"The Brightness Between Us" was by far the book I was most excited to read this year. "The Darkness Outside Us" destroyed me in the best possible way and so I couldn't wait to get my hands on its sequel.

This book was easily my favorite and best read of 2024. This story dug its way into my heart and lives there now. The way it built onto book one was done beautifully. I loved that we got to read from all these different character perspectives and we got to see just how much the past is intervening with the future/present.

We open up to meet Kodiak and Ambrose 17 years after we leave them at the end of "The Darkness Outside Us" through the lens of their daughter Owl. We get to see how they have settled in their new home. We then get to go back in time and see how OG Ambrose and Kodiak feel and act after finding out they aren't actually going to Titan to rescue Minvera. Get your tissues ready, its every bit as amazing as the first book.

Honestly, words aren't enough to describe how much I loved this book. It beautifully captures what it means to be human. It's tragic, hopeful, and heart wrenching. Everything I could ever want.

You should absolutely pick this up and read it. If you love sci-fi, if you love seeing humans try and if you want a beautiful story pick this up!! I cannot sing its praises enough. It is truly a 6 star read.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy!

The Darkness Outside Us was absolutely perfect as a standalone, but there was still so such potential to this future Schrefer created. Between the conflict between Earth's last two nations, Fédération and Dimokratía, and the future after the last pair of Ambrose and Kodiak clones survived the journey to the new world, there so much for Schrefer to explore. This was probably already a humongous task, but to do both simultaneously in the same book could become a catastrophic mess. But Schrefer is a fantastic writer who managed to balance both plotlines phenomenally.

Both plotlines - the one with the original Ambrose and Kodiak in the past and the other with their (Well, technically their clones') kids, Owl and Yarrow, 30k+ years in the future - are heavily connected but are still compelling on their own. Owl and Yarrow are grappling with being the hopes of the future, the last of humanity along with their dad, with some feelings that they fully couldn't live up to that notion. Meanwhile, Ambrose and Kodiak are facing the fallout of the lies their nations told them and the general end-of-the-world dystopia (extinction of all animals, Fédération and Dimokratía escalating to nuclear war, the whole planet is basically done for) that has them questioning if humanity could survive itself.

Schrefer tackles these conundrums with such intelligence and care, and even though a lot of it is depressing, there's still enough hope that shines through. Schrefer himself talks about the writing an answer to that question in a Goodreads review, and I really appreciate the transparency of his admittance of reading the reviews of TDOS and how they inspired him to write this sequel. I get sensitive when it comes to feedback to my own work; I can only imagine the whirlwind Schrefer went through when reading the worst of it - on Goodreads of all places. But it really shows Schrefer's strength in the face of such criticism and utilize it in his writing to enhance the sequel. I can only aspire to do something similar one day.

Anyway, I could honestly go on a lot more about some of the more specific things in the story, but I would rather just highly suggest for any reader who loved TDOS to go into this blind. The darkness and brightness of humanity is shown through this story, and it still chooses to focus on the love and hope it can have despite it all.

This book absolutely lived up to the first in the series, which I am so happy about, because that was one of my favorite books, and this one will now join the first in that imaginary shelf. The author did an amazing job of continuing the original story in a way that did not at all seem unnecessary or repetitive.

I especially liked the POVs from the original Ambrose and Kodiak, and honestly if the book had just been that part of the story, I would have been perfectly happy with it. Their story had more of a dystopian feel to it, and it was done very well, although I would not mind reading a whole book on how the world got to be how it was during their time.

As for the POVs and story from 30,000 years in the future with Owl and Yarrow, I found myself very engaged and on the edge of my seat (sometimes literally) while reading their story, despite the fact that I usually dislike when authors continue a series from the POV of the original characters' children.

To me, as a person who is very much a sci-fi nerd, all of the plot twists and plot points in general in this story (just like with the last one) felt very much like a natural progression of how our technology and world would develop, which was both very cool and very scary to see portrayed in a book. Overall, this is definitely the best book that I have read in awhile and I would happily read a continuation of the story despite being satisfied with the ending.

