𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“Speaking metaphorically, if you never download the program that everyone else is using, you never have to run updates.”

Mia is a well know influencer on social media for her yoga, lifestyle and her dog. Mia has spent much of her life online for years now sharing every aspect with her followers, until she throws her phone off a cliff in what seems like the middle of no where. Paige is a tech nerd with anxiety who works for a social media company and hacks Mia’s account and begins impersonating her online. Paige hopes that by doing this she will giver her sister who idolises Mia something to believe in and will be able to connect with her again.

This book touches on mental health, specifically depression, anxiety and self harm so if this is a trigger for you I would avoid. In my opinion this was all explored thoughtfully.

Although I didn’t fall in absolute love with the characters I loved the messages that this book is sending out specifically in the world that we live in now. The main message being that sometimes we really need to disconnect to truely live and connect with others.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the E-ARC. Although this was given to me that does not in any way influence my opinions.

Authors - Kelly Harms
Publisher - Lake Union Publishing

I requested this one due to all the hype I heard last year on the Overdue Life of Amy Byler and I'm so glad I did. This was the perfect repreive from the dark more serious books i've generally been reading lately. The story follows a social media influencer who decides to go cold turkey on her online life and "go dark" and the techie who ends up hacking her online life. Their paths are due to cross in a spectacular messy way.

I thought it was a cute, interesting take on social media and the effects it can have on all aspects of our lives and do the influencers help make our lives better or worse by following them? I found the characters/story a bit quircky and charming yet underneath found the story to have a nice bit of substance to it. I highly reccomend for a summer or beach read once we can get back to the beach. If you like your chick lit to be a bit of brain candy, this one may be for you. I really need to now get my hands on her Amy Byler book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sharing this ARC in exchange my honest review.

‘The Bright Side of Going Dark’ by Kelly Harms centers around two women with very different lives, who are each struggling with long ignored feelings of unhappiness and discontent. Each has arrived at that point along a different path. Through the wonders of today’s technology, which has allowed for an extremely connected world, their lives become intertwined in increasingly complex ways.

Mia is a social media influencer and although she did not set out to live her life online, she now spends the vast majority of her time staging photos, planning posts, and managing communications with her followers. Everything falls apart when her fiancé calls off their wedding, threatening the picture-perfect image she has created. Now, she must face her life with eyes open and without a phone screen to shield her from the ugly stuff that cannot really be filtered. She must deal with the difficult events that brought her to a place where she preferred to use an internet connection to disconnect from the world around her. She must process through some very real and very difficult feelings of grief, loss, and sadness...

Paige is a homebody and a workaholic. She screens flagged content for an online platform to determine whether it is okay to stay. Meanwhile, she is hiding her own symptoms of depression and anxiety. Paige has always struggled with her mental health, due to a mixture of unfortunate genetics and unfortunate parenting. She learned to cope by leaving her family behind, isolating herself, and sticking to a regimented routine of medications, which she kind of uses to numb out from any potential emotions, good or bad. Everything is going along okay enough for Paige until an unexpected event forces her to take a leave of absence from work and revisit the family she would rather leave behind…

The main characters of Mia and Paige are bolstered by an interesting cast of secondary characters, who each have their own important and valuable stories. All revolve around themes of learning to deal with the hand you were dealt, learning to live authentically in a world that pressures for perfection, and learning to really connect with our experiences even when they are difficult such that we might rather turn away. The way that these stories unfolds is complex but masterful. Mia and Paige’s stories each progress and propel one another forward. Flashbacks to key events are placed at just the right moment to inform the current story line. As a reader, I was taken on an emotional journey with these characters, while also being encouraged to think about my own use of technology and authenticity in daily life.

This was an incredibly emotional book, with funny moments and intensely sad moments (some of which left me practically sobbing). The characters go through some intense stuff and this may be one of those books that needs a sensitive material warning as some of the content could be triggering or difficult for some readers. There are themes related to mental health, maladaptive coping, grief, loss, and suicide. At times the discussion around suicide could be especially difficult for some readers. Simultaneously, the themes in this book could be normalizing for readers ready to confront their own mental health issues. I also appreciate how the main characters of Mia and Paige illustrated the different, main paths towards poor mental health and maladaptive coping (a mix of genetics and upbringing vs. difficult life events).

This is a good book and I believe that readers ready for the emotional journey will thoroughly enjoy it. My sincerest thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Kelly Harms for an advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have experienced Mia and Paige’s journeys!

*** Digital ARC provided by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Kelly Harns is an author I have never read before and I wanted to read The Bright Side of Going Dark because it is talking about something that is current right now; today. The people and social media and what social media is transforming people into. No matter how you want it to or not.

The lives of 3 people intertwine in this book but you only get two characters's POV. You get Mia Bell, which made social media her job and her life. The book uses Pictey, made up platform to look like Instagram, mostly. Mia talks about her glamorous life with tons of daily posts with hashtags and sponsors. You also get Paige Miller who is also working on social media but on the other side of what you're seeing: the flags and "police". And then you get Jessica, Paige's sister, a young woman who follows Mia's life while trying to live her own.

This book isn't just about social media however. It's talking about mental illness, it's talking about losses, it's talking about relationships with friends and family... in this case, mostly family. It's talking about perfectionism, in a way and how you cannot show distress and negativity or you'll be judged.

Everything rings true in this book and I could relate, in a way, because I am on social media myself almost every day and though I'm not a Mia or Paige or Jessica, social media is way up there in my life but I do have a good relationship with my friends and family anyway.

I thought this book was really fun. It was an easy, light read. I did think there were lengths however and when I felt like skipping, I pushed through and I'm glad I did. I didn't expect the ending. I knew it would end happy, in a not happily ever after, for any of the characters but it was really fun to read the steps they were all taking to be happy or, at least, working to get there. And it was nice to see them all want to start helping others in the process as well.

A fun, light read in between heavier novels, that’s how I think of The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms. I have had a few friends ask me for book recommendations and I am pointing them to this one when they mention wanting an entertaining but not too dark book.

This story is so timely. Go anywhere (although not now during this quarantine) and you will see people with their eyes glued to their phones. Everything is about posting and social media and tagging and hashtags and filters and its enough to make your head explode. People love to paint these perfect