Let me preface this review with...well written, well constructed story, just not my gig. The story is touted as a mystery in a small Texas town as a high school football player disappears and his brother, Joel, returns to a town of bad memories, homophobia, obsession with football, and violence. The first half sets the scene, with viewpoints told from a variety of characters: Joel, whose current life in NYC is haunted by his youth; Clark, the old girlfriend now turned cop; Bethany, the high school cheerleader, Luke, the newest acolyte; and the daughter of the hardware sales store owner, who is so much more than first appears. I loved the first half, but the hint of darkness alluded to in the book blurb is a LOT more as this book veers more toward Stephen King than John Grisham, which is great if that's what you're into but I would have liked a bit more forewarning. I don't totally love the supernatural thing and found myself rolling my eyes a bit in the end, which I understand is unfair if this genre is your thing. I think this book will be a big hit for those who love horror mixed with mystery.

Joel Whitley is living the high life in Manhattan, but 10 years ago he was just a scared, gay kid running from his conservative Texas hometown. When his little brother, now a senior in high school and the captain of the football team, sends him a suicidal text one night by mistake, Joel rushes home to help. By the time he gets there, that week's football game is starting and his brother, Dylan, rushes off immediately afterward, promising Joel he'll be back Sunday night. Dylan, however, disappears. As Joel investigates his disappearance, old prejudices and rivalries return and Joel may not make it out of town alive.

For me, it was pretty slow getting going and it took too long to get to any reveals. There's a paranormal aspect that was never adequately dealt with or explained and I was left feeling frustrated about that at the end of the book. I was never bored enough to want to stop reading it, but I was never in a hurry to pick it up again, either, until the last 20%. Fram did create some interesting characters, but many were stereotypical rednecks, too. I particularly liked the main character, Joel, who was strong and real and messed up but never gave up. I loved the kicka$$ female cop who stood up for what was right, regardless of what the Old Boys Club who run the town told her to do. I liked the strong high school girls who defy the stereotype of cheerleader.

What really brought this one down for me was the end. Too much stereotyping and unexplained paranormal stuff combined with:

*************spoiler alert********************

a bizarre reveal of what the "bright lands" are that seemed to glorify unrestrained gay sex and drug use as the ultimate pleasures. It was just bizzare and felt like the author (who is gay) was trying to convince readers that that every man/boy wants to have sex with other men, whether they know it or not, whether they consider themselves straight or gay. Why would the strongest homophobic voices driving Joel out of town 10 years ago be the ringleaders of all the homosexual stuff happening in the bright lands? It felt forced in the story and I just don't buy that.

*************spoiler end**********************

Before the ending, I would have given the book 4 stars, the unrealistic and unresolved ending brought it down to 3.

Disclaimer: received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Bright Lands immediately peaked my interest. I was totally intrigued by the storyline, But I couldn't handle the writing. The head hopping was excruciating.

Joel returns to his small hometown in Texas for the first time since high school to check on his brother who soon goes missing. Along with a former friend, Deputy Starsha Clark, and some of his brother's friends, they uncover the dark secrets the town is hiding. The town will do anything to keep their high school football team on top and the powerful people want to stay in power. Are the Bright Lands an urban legend or a horrible secret that people are willing to kill to protect?

This book has an interesting mix of genres. I thought it was going to be a High School Football in Texas rehash with a little mystery on the side - wrong!

Being raised in the "Football is all there is" state - I was prepared for more football glory. Totally taken by surprise!!

Great characters, good storyline and amazing storytelling. Not usually what I'd read - but I'm ready for this author's next one!!

I honestly don't even know where to begin with John Fram's "The Bright Lands." To say it wasn't what I was expecting, would be a gross understatement . . . but that's not a bad thing, because ultimately, I think that is what made this book all the more enjoyable and all the more horrifying. I don't think I've ever read a book as quickly as this one, because I had so many, "What the heck is going on moments" that propelled me to the very end. In addition to an absolutely wild storyline, the writing itself is also engaging and the characters interesting. This is the horror genre as I have never seen it and I can't wait to read more from John Fram.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story. I had a hard time getting into it, but I think it will be a hit with the YA crowd.

Bentley is your stereotypical Texas Football town. When heir star quarterback Dylan goes missing though, everyone is a suspect. Well…to some at least. The cops have focused in on one person that is unlikely the actual murderer. Dylan’s older brother Joel has some truly awful memories of growing up in Bentley after being outed in a truly horrific way, but he is determined to find out what happened to his brother.

I wanted to love this one so badly. I know many people that adored this book, and I wanted to be one of them! However, I have come to realization recently that I need to search and find out if a book is character driven before I dive in. Character driven novels NOT for me. I gave this one 75%. I wanted to be dragged in but I found myself not wanting to pick it up, and when I did immediately getting sleepy. If you enjoy character driven novels, I highly recommend this one. If you don’t, I’d avoid. A lot of people compared this to Friday Night Lights but really the only FNL vibes I got was that it was a football town in Texas.