Thank you Harper Collins and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A perfect follow up to book 1! Kodiak and Ambrose have started their lives along with their two children, Owl and Yarrow. We learn about their lives on Minerva. Meanwhile in the past we meet the original Kodiak and Ambrose who are about to become cloned. Just how did the events of book 1 come to be? And what does life look like for Kodiak, Ambrose, Owl, and Yarrow now? Equal doses of funny and tearjerker! A strong story of survival and family! Gripped me and I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommend, especially if you enjoyed book 1!

I didn’t think I needed a followup to The Darkness Outside us because it was such a perfect story. But I’m so glad for this! It expands the story line in an unexpected way and delves deeper into the relationship(s) between Kodiak and Ambrose. There are also some fun new characters to root for.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the best book I’ve read in months! I enjoyed the complexities of character, dual timelines and ways that this kept me on my toes in new and exciting ways - similarly to the first book in the series.

Mark these words: I will read ANYTHING Eliot Schrefer puts out into the world. Another five star read, another mind absolutely blown upon finishing this book. I'm not sure how Eliot crafts such emotionally draining stories(in the best way), and makes me feel all my feels to the point where my heart may actually burst, but he does it. I could read an endless amount of stories from this world he's crafted, and I am always left at the end of each journey with a full heart, and curiosity eating away at my brain for what could possibly come next. Can't recommend this book enough!!!!!

thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

‘the darkness outside us’ became one of my favorite books when i first read it back in 2022. when i found out that a sequel was coming out, i was beyond excited!

i didn’t know what to expect from ‘the brightness between us’, but it’s clear it follows its prequel’s footsteps. the author’s writing continues as strong and as touching as before, and the characters are the main driving forces behind the novel.
while i personally enjoy the narrative and the arcs in ‘the darkness outside us’ more, i can’t really complain about ‘the brightness between us’ for it delivers exactly what it promises: it’s about family bond and survival.
i’ll probably enjoy ‘brightness’ more when i reread it, so i won’t be distracted waiting for plot twists like the first book (since that was something i was hoping to get a lot of!), and instead focus on the characters relationships and how this book talks about humanity and loneliness and the families we build ourselves along the way.

Thank you Haper Collin’s and NetGalley for the ARC.

I read The Darkness Outside Us last year and it was my top read of the year. I didn’t think I would read a book as good as that again, but Eliot Schrefer had delivered another out of this world book!!!

Kodiak and Ambrose are back, along with two new voices added to the mix. It is very different than the 1st book, but just as good. I wanted to keep going, and read this in a matter of 2 days.

This will be a book I reread several times throughout my life, and one I will think about often.

5 stars and a special place in my heart!!

"The Darkness Outside Us" is easily one of my favorite books from this year and one of the few that I have actually given five stars. I was so excited that Kodiak and Ambrose's story would continue, and I was not disappointed (although, I kind of am because I want more!).

This story is told from four POVs: Owl and Yarrow from the present and OG Kodiak and Ambrose from the past. I'm usually not one for multiple POVs, but this really worked because it wasn't going back and forth between chapters. They each had their own sections, which was nice because it wasn't jarring when a new POV was introduced.

I really expected the story to be all about Kodiak, Ambrose, and their family's lives on Minerva but was pleasantly surprised. It was nice to get some of Kodiak and Ambrose's backstory and the events leading up to the events in the first book. Can I also say that I love that Kodiak and Ambrose will always choose each other no matter what?

I really hope this isn't the end of Kodiak, Ambrose, Owl, and Yarrow's stories. However, if it is, the ending is satisfying. That being said, can we please, please, please get a third book?

Thank you so much to HarperCollins Children's and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 ⭐️

thank you to netgalley and harper collins for giving me this ARC in exchange for a review 💙

i read the darkness outside us earlier this year after having it on my shelf from barnes & noble for a couple years, and was so glad i finally picked it up! i LOVED it, and was so happy to find out there was a sequel coming out later this year!!

in a mix of science fiction, romance, and young adult, this book jumps into the future after kodiak and ambrose are settled onto a new planet with teenage children now. we also have alternating POVs both between characters and timelines, one of which way back in the past on earth before the nuclear war happened.

this book was such an emotional rollercoaster, i laughed, i almost cried, i smiled. sheep was my fave 🥹🐑

so happy i got to read this and can’t wait to see what else this author will write!

review to come on my instagram closer to pub day!

I didn’t think The Darkness Outside Us needed a sequel. In fact I was kind of nervous to read this because I thought it unnecessary. But boy am I glad I did. This was absolutely stunning. Literally crying over this beautiful and heartbreaking story.

Biggest thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of 'The Brightness Between Us'! This review is my full, honest opinion.

After recently reading the gut-wrenching “The Darkness Outside Us”, which is now one of my new all-time favorites, I immediately went into its sequel with overwhelming emotions and high expectations. ‘The Brightness Between Us’ shares the story of how all actions in the past impact every aspect of the future. The book crosses timelines and points of view between Kodiak and Ambrose’s teen children Owl and Yarrow in their current present on Minerva and the original counterparts of Kodiak and Amrbose that remained on Earth before the launch in the very distant past. Despite how much space and time separates them, their lives and worlds depend on each other.

Owl and Yarrow are great additions to the story, and genuinely my favorite part of the book. Owl had me cackling at how relatable she is to being a teenage girl trying to be understood by those around her and experience the most in life even with almost nothing around. Yarrow is optimistic and reserved in a way I instantly admired upon his entry and throughout the read. The novel could have been entirely in their points of view and I would have been thoroughly entertained — and honestly, I wish the book had been written that way.

To my surprise, in ‘Darkness’, I was encapsulated with every version of Kodiak and Ambrose; there wasn’t a pair of them that I didn’t dislike or believe to be acting out without reason. Yet in ‘Brightness’, as much as I liked the older/Dad versions, I couldn’t stand their original selves. The events that followed up immediately after their minds were scanned before the launch read to me more unbelievable than being revealed they had clone counterparts brought to life every couple hundred to thousand years to fix a spaceship. Ambrose’s preservative nature over his clones was weirdly immediate and intimate. The scope of land that was covered and the pressing danger that presented itself happened at too fast of a pace. And do not get me started on the role taken by an unfortunately well-known, crucially important character who made the Earth storyline all too good to be true in the first place. Although everything does get explained, I couldn’t forgive the convenience of how it all came together at the near end. This book seemed to have such a linear approach to fixing its problems and for that reason it didn’t click for me like ‘Darkness’ did.

The character interactions are the driving force in this story and I believe that is what the author really wanted the story to be about — it is clearly stated in the author’s note. Don’t expect something like ‘Darkness’, although this is its sequel, the style is different and the message in which the story is telling is told and shown straightforwardly in the pages.

eARC received for review from NetGalley

5⭐️

um WOW ?! For starters I read the reader’s note at the beginning so Eliot Schrefer if you’re reading this… hello you genius.
I didn’t shut up about book one so don’t expect me to shut up about this one either.
I read The Darkness Outside Us two years ago in one sitting while I was quarantining and unfortunately being on vacation meant I had to put The Brightness Between Us down even if I absolutely didn’t want to… but let me tell you I COULD’VE READ THIS BOOK IN ONE GO IF I HAD THE TIME.
I don’t even have even words in my vocabulary to describe how amazing and unique and interesting and mesmerizing this books is, just know that I will be recommending this series for as long as I have air in my lungs.

Thank you to Eliot Schrefer, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the free review copy.

Perfect little sequel to a book that I did not think needed a sequel. It did the thing good sequels are supposed to do: enhanced the best parts of first one (the Ambrose and Kodiak relationship) while expanding and adding to them (the Minerva sequences). No hyperbole- this was the "Godfather, part II" of YA sci-fi novels.

If I had one quibble- and this is minor- the teenage Ambrose and the adult Ambrose could be mistaken for two different characters. Maybe smooth out one or roughen up the other.

I can’t tell you how surprised and delighted to see The Darkness Outside Us was getting a sequel - and more than a little nervous knowing how Eliot Schrefer likes to hurt his readers! However, I should’ve known better than to doubt because, like its predecessor, this was heartfelt and heart racing in equal measures, as well as a healthy dose of rich worldbuilding, tender family dynamics and an exploration of what it means when a whole vast future is suddenly thrust into your hands.

As well as getting the back story of our beloved Kodiak and Ambrose pre-journey, we also are introduced to their children - Yarrow and Owl. I really enjoyed the dual timelines and how much this book fleshed out the first one. The sci-fi elements were as excellent as ever and the romance truly just as gut wrenching. A great addition to the story that I think will go down a treat!

I loved the first book, The Darkness Outside Us. Loved it. So my expectations were very high for The Brightness Between Us. At first, the tonal shift threw me and so when my expectations were not entirely met, I was disappointed. I feel like The Darkness Outside Us is incorrectly marketed as YA. While the main characters are technically teenagers, they don’t feel like teens. And the book doesn’t read like YA. Personally, I think it should just be straight up Science Fiction, and not YA Science Fiction. I say all of this because The Brightness Between us DOES feel like YA. And I wasn’t expecting it. However, once I got past that, I fell in love with this story and the new characters (and old “new” characters) so, so quickly. It’s hard to write a review that isn’t just a direct comparison to the first book. But while Brightness is maybe missing the suspense (and almost horror) qualities that I loved so much from Darkness, it has the relationship building and the characters that are so easy to root for that really make these books so compelling. I loved getting more of Ambrose and Kodiak (and even OS) -but I just as much loved Owl and Yarrow, too. Eliot Schrefer is an author that I’ll absolutely come back to, whether it’s more of this story, or something brand new.

Now.. idk what it is about authors wanting to WREAK MY EMOTIONAL STATUS in these last 2 ARC reads but I digress.

(NetGalley thank you for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review)

4.5 STARS ROUNDED UP

Now where to start. This book is about colonial, family, history, and so much more. To even suggest this book was anything less than the first is crazy to me. The way The Darkness Between Us ended. It didn’t, at least in my head, need a sequel. Maybe a small bonus episode or novella but I’m so glad Eliot decided to make this a book bc I am literally taken aback. Maybe it healed my inner child a bit too🫶 (small spoiler; owl, it’s okay to be misunderstood bc you aren’t the only one)

I love Eliot Schrefer so much. His writing is unlike anything else I've read; it has a unique ability to make you truly *feel* with every page. "The Brightness Between Us" is no exception. The way Schrefer weaves the prequel nature of part of the story into the present is nothing short of masterful. Discovering what happened to the original Ambrose and Kodiak was heartbreaking but also incredibly beautiful.

The emotional depth and complexity of the characters drew me in completely. I felt every twist and turn in their journey. Schrefer left us on another cliffhanger, one that was so emotional and moving that it will stay with me long after I turned the last page.

I hadn't stopped thinking about "The Darkness Outside Us" since I read it, and now I know "The Brightness Between Us" will be another story that lingers in my mind for a long time. The intertwining of lives across time and space is handled with such finesse, making the stakes feel incredibly high and the connections profoundly real.

If you loved "The Darkness Outside Us," this sequel is a must-read. Schrefer's ability to create an epic love story that spans galaxies and millennia is truly remarkable. This book is an emotional rollercoaster that you won't want to miss.

My crops are watered, my skin is clear, and I think my slump is finally over, because of this book.

I read the Darkness Outside Us last year, and I loved it. Then, when I saw that this was announced not long after that, needless to say I was excited. But somehow, whether it be from my month long slump or general feeling of "meh" with other reads I picked up this year, it really flew under the radar. Well, I am happy to say that, after finishing this book in less than a week, my slump is not only cured, but I think this book renewed my love of reading.

This book just does so much RIGHT. And to follow up so incredibly to a book that really didn't need a sequel? To a book that ended perfectly? That already seemed like such an impossible task, but somehow, this book did THAT. I fell in love with Yarrow and Owl, and fell in love all over again with Ambrose and Kodiak. I fell in love with the world, despite how dark and bleak it was. I fell in love with the humanity of it, especially living in the time we are currently in. It gives me hope, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it honestly does.

This book is about family. It is about the good and bad of humanity. It is about DESTINY, and god dammit do I love it.

I could follow this crew forever. I don't know if another sequel will follow, but no matter if it does or doesn't happen, I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.