’ opened a book, but when I look down, I’m already at 24%. Her words, they move me.
By 35%, I was gasping and giggling. I loved the way she brought Porter and Charlotte to life. If there were ever a book, a set of characters that were so right for each other, this one would definitely be at the top of that list. I loved Porter’s strength in the way he handled things in the dark and brought them to the manageable light. I loved Charlotte’s trust in his strength for her, but I loved seeing her grow and show her resilience in the face of all that life threw at her. Porter and Charlotte were definitely an amazing team when it came to lovers in life and dreamers in love. With all that these two went through; the heart-wrenching pain, the torture and the heartache, you most definitely got to feel their happiness as well. I felt all their pain, but I felt all their joy and love as well. I loved this couple SO much!!
One thing Aly does with finesse is to not only match the perfect emotions with the storyline, but she can match the humor and the love that is necessary to make the book that much more real. The humor was tongue in cheek; Porter and Charlotte had this defense mechanism they used so well, but it just worked. It really worked. Nothing was over the top. The drama was intense and authentic, the love was strong and fathomable, and the reality was vital and true. Aly drew you into their plight while playing with your heart, only to push you away and hurt you with their sorrowful truths. The basis of this storyline will hit you in your core and it will drag you through the depths of your emotional lows to get to your unimaginable highs. This was an amazing duet, and Aly’s words were phenomenal. Amazing. Just…..amazing.
“Our situations were different, but the same shade of black painted both of our souls.”
~BEE