It took me three and a half weeks to finish this book, whereas it should have taken me four days, a week at most. I found it I credibly difficult to get into, and did not feel an attachment to any of the characters. In addition, I am still not certain that I truly understood the plot, or what really happened, just because of how confused I was the whole time.

It was dark and scary, I can give the author credit for that. However, as much as I wanted to love it, this was not a book that I felt connected to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Books for an advanced digital reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

The summer of 1995 starts with a party in abandoned mines that ends with six students witnessing a crime. They investigate and vow to stay silent. Now twenty years later, one of them is murdered and they return to find out why.

This book reminded me of IT; two times likes where a group of adults go back to face a terrifying town and supernatural force that they faced as children. I especially enjoyed the timeline from when they were teens, all the nineties references were perfect. I felt it was slightly longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed the story but in the last 100 pages found myself ready to move on. I still enjoyed the book and definitely recommend it.

“The events of 1995 had never faded away so much as had been tucked into the back corner of her mind.”

A Step Past Darkness comes out 2/20.

Kurian excels at creating intricate (and often scary) settings against which her characters have to fight. This makes the threats come from more than just characters in the books, and leaves readers with a sense of unease at the turn of every page. A Step Past Darkness has it all-- spooky setting, cult like vibes, and a cast of unlikely friends determined to save each other and their town.

Title: A Step Past Darkness
Author: Vera Kurian
Pub Date: February 20, 2024

Six teenagers who were initially brought together for a school project, end up witnessing something horrible at a party in the mines in their town. They all go their separate ways and twenty years later, one of the six friends turns up dead in their hometown. They decide that they can’t ignore it any longer…something strange is going on in the town they grew up in and the death of their friend was not an accident. Together, they are determined to uncover the secrets of their town that have haunted them all these years.

This book is told from multiple points of view and alternates between the past and present. I chose it because I thought the synopsis sounded like a twisty thriller. Although it was a little slow to pick up, I enjoyed the first half of the book and getting to know the characters. However, I was surprised at the supernatural turn that it took, which is something I don’t typically read.

This is a pretty long book and it’s a slow burn so it took me a few days to read. It’s well written but it’s definitely not a typical thriller. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys suspense books with supernatural elements!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced reader copy.

I stumbled across Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian last year, and it was easily one of my favorite reads of 2023. Yes, I know I'm 2 years late to the game, and I was clearly thrilled to receive an ARC of her latest novel A Step Past Darkness. Eerie setting? Check. Band of misfit friends trying to solve crimes? Check. An unorthodox Breakfast Club if you will.

Vera Kuria did a phenomenal job of weaving the narrative through multiple narrators over a stretch of time. The 6 main characters could not be any more different, and Kuria was able to create a distinct tone for each person. A classic whodunnit, sprinkled with teenage angst and the perfect amount of supernatural events. Do not sleep on this one!

4.5/5

My first book of Vera Kurian's and I'm hooked! I loved the well-written characters and the creepy small town of Wesley Falls.

The story is told from the alternating POVs of six teenagers in the summer of '95 and again in 2015 when they lose one of their own. I was oddly nostalgic for my teen years though they were nothing like the ones in these characters' lives and loved these kids with all my heart. I was also excited to see how they turned out to be as adults.

I cannot empathize the importance of a book with characters that fill up your heart especially one in thrillers/mysteries which isn't too often. There were also moments in this book that completely threw me off. You know that moment you need to close the book because of the enormity of what you read?

This was exciting and fun and I can't wait to read more from the author. Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin books for the advanced e-copy!

I've been so looking forward to reading Vera Kurian's second novel, A Step Past Darkness—and it did not disappoint!

I'm a big fan of her first novel, Never Saw Me Coming, and I knew that this story is her ode to Stephen King's, It. Ms. Kurian seamlessly flows back and forth between six POVs (and two timelines)—not an easy task—and each character (and their voice) was clearly etched in my mind, so there was never any question or confusion. Not only that, but each chapter and different POV propelled the story forward like a practiced trapeze artist.

Just when I thought I had things figured out (including the villain) she pulled the rug out from under me. This was a fun, exciting and suspenseful read that I found very hard to put down.

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Park Row for the opportunity to read and give my honest feedback.

Synopsis from the publisher:
SIX CLASSMATES. ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT. A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING…

There’s something sinister under the surface of the idyllic, suburban town of Wesley Falls, and it’s not just the abandoned coal mine that lies beneath it. The summer of 1995 kicks off with a party in the mine where six high school students witness a horrifying crime that changes the course of their lives.