This book is groundbreaking, breathtaking, and absolutely unforgettable.

I have long been searching for a story like this one, and John Fram has delivered with an extraordinary narrative which pushes the expectations and perceived limits of its genre.

The Bright Lands is one of the most impressive books I have read this year, and I cannot wait for more from this author!

This book grabbed me early and never let go. Honesty, it is hard to explain - I've never read anything quite like it. But I can tell you one thing - I'm really looking forward to more from John Fram.

In Bentley, a small Texas town on the edge of the Flats, football is king. The town is run by former players and those who don't fit into the standard small town lifestyle have a bad habit of disappearing--for good. When Joel receives a disturbing text from his younger brother, Dylan, he hops on a plane leaving the security of the life he's built for himself in New York City to return to the place that destroyed his life ten years before. Fram builds the tension through alternating chapters while introducing us the various current and former Bison's players, their families and girlfriends - all with their own secrets to keep. Hints at something dark out in the Flats outside of town and whispered rumors of "The Bright Lands" keep the pages turning. Will Joel survive the trip back home or will the Flats claim yet another victim?

Holy Crap, this is exactly what I needed to get me out of a recent reading slump. The characters, the story, the writing--it was all so amazing and done so well. I was entranced by this book in all it's glory. The writing is very easy to get lost into and I really considered it to be a fast-paced book.The LGBTQ= community was definitely well represented and I truly think this is a book that EVERYONE needs to read!

I appreciate the familiar aspects of this book being set in a small town, giving the small town feel and I appreciate the realness of the characters, being different, being themselves. There was just a sense of true humanness that came from the setting and the characters that stuck with me. On top of that, we have a creepy thriller. It doesn't get much better.

Ok, let me first say that when I requested this book, I was binging Friday Night Lights and I didn’t exactly read the full synopsis. I saw football and Texas and secrets and that was enough for me. The Bright Lands ended up being much different than I was expecting. It wasn’t exactly the kind of book I usually go for, but the characters made me keep reading.

This review is going to be short because most of my thoughts on the plot would be full of spoilers. So what can I actually say? The story was told through multiple points of view and I think those were well done. It really moved the story along and I was invested in all the characters. Early on in the story I wasn’t sure if this was a book I wanted to finish, but the characters kept me going. I expected a small town mystery, but there were definite Horror vibes, too. Horror is not really my genre, so take it with a grain of salt when I say it made me take a lot of things way less seriously than I otherwise would have. There are also major themes of hypocrisy and homophobia, along with a lot of drugs, violence, assault, pedophilia, and demons (some metaphorical, one real). We spend most of the book waiting to find out what the mysterious Bright Lands are and while I did come to have my suspicions, it ended up being another eye rolling disappointment.

Overall, The Bright Lands wasn’t really for me. I didn’t appreciate the horror aspects and the overall tone of resentment and regret made me a little more depressed during already depressing times (though you can also take that as a compliment to the writing, I guess). I did really like the multiple POVs and was invested in the characters, though. While the story itself wasn’t really my cup of tea, I think there are a lot of readers out there that will enjoy this one a lot more than I did.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5 Stars

A page-turner for sure, The Bright Lands will make you question staying up to finish the book or if you want to hide under the covers and wait for dreams of dark, secret places. To unpack the story, you have Joel who has escaped Bentley, Texas where football reigns supreme and the good old boys trump the law. But Joel's little brother, now the town's star quarterback, reaches out and the golden boy isn't living the dream, but suffocating from nightmares. How do you escape your hometown and all its demons? There is a sociological study in this thriller that will keep you guessing what the Bright Lands really are and if everything is as you once thought in the town that was once home.

<i>The Bright Lands</i> is a fictional novel about a football town with a huge secret. Joel Whitley is shamed into escaping from the homophobic town of Bentley TX to live in New York City only to find that after 10 years incommunicado he must return to help his brother. This is the debut novel by John Fram.

Joel Whitley has a successful career in New York, but he feels unfulfilled. He leads a drug fueled life that helps him forget his roots in Bentley Texas. Then Dylan his brother, sends him mysterious text saying he wants out of Bentley and Joel decides to help. After the brothers have a brief visit Dylan disappears and 2 days later his body is found. Joel starts his own investigation which leads him to the Bright Lands where things really spiral out of control. Town secrets are exposed and supernatural influences threaten to end them all.

I truly enjoy the mystery associated with the murder, the chase and the resolution. The reveal is action packed and satisfying. The story is fast paced and for the most part well written.

I am, however, too often distracted by the language used by absolutely everyone. For me it interferes with the flow and often makes the speaker appear to be illiterate. I am also distracted by the sexual deviancy which appears to be pervasive in the football culture of this town. Finally, although I may not be qualified to comment, I do not feel that the gay culture and relationships are fairly represented.

The supernatural element needs to be explained. Is supernatural control the reason for the strange behavior among the football players and management? Why is the entire town dreaming? This is not touched upon. If it is more clearly explained it may help me accept aspects of the book that I feel are a distraction.

I give it a 3 on 5 because the mystery is well developed with the caveat that language and deviancy are a distraction. I want to thank Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with a digital copy of the novel in exchange for a fair review

I’m going to make a bold statement, and I promise you it’s not hyperbole: with The Bright Lands John Fram has written a better Stephen King novel than King himself has in over a decade. I know, I know; but hear me out…

I’m getting the King stuff out up front because if I were a writer publishing my debut novel, and someone kept comparing the work born of my blood, sweat, and tears to someone else’s, I’d probably get quite sick of it. But King is a master, so any comparison is intended as a compliment, and the similarities between The Bright Lands and a classic King novel are too striking to not mention.

Fram has done what King does best: create a realistic portrait of small-town America filled with a cast of vivid, lifelike characters. Where Fram has taken that further, however, is place the socio-political forces at work in this small town, front and centre. Fram has written a very literary novel, with subtle elements of the genre fiction King is known and loved for.

I was drawn to The Bright Lands, initially, because I identified with the introduction to the protagonist in the blurb:

“Joel Whitley was shamed out of conservative Bentley ten years ago, and while he’s finally made a life for himself as a gay man in New York, his younger brother’s disappearance soon brings him back to a place he thought he’d escaped for good.”

I wasn’t shamed out of my home town. Still, I indeed fled as soon as I was able, thanks to small-minded people who caused me to feel unsafe and unwelcome there because I happened to be different. What I found in Fram’s The Bright Lands was a form of catharsis I’ve never been able to achieve in reality, and it affected me profoundly.

The Bright Lands is a complex novel, not in terms of its plot, which races along at a thrilling pace, and indeed kept me gripped. Still, under the guise of a supernatural thriller, Fram deftly explores the workings of small-town life, and how it can keep its inhabitants in its grip. Fram’s prose is rich and imbued with meaning while remaining taut and concise enough to arouse in the reader a solid sense of propulsion. While there are supernatural elements to Fram’s novel, they’re really not at the forefront of the tale Fram is telling.

The heart of this novel, in my reading of it, at least, is Fram’s confronting a problematic past; coming to terms with relationships and responsibilities, and how growing up as a gay kid in a rural small town USA can affect a person. We could all run away to the big city and make something of ourselves, but if we don’t return and face our demons, can we ever be truly complete in ourselves? Not only does Fram deal with the sources and effects of homophobia, but drug abuse, abuse of power by local authorities, the impact of peer pressure, and the economic impact on a small town in which very few thrive - all this while keeping the reader’s eye firmly fixed on discovering the truth about the crime that brought his protagonist home to face his prior shame.

Shame is a central theme in The Bright Lands, which, at its core, is a novel about the horrors that can be produced when we suppress ourselves; it’s a rallying cry against degradation in all its forms; it’s a call to arms, that we must fight oppression in whatever form it takes—and win; it’s also just plain bloody brilliant.

The Bright Lands is one hell of a ride - it is begging to be adapted for the screen. I hope you enjoy it, and that it affects you as deeply as it did me.

Oh my! This debut novel hit it out of the ballpark! Or considering the focus sport: threw a touchdown into the End Zone. I read with excitement, enthrallment--and a whole lot of trepidation, because I just KNEW something terrible was about to happen--and of course, something did, and has, and will. Little, economically-depressed, Bentley, Texas--the town under the shadow of empty, unowned Flatlands [could there be a location in America where the property is not owned by "someone"?], the town that gives an entirely new Sinister meaning to the overworked phrase "Friday night lights," is not a town where any sane person should live. Nor anyone in any way divergent. Just reading about this town brings out the screams, the shudders, and the nightmares.

This book had two things I really enjoy reading about: Sports and secrets.

While growing up in a very conservative town, Joel had to hide who he was. He couldn't completely be himself until he rid himself of Bentley. Finally escaping Bentley, he's pulled back in when there is a disappearance. Having no other choice but to immerse himself back into the tight high-collared town, he goes back. . .

This was an absolutely gripping book. I couldn't put it down. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a book about secrets and identity issues.

Recommended!

The Bright Lands 3.75/5 Stars
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The Vibe: Stephen King meets Grindr meets Friday Night Lights meets Agatha Christie Whodunit!
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Review: This book is SO WELL WRITTEN. The story takes place over the course of a week and keeps a good pace overall (not too many lulls). I really enjoyed the accurate portrayal of small town USA, toxic masculinity and the harm that it can inflict on everyone. This book held my attention and was totally enthralling and enjoyable. I did get turned around a few times due to the extensive number of POVs and characters. There were a couple of times where I confused characters or forgot who was who and what they knew. I’m not a big sci-fi fan, so I didn’t care for that element, but that was not accounted for in my rating. I’m rating this 3.75 stars personally, but would definitely recommend to any Stephen King or sci-fi thriller fans! Bravo, John Fram!