I am going to be upfront in my review and not try and play it off that this has a paranormal aspects to it. The heroine in this suffers from psychosis – she thinks she sees her dead boyfriend and that she needs to help him cross over. Of course what really needs to happen is she needs to face what happened and let him go.

There are three main players in this book. Holden and Tyler Marks who are brothers and Sam Wintry, who they have known and lived next to since she was born. They grew up very close. Sam and Holden were the shyer artsy types where Tyler was the athlete and planned to follow in his father footsteps to become a lawyer. Sam had always had a crush on Holden but for circumstances Sam knew nothing about he pushed her away when she finally got the courage to tell him. From that point on her and Tyler cross the friendship line into a relationship and were planning on getting married before he was killed by a hit and run driver. Sam not able to handle his death had a mental breakdown but in her eyes it was everyone else that didn’t understand that Tyler was still there.

We knew one of Holden’s reason from walking away from Sam was he knew he brother was in love with her and his whole life he done nothing but try and protect his brother from first his father’s fist then another tragic accident. He knows Sam hates him but it breaks his heart to see her so broken now. When he sees that she is going to go on the cross-country trip that she and Tyler had always planned on her own he puts his issues aside to go with her to keep her safe.

What neither of these two expected to happen on this trip is for their wounds to be ripped open which in turn finally causes the long needed healing of both of them to begin and for them both to realize that something that started a very long time ago was always meant to be.

Along with the present this book has a lot of flashbacks which are needed to really explain how everyone ended up where they are today. In doing that it felt like Tyler was a big part of the book even though he was dead when the book started. These three people suffered so much in their short lives. I really enjoyed this book and plan to read the rest in the series.
( )

Sam is still young, she is still in the prime of life and is supposed to be enjoying her life as a college student, artist and fiancé but when her fiancé is killed in a hit and run, her entire life is shut down. Sam’s fiancé Tyler was her world, her everything but his death leaves so much empty space she does not think it can ever be filled and she literally shuts down and shuts out the entire world. When Holden, Tyler’s older brother returns, she’s not prepared to face him or what he will bring with him. Prior to her being with Tyler, back when they were still just kids, she had a mad crush on Holden, but he crushed it and she never understood why. She thought he wanted what she did but for years all she knew is how quickly he shut them down and hurt her.
Secrets will be reveled, lies will be unfolded and life as she once thought it was will again be turned inside out. She has been living with Tyler’s ghost since he passed and is not sure she wants him to go away. Everyone says she is crazy but she can’t see anything but Tyler and his pain, Tyler and what they will never have, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler and now she wants to help him the way he helped her so many times. Can she survive his death, can she survive all the hidden truths and lies, and can she survive once Holden shows back up in her life?
Very unusual yet great read. If you have ever experienced a truly hard loss this book will have you in tears and if you have not so unfortunate then this may help you to understand it. Otherwise it’s just a great read all together! ( )

A heartbreakingly, beautiful romance between a very troubled young woman and the man that left her behind. Sam has been seeing the ghost of her dead boyfriend for five months now, ever since he was killed by a hit and run driver. It's affected her entire life and she's begun to spiral downward even further when Holden shows up in town. Holden is Tyler's brother, the dead boyfriend ghost. And Holden isn't without his craziness as well. He's got issues, secrets that will tear Sam's world down even more. But a breakthrough has pushed them together and sent them on a journey across the country to spread Tyler's ashes. Will the past come back to haunt them, or will the future be their salvation? I loved this novel from start to finish. Both characters were well developed and individual. I liked that Tyler even had a personalization and carried the weight for both Sam and Holden to get past their demons. All along I didn't know what to expect, but I wanted very badly for it to work out one way or the other. I wasn't let down. ( )

Just to clarify, this is a 4.5 rounded up.

I had the worst luck with books lately. I don't have much time to read anymore (a moment of silence for my reading time, please) and so when I finally pick something up I hope to god it's good (I almost had a breakdown yesterday when I read through half of a book only to realize it's a 100% DNF not even worthy of acknowledging I tried to read it).

The Darkest Part was good! I loved the story of second-chance romance for Sam and Holden and how they got over everything keeping them apart and back to each other.

The story is heartbreaking but in all of it, it keeps sort of an upbeat tone to it. I really liked that. You could feel both Sam and Holden's loss and how much they both suffer because someone so dear was taken away from them, but through all of it, it didn't make me wanna slit my wrists. It kind of gave me hope, more than anything, that these two people can help each other out.

Now I'll admit, I had doubts. Reading the blurb it gave me a familiar vibe... a book I really really didn't like. Funny enough, it's why I have this book a chance. That and, well, I love road trip books (they can be a hit and miss, but I still always enjoy them).

I loved Sam, I loved Holden. I especially loved Holden! Cause he was this broody tortured artist and he's not a bad boy per se. I found his character to be really interesting. He's equal part sweet and alpha and just... an overall nice guy with troublesome past.

The two brothers and Sam have a complicated history, a lot of secrets buried and I was dying to know this big dark secret. It crossed my mind, hey. I even told my friend I had that theory. But I think the author did a good job of keeping it shush until the very end.

