Initial Impressions 4/20/16: A solid read and good thriller! It kept me interested and I was curious to see how it would all wrap up. It wasn't AS twisty and thrilling as the hype made it out to be but still a really good read and quite entertaining. There were some good twists toward the end and I appreciated where the book took readers. Sometimes it's actually nice not to have insane twists because a lot have been done so they've actually become easy to guess. This book really always kept me guessing and I wasn't sure how it would wrap up! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 6/6/16: I'm pretty big on mysteries and thrillers so when I saw all of the buzz on THE DARKEST CORNERS, I knew I had to read it! I ended up making it my next read when I received an audio copy to review from The Listening Library! There was so much buzz on this being the next big thriller that I was both excited and hesitant as I dove in! It's always hard when there's a lot of hype for a book but whatever the outcome, I was definitely curious. 
 I liked Tessa right off the bat. Not in a conventional way but I appreciated what she was going through and I thought that although I wasn't really ever in her shoes, she had an interesting story and I could appreciate the decisions that she was making, however hard. I liked that her character remained in a sort of gray area. She was always a character I was rooting for to succeed in solving a mystery and find peace but I was always unsure whether she really was somehow involved in the happenings in Fayette and then later in the story, exactly how she affected the turn of events. She wasn't quite an unreliable narrator but there were definitely pieces of her story and reactions towards other people that had me questioning whether she was totally innocent or what really was lying further underneath the surface. 
 There is a lot more to THE DARKEST CORNERS than meets the eye. I won't give anything away, of course, but like any good mystery/thriller, there are some interesting reveals at the end that really bring the book into a different light and I had that moment where I go back and re-look at everything with the new-found information. It wasn't something that totally shocked me but it was an interesting twist! A small issue I had with the book was that there were pieces of it that added to the mystery but didn't quite seem totally relevant to the overall picture. The mystery was one piece and the thrill was another piece and they did overlap but it wasn't quite that click where they both fit together so satisfyingly! It was still quite enjoyable but I would have loved for everything to really come full circle and totally connect in every way... But I do realize that things don't always work out like that! That's more of a personal preference that a critique. 
 THE DARKEST CORNERS was entertaining and yet not quite as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. It's so hard to live up to a large amount of hype (which there was for this book) but I'd love to read more from Kara Thomas and I'd be excited to see if she has any other thrillers in store for readers! 
 AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS 
 Source: Review copy obtained from Listening Library/Penguin Random House Audio 
 Narrator: Jorjeana Marie 
 Performance: Good. Not a favorite narrator but one I'd listen to on multiple occasions. I don't think I'd seek her out but I'd still be drawn to books she narrates. 
 I like Jorjeana Marie! I'm actually listening to another book she narrates right now and I love how differently she's portraying the two characters (this being a mystery and new book being a contemporary). Her narration didn't bowl me over but it was entertaining from start to finish. I feel like I could have used a little more personality from her but I like her voice and it's quite pleasant to listen to. I think it's realistic as a teen voice and still maintains a maturity as well.