The six couldn’t be more different.
Maddy, a devout member of the local megachurch
Kelly, the bookworm next door
James, a cynical burnout
Casey, a loveable football player
Padma, the shy straight-A student
Jia, who’s starting to see visions she can’t explain

When they realize that they can’t trust anyone but each other, they begin to investigate what happened on their own. As tensions escalate in town to a breaking point, the six make a vow of silence, bury all their evidence, and promise to never contact each other again. Their plan works – almost.

Twenty years later, Jia calls them all back to Wesley Falls—Maddy has been murdered, and they are the only ones who can uncover why. But to end things, they have to return to the mine one last time.

This is my personal issue, and it's with language:

The past storyline takes place in 1995; I lived through that period, and yes, there was harsh, unchecked offensive language often used by teenagers. We heard words like "f*ggot" much more in the 90s and into the 2010s than we do now. We also heard many other racially-charged epithets that we've now tried to get more in-check.

My issue, though, is that Kurian writes several uncensored instances of "f*ggot" into the text (though never to refer to its only queer character, thankfully) but none of the racially-motivated ones, despite two of the protagonists being of Asian descent and their being the only non-white people in town/in their school pointed out quite a few times. But none of the characters, who have no issue spouting homophobic slurs, racially bully them? That seems very incorrect for the time period, and for teenagers, in general.

As a gay man who was often called "f*ggot" as a teen (and, well, always), this made me feel a certain type of way that I'm struggling to understand and articulate. Why was it so easy for Kurian to insert that type of offensive language but not other types? Why is homophobia displayed but not racism? If this type of language is used for period realism, that's completely understandable; but then it's not realistic to see no instances of other kinds of offensive language besides homophobic language. Is this because the author is not white and that kind of bullying/verbal abuse would've hit too close to home? I don't know, but it felt very weird and, in some ways, pointed.

I thought this book was too long! Lots of details that were not needed! The last 20% of the book just seemed to go on and on. I liked the beginning of the story, but it lost me when the author introduced the supernatural elements to the story. Parts of the story were good, but I'm not sure I was the right audience. A younger reader might like this book better.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row, for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story started off so strong with the return of Jia to her hometown to help the local Sheriff find a missing women, all of whom grew up together. But then the story turns to the past and became a YA story of highschool drama between a group of friends. The pacing was slow, and the characters were flat. I struggled to finish this one.

DNF at 20% - I am only submitting this review here as required by Netgalley. I loved the concept of the story and the first few pages held my interest but after that it completely was lost. The characters were all a bit bland and the story was SO slow. I am sure if you like slow burn, character-driven novels this will be one you enjoy but it was not for me.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the ARC.

I was elated to learn Vera Kurian was writing a new novel. I loved her book Never Saw Me Coming.

Why would six promising high school students leave their small idyllic town, vowing never to return? Surely, the secret isn’t in the creepy mine or the church that both run the town…

I love stories where long-lost friends or foes are reunited at the location they swore they’d never return to. I love the mystery behind what tore them apart and the power of the location that has kept them away. The story is a little breakfast club, a group of unlikely students forced together to work on a project, and it totally works.

The back-and-forth narrative of past and present added to many character perspectives was a little clunky in the beginning but settled into itself as the story finds its rhythm.

I enjoyed the mystery and the characters. I am still getting used to 1995 being “historical” fiction, but here we are. As an elder millennial, the 90’s will always be 20 years behind me. If you’re looking for a great mystery, a little horror, and some 1995, look no further.

Thank you, Harlequin and Netgalley, for the advanced copy.

Six friends from High School meet up back in their home town after 15 years to bury one of their pack. The past comes back in flashbacks as each of them, in varying chapters, recalls the horror of their childhoods in this quite horrible small town. The six had promised a vow of silence on what happened one fateful night… now all is coming unraveled.

Given this description and since the book was labeled in the mystery category, I thought I was going to be reading a mystery. I had read and enjoyed Vera Kurian’s first book, Never Saw Me Coming, about a female psychopath who specifically gets into a college to kill someone she hates. But then someone is murdered and the psychopath heroine did not do it! I recommend that book as fun and engaging.

However, A Step Past Darkness is not a mystery. It is pure fantasy, and being a lover of mystery novels, I found the book entertaining, especially at first, until I understood that rational character thoughts and actions were not present in this Kurian outing. I won’t give it away but suffice it to say, there is no mystery. Rather fantasy world elements keep this hometown in turmoil, and our six (now five since the murder of one) act completely irrationally — because that is acceptable in fantasy novels.

