Review – The Brightest Darkness by Kate L. Mary

Posted April 6, 2020 by Carole in 2020 Audiobook Challenge, Audiobook, Book Reviews / 12 Comments

The Brightest Darkness by Kate L. Mary
Narrated by Heather Firth
Series: Oklahoma Wastelands #2
Publisher: Twisted Press, LLC
Publication Date: February 19, 2020
Date Read: April 4, 2020
Length: 9 hours 17 minutes
Source: Author
★★★★☆

From the author of the Amazon best-selling Broken World series comes book two in an exciting new zombie apocalypse series!

There was something evil living in Andrew. I’d seen it in his eyes, reflecting back at me like a spotlight. It was the brightest darkness I’d ever seen, bright enough to snuff every one of us out….

Still reeling from loss and with the harsh Oklahoma elements seemingly working against them, Kellan and Regan set out to rescue Harper from Andrew and his men. Only now they aren’t just fighting to free a teenage girl, they’re fighting to keep a promise to the man who saved them, knowing if they fail, Harper won’t be the only one at risk.

Joining forces with a new group means having help and making friends, but it also brings new conflict and the risk of losing everything they’ve worked to build over the last eight years. With zombies banging at their door and the threat of Andrew around every corner, Regan and Kellan will have to fight to keep their world secure and their secret from getting out.

My Review

I had a great time listening to this audiobook.  I listened to the first book in this series shortly after its release last year and enjoyed it so that I went on to read many of more of the author’s works during the past year.  It goes without saying that I was excited to start listening to this book and it did not disappoint.  This is the second book in the Oklahoma Wastelands series, which is a series that should be read in order if at all possible.  I really enjoyed slipping back into this world for a bit to check in on Regan and Kellan.

Please note there may be spoilers in this review for the first book in the series.

This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book.  Regan and Kellan are determined to rescue Harper from Andrew.  In a world filled with zombies and humans out to take advantage of others, things are never easy.  Regan, Kellan, and their group are all really good people and are determined to protect everyone in their group.  There were a lot of really exciting scenes in this book and quite a few twists that kept me guessing throughout the story. 

I really like Regan and Kellan.  They make a great pair and just seem to fit each other perfectly.  They both feel some responsibility to others in their group and are willing to put themselves in danger to protect others.  They are both very supportive of each other and Kellan doesn’t hold Regan back even though he might want to at times.  It was great to see their relationship grow over the course of this story.  I think that they have wonderful chemistry with each other and their history together makes everything even more believable.  It was really easy to cheer them on.

Heather Firth did a fantastic job with the narration of this book.  I liked all of the character voices that she used and I thought that all of the dialogue in this story felt very natural.  I think that she was able to add a lot of excitement and emotion into the story.  She read the story with a very pleasant voice and I had no problems listening for hours at a time.

I would recommend this series to others.  I really liked the fact that this story was exciting from beginning to end.  I cared about the characters and wanted to see everything work out for them.  I can’t wait to read more of this exciting series and more of Kate L. Mary’s work!

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author.

About the Author

Kate L. Mary is an award-winning author of Adult, New Adult, and Young Adult fiction, ranging from Post-apocalyptic tales of the undead to Speculative Fiction and Contemporary Romance! Her YA book, When We Were Human, was a 2015 Children’s Moonbeam Book Awards Silver Medal winner for Young Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction, and a 2016 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal winner for Young Adult Science Fiction. Her book Outliers was a Top 10 Finalist in the 2018 Author Academy Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction, a Finalist in the 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and the First Place Winner in the 2018 Kindle Book Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction. Tribe of Daughters was recently named as an Honorable Mention in the 2018 SPR Book Awards.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

12 responses to “Review – The Brightest Darkness by Kate L. Mary

  1. You are loving this author's work I don't read many zombie stories but I may have to give it a try. Fantastic review!

    Anne – Books of My Heart

  2. We watched 28 Days Later last week, so I've been in the mood for a good Zombie story ever since!

  3. Anonymous

    They sound like they have great chemistry. I haven’t read a zombie book in a while but this series sounds like a good one!

  4. I'll have to look for the first one in this series! I haven't read much of this kind of book but now seems like the time! I'm glad you enjoyed revisiting this world. I love when that happens!

  5. I don't know why, but I'm always reading zombie books in the summer. I'll be sure to give this series a look.

  6. I have a craving for end-of-the-world stories lately. I think it's because of our current world situation and I'm having a hard time focusing on contemporary romance. I need to try this series out!

  7. Sounds like such an action packed book and even though I still haven't crossed into zombies I am definitely open to this book.

    Great review Carole.