(Review) Brighter

Brighter by Rochelle Allison

Publication Date: December 3rd, 2017

Pages: 247 (kindle)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

My Goodreads Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: 

Sometimes the detour gets us home faster than the main road ever could... 

Overachiever Alina Wright has two goals: blaze through grad school, and snag a job in marine conservation. Her academic career has always been meticulously planned and executed, so when a summer internship fall through, she’s at a loss. 

Until her friend-with-benefits, Theo, invites her on a trip to the tropics...no strings, no expectations. 

Days of glimmering beaches and nights dancing beneath the stars, a vibrant culture and a community of close friends, life on St. Croix is meant to be savored. Things with Theo cool, but other passions fire up and it doesn’t take long for Alina to fall in love with the island—or with Jude Larsen, the irresistible bartender downtown. 

All vacations come to an end. Will Alina navigate back to her safe, carefully scripted life, or will she take a chance on something brighter? 

My Review: 

I've "known" Rochelle through social media for a number of years, so when she offered up an ARC of her new story Brightest I jumped at the chance. Of course, I had to read Brighter first. 

I grabbed this as soon as I could and completely devoured it in a couple of hours. Literally. 

Alina is an easy character to fall in love with. She's smart and funny and passionate about her hopes and dreams. The book starts off with some bad news for Alina, but she takes it all in stride. Instead of moping about she takes up Theo's offer to go to St. Croix. She and Theo obviously have history and it's very clear to everyone that they know. 

I liked Theo, but I didn't like him with Alina. She is smart and driven, while I feel like Theo was just kind of coasting through life. That might be an unfair assessment but, like Alina, you're really going to like Jude. 

There's an instant attraction with Jude, and you can tell it's mutual. He has one moment where he is less than worthy, but quickly makes up for it and apologizes. 

Brighter is definitely a slow burn type of story. It's sexy and fun, but also very sweet. Alina finds a new purpose for her life after her lost internship and after Theo. She learns a lot about herself throughout the book she truly discovers what she wants from life. I loved reading about her explorations and the new relationships she found on the island. 

This book has a variety of lovable and eclectic characters you'll want to fall for. Pick it up, check it out, and wait around for Brightest. It'll be worth it.