I have a special place for books that make me feel for dead characters - I distance myself from them immediately because I don't like to get attached. So when I feel a dead character is very much an active part of the story, and get attached to them like I did with Tyler. I loved it. I was really sad that he was dead, and I was mourning him along with Sam.

What I really liked is that she never downplays the relationship she had with him. Despite her past with Holden (and present), despite everything she finds out about him, she never thinks how her relationship with Tyler was any less than it was.
I loved that so much.

Wow, this review turned really long.
Okay, I loved the writing, loved the characters, the biker girls (lol) and I think, what struck me most about this book is that was realistic in a way... Sam did act crazy and Holden never found lame excuses for it. He saw it for what it is.

There are a couple of graphic scenes of sexual nature in the book, for those who like to know these things.

So, why the half star off? I thought the ending was a bit...rushed and over the top. The whole mystery about Tyler's death, I felt like it wasn't that... wow. You know.

I'm gonna wrap this up, lol. I thought it was a good road trip book. And Holden was awesome, I loved the romance. I do recommend this book if you're looking for a good second-chance romance book. ( )

I love Trisha Wolfe's books, which are fantasy and are amazing, and when I found out she was writing a new adult contemporary romance, I couldn't wait to read it. In a sea of new adult contemporary romances available today, The Darkest Part is one that definitely stands out among the rest. Sam Wintry, Tyler Marks, and Holden Marks have grown up together on the island of Hilton Head South Carolina. Tyler and Sam are the same age and have been best friends since they were in diapers. Holden is almost four years older, and Sam crushed on him for years. Tyler has loved Sam ever since he can remember. Sam is an artist, she dyes her hair black, usually with a streak of color in it, and has her nose pierced. Tyler is preppy, clean cut, handsome, and is following in his father's footsteps to become a lawyer. Holden is the black sheep of the family. Hot, sexy, has a pierced lip, tattooed, and he is also an artist, a very good one, and the art is something that Sam and Holden have in common and have always connected through. Her freshman year in high school, things change between Sam and Holden and she thinks she has a chance with this boy that she has been in love with forever, only her dreams come crashing down around her and Tyler is the one who is there to pick up the pieces. Holden leaves the island after high school and they rarely see him anymore, and a relationship begins between Sam and Tyler, best friends and now lovers. Tyler is Sam's world. Now in college, they plan to get married, take a road trip for their honeymoon, and things seem to be looking up, in spite of a tragic situation that occurred six months prior, when the unthinkable happens and Tyler dies, and Sam's world comes crashing down around her.

It's now been months. Sam is a mess, a total mess. She has moved back home. Her mother has forced her into therapy after Sam admits that she is seeing Tyler, who is now dead, her dad can't handle the stress and isn't around much, and Sam has totally withdrawn within herself, communicating only with her dead boyfriend for the most part. After Sam has a bit of a breakthrough in therapy, she finally decides that the only way she can help Tyler, and herself, is to complete the road trip they planned on taking, bringing closure. She has researched all kinds of supernatural books and the like, and is convinced this is what she needs to do. What she doesn't count on his Holden Marks, the guy who broke her heart long ago, to make an appearance and insist on going with her. Feelings she had long since buried begin to resurface again, which further confuses Sam, especially when Holden seems to now care for her, after making it clear before that he wanted nothing to do with her. Holden has so many secrets himself, and no one is aware of the sacrifices he has made for his family.....for his brother. As the journey progresses, not only does Holden have to finally deal with the way he feels about Sam, he has to deal with her psychosis when she admits she sees and talks to Tyler, or is it psychosis? He also has to keep inside a terrible secret regarding Tyler's death, one that threatens to destroy him, and could possible destroy Sam if it is revealed. On their journey, so many things are revealed about their past. Sam finally comes to understand the dark things that Tyler and Holden went through when they were children, things that were so very awful. She also finds out things about Tyler that she never knew, and are devastating to her, on top of dealing with how she feels about Holden. Secrets, dark secrets are revealed, and when things regarding Tyler take a dangerous turn, Holden is forced to make Sam take a serious look at what is happening and her sanity, but will this make things better, or will the darkness destroy Sam and subsequently Holden in the process?

The Darkest Part is emotional, raw, dark, and passionate, and I felt each of those emotions with Sam and Holden through the entire novel. The novel is told from both Sam and Holden's point of view, which I loved. It was fast paced and I was hooked from beginning to end. I connected on a deep way with these characters, and grew to love both Sam and Holden. Tyler, even though he was dead, I liked him and also got really frustrated with him. There were twists and turns in this novel that I didn't see coming. The whole time, I was wondering is Tyler real or is Sam crazy, because it sure seems like he is real, or is he? I mean I think she is mentally ill, but yet, I am not quite sure. That is a question that you don't find out until the end of the book and it adds so much drama and mystery to the story. The Darkest Part also deals with some very heavy subject matter, which Trisha Wolfe has handled brilliantly. Then there is the creative aspect, and when you come to understand the meaning of the title of the book and what that encompasses......well it was beautiful. The romance was hot, and I loved the way the relationship was slowly built between Holden and Sam, and the fire and passion that consumed them. The ending was wonderful and I really loved it, especially the epilogue. If you are a NA contemporary romance fan, then you are in for a treat with The Darkest Part and I most definitely recommend it. ( )