I enjoyed this book and it felt like a really timely read. In the age of overexposure on social media, the main character finds herself needing to cut off from her social media accounts. What ensues is a cute modern day story on the consequences of her actions. While I am not raving about this book, I would recommend it as a cute book to read before bed. Not too thrilling, nothing that will keep you up at night. But, the characters were likable enough and the plot moved along at a graceful pace.

Excellent book!! Great writing, interesting store line. Kept me wanting more! I would definitely recommend this book to friends and book clubs.

Though I’d read the plot summary of this book I was still a bit surprised as I was reading. The author’s style is witty but also relatable and completely enjoyable. There were also several heart-string-pulling sections that came across as entirely believable. This was one of my favourite reads of the past few months.

Fun and entertaining with a thought-provoking message about social media and the troublesome role it plays in our lives. While I didn't enjoy this story as much as Kelly Harm's previous book, it held my attention.

I had previously read The Overdue Life of Amy Byler (and enjoyed it), so I was excited when I got the opportunity to read the advance copy of another book from the same author.

Mia is a social media influencer whose entire life is driven by her phone and online presence. Everything from her workouts to her food choices to her wedding planning is done with a mind to building her brand and gaining sponsorships. As one of the top accounts on her platform, all is going great for Mia until her wedding falls apart at the last minute, threatening her livelihood. Initially, she tries to keep up the appearance (online anyway) that nothing is amiss in order to maintain her image and not jeopardize the obligations she has to the vendors that sponsored everything from her dress to her cake and flowers to the venue in exchange for the online attention a social media star like Mia would bring. Eventually though, Mia heads for her mother's home to regroup and try to figure out how to move forward. Mia tells her followers that she's taking a short break from social media, and then a series of events leads to her ultimately tossing the phone (and all ties to the technology and online presence that define her) off the side of a Colorado mountain. From there, Mia begins to see what life might be like if she were to actually get out and live it.

At the same time, we get the story of Paige, an IT worker tasked with reviewing flagged content from the social media platform that Mia utilizes. Just as she is signing off for the day, a flag comes in on a comment from one of Mia's followers - a suicidal girl who happens to be Paige's more or less estranged younger sister. It isn't until the next morning though that Paige learns of the comment's author, and her sister Jessica's thwarted suicide attempt (thanks to another worker who reviewed the comment and called for help). Paige and Jessica haven't had much of a relationship since Jessica was a preschooler, but Paige is forced to take a couple weeks away from work, and she decides to drive to Colorado to see her sister. When Mia's account goes "dark", Paige uses her IT skills to hack the account and starts posting as Mia as a way of keeping Jessica (who thinks Mia hired Paige to post on her behalf) happy. It works well until Paige accidentally "butt posts" an entry that was never meant to be seen, and her path finally crosses with Mia's. The fallout forces both Paige and Mia to confront their issues and decide what kind of life they really want for themselves going forward.

I found this book to be similar to the other I read from this author in that it was a light, fun, heartwarming read that broached on some thought provoking topics without being heavy. In that regard, no, it doesn't give some serious topics (like mental health and depression) the seriousness they might deserve, but it still serves to draw attention and hopefully spark some conversations. It also got me really thinking about how (and how much) I utilize social media and technology in general, and if there might not be a healthier balance where they are concerned. The book was predictable and the characters were more "character" than real life people, but none of that stops the book from being an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

Kelly Harms is a sneaky good writer. Her stories are full of winks and wit and whimsy, but don’t think for a moment they are light or, worse, lite. Because the moment you let down your guard (“Wheee—what fun!”) she clobbers you with a wrecking ball of reality, the stuff that hurts deep down.

Her latest, The Bright Side of Going Dark, appears to be about the dilemma that social media poses for most of us: we shouldn’t like it as much as we do, and we don’t, not really, except all the time, apparently. The intertwined storylines of Mia, Paige, and Jessica address this dilemma in a fresh, nuanced way, and it did get me thinking. But this novel is about so much more than moral quandary of screen time. It’s about grief and loss and anxiety. It’s about mothers and daughters—more anxiety—and about second and third chances.

Running through those themes, cinching them together with a red hot needle is one idea: the awkwardness of emotional pain. How much should it hurt? How much will I let it? How long until it’s wallowing? Who needs to know about it? Who needs to be shielded? Everyone—even me?

Awkward, right? And quintessentially human. Like laughter, and this touching, engaging story.

I absolutely adored the Overdue Life of Amy Byler so I was extremely excited to receive an ARC of this book.
It definitely hasn’t disappointed. This is filled with more extremely loveable characters. It has been utterly impossible to put down.

I have finished this book in just two hours and I have really enjoyed it. This definitely might be my new favourite by this author.

I have found that it has been hard to track the characters on occasions. But overall this is a completely enjoyable book.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was *so* excited about this because I loved _The Overdue Life of Amy Byler_. But after reading a little over half of this, I set it aside. It was too preachy and the characters were inexplicable.

A great read, which highlights the issues with social media.

I liked how the book was told from the point of view of Mia and Paige, but would have liked to have seen something in there from Jessica too.

Overall and enjoyable read with some great characters.

A book about social media, influencers, mental health and the new way we interact. The only difficult part of this book is the characters were initially hard to track. I'd sometimes think I was reading about one, when it was the other. That said, I enjoyed this book. I see this a lot, and I wonder how our society will change as social media and the internet dictates our lives. I wish the mental health aspects would have been handled more clearly. There was an opportunity for that that I don't think was taken to the extent it could have been; however, I enjoyed the plot, and the book. It's not a heavy read, which is sometimes just what a reader needs. Thank you to Lkae Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Paige and Mia both struggle in life. Mia loves the spotlight for a while. She was at the height of her career as an influencer. However, as her engagement fell apart in front of millions of people, there was only Mia felt safe and that was home. She left behind everything she thought was her, social media and started to focus on herself. Paige struggle was different. Her struggle was internal. She need to let people in her life and she seeks solitude in the most unexpected place.

This was a very hard story to dive into. Paige characters seems lacking when it came down to dealing with mental health. Mia’s social media which involved over millions of people, actually read very mediocre. There was nothing exciting or even remotely sad. The story was monotone. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.