My preference for mystery/thriller novels lays in my desire to read about real life problems solved by logic and cunning. Thus, I am not a fan of fantasy novels! The first half of A Step Past Darkness without the fantasy as Kurian sets up the novel’s plot line, made me think that the book was going to following up the problem with a rational solution and ending. That was not the case. I liked the first half of the book, as Kurian can write good prose, but I do not want to be fooled into reading a genre I do not like due to a mislabel.

My ranking for this book as a mystery: 2. My ranking as a novel: 3.

This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. A Step Past Darkness will be published on February 20, 2024.

Back in 1995 six high school students witness a gruesome crime at a party in an abandoned mine. When they try to investigate on their own they realize that Wesley Falls has a dark history and decide to never speak about the incident or to each other again. After one of them is murdered 20 years later they make their way back to the town to finish what they couldn’t when they were younger.

This book was fantastic! I loved the dual storylines between the past and present and multiple POVs. The character development was superb and I grew to love every one of them. The supernatural aspect was a surprise that I usually don’t enjoy but thought it gave the book such a creepy vibe that I just devoured!

In my heart I want to give this a higher star rating than I actually will I think. Following the story of a group of teens who saw the unthinkable during one summer in 1995 along with a future timeline in 2015 where one of them has been murdered. Going back to the town where religious trauma caused them all scars to try and find answers and justice.
This book felt really long to me: I’m not sure why because it’s definitely not the longest book I’ve ever read. At the same time, I did enjoy it while I read it. Maybe the subject matter was a bit hard to read (to close to home for me): I liked the supernatural twist put on the story as well.
TW: SA, physical abuse, religious trauma.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Supernatural thriller told from 6 different POV. It was difficult to track the characters and the storyline. I wasn't a huge fan.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley & HTP Books for an eARC of A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian,

This book follows six classmates who return to their suburban town they grew up in after one of their old friends has been murdered. In 1995, they witnessed a horrifying crime that has forever changed their lives. Now, they take it upon themselves to investigate what happened to their friend.

I found myself getting confused with the characters in this one! I had to keep a list of who's who and refer back to it really frequently, so I struggled a bit with that. There was a supernatural sort of element and religious element to this that made it hard for me to binge like I did with Kurian's last thriller. I got through this one slowly and it was OK for me but not my favorite of this author's! I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

This book definitely did not go how I expected. There was a supernatural / paranormal aspect that was a surprise.

I thought the dual timelines was interested and kept me engaged and wanting to know more about what happened in 1995.

On the negative side, I didn’t feel very emotionally invested in the characters. We were told and not shown how they’d changed over the years, but it fell a bit flat for me.

Overall, it was an interesting premise, but I wish it was taken further. And with it being so long, there was ample opportunity to make this book a smash, but it didn’t seem to quite get there.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC.

Why did I love this book? First of all, I love any good book that has a crazy church cult. I loved the story itself, a group of teens who would have never been friends except for a school assignment becoming life long companions. Good stuff! I truly enjoyed this book and I could not put it down until I knew how it ended.

Six classmates. One terrifying night. A murder two years in the making.

Right away, the synopsis of this novel caught my attention. This and the fact the story goes back and forth from 1995 to present time drew me in as I was roughly the same age as they were in 1995. ( Life before social media!)

The story takes place in Wesley Falls when six teenagers with very diverse backgrounds are thrown together after a tragic accident and share a secret no one can ever find out about.

The characters:

• Maddy, the popular girl with a clique
• Kelly, tries to fit in, was at one point shunned by Maddy and her group
• James, considered one of the burn out kids in the community
• Casey, star football player - good looking and charming
• Padma, smart, quiet and blends into the crowd
• Jia, has visions and experiences she can not always explain

Something goes down and they make a pact to part ways and never speak again. Twenty years later, however, Maddy is found dead and they are reunited at Wesley Falls. Her death raises many questions and suspicions and they begin to wonder if this is connected to what happened twenty years ago.

The good about this novel...the characters. The fact there are six POV's is insane but once I figured out everyone, I did have a good sense of each of their characteristics, personalities and background. They were all underdogs in one sense or another from past or present and I did really like them all. The back and forth from past to present was easy to follow and I did enjoy the throw back to the 90's.

The other stuff...six POV's is, as I said, insane. It worked but took a while. This is a very slow telling story. Because of this, it didn't hold my attention for long periods. I would read for a bit then put it down and not rush to pick it up again, In my own personal opinion, I think it could have been a good 100 pages shorter and then it would have been more action oriented and attention holding.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the digital advanced reader copy to read in exchange for my honest review.