Review: The Invisible Bright by Mindi Briar

The Invisible Bright (Halcyon Universe #3)
Mindi Briar

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Science Fiction Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MF

Blurb:
Miri harbors a secret, and if it comes to light, it may cost her everything.

As part of the Ediya Experiments, a group of children genetically modified with dragon DNA, Miri must hide her ability to see emotions in color. But that’s not easy when she keeps accidentally altering people’s feelings, often with disastrous results. When her latest mistake ends in her losing her job, she’s desperate to find a way to control the powers she never wanted.

Leo has been hiding his crush on Miri ever since they were children. But when she shows up in his hometown, adrift and looking for answers, even wounded feelings can’t keep his past love from rekindling. He doesn’t understand why she insists on holding him at arm’s length.

When the two of them witness a shocking crime in Leo’s idyllic community, the investigation pushes them together, forcing them to admit feelings they thought long buried. But as they uncover secrets that cast an ugly light on their society, they find their lives unmoored.

Miri’s powers are more dangerous than she knows, and if she can’t get them under control, their future—and the world—could go up in flames.

My Review

I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really like this science fiction romance series and was so excited for this third book in the series. One of the main characters Miri was introduced as a child in book 2 and one of the main characters from book 2 makes some appearances, but it can be read as a standalone. I liked seeing what happened to the children who were genetically modified and this book focuses on how those kids are doing now when they’re all grown up and adults.

Miri can see emotions as auras around people, but when she keeps accidentally influencing people’s emotions she loses her job. She’s afraid of influencing people with her powers and unsure how to control it. While she’s visiting her friend, a crime takes place that the dragons didn’t see and she teams up with her childhood crush Leo to solve the crime.

I thought this was an interesting read and I liked how it dealt with the kids who were part of the experiments and the moral and ethical questions surrounding their powers. As well as bit of a murder mystery plot line. The tension increases later in the book and I wanted to see how it all played out. The epilogue was great and I appreciated the unusual shape Miri and Leo’s happy ending took and how it worked well for them.

I liked Miri, her powers were interesting to read about and I liked how she was always aware of the danger her powers could pose even though she struggled to control them. I liked seeing her interact with Leo and I liked their romance. Leo seemed a bit less interesting of a character at first, but the more I got to know him the more I liked him. His sunshine personality, but also how he could be a bit reckless with his heart of the right place. They made for a great couple and fit well together. I liked seeing them find their way back together. There is not much drama and I liked they cleared things up relatively fast.

I liked how this book expanded on the topics the previous books had introduced as well as some new interesting twists and characters. The world comes more alive with each book. It also was nice to spend more time on Halcyon in this book and see more of the communities there, but also showed how they aren’t perfect either.

To summarize: This was another great read in this series. I wanted to keep reading and see where the plot and romance would go. Miri and Leo were close until Miri pushed him away and now they have to team up to solve a crime. The murder mystery style plot combined with Miri’s fears about her powers made for an interesting plot. I liked Miri and Leo together and I liked how their happy ending took a different shape than I see in most books, but a shape that was perfect for them. I liked how this book continues some of the topics that got introduced in book 2, but also works as standalone read. The world gets expanded in each book in this series and I liked seeing more of the world and more time spend on Halycon in this book as well as reading about the powers of the genetically modified kids who are now adults.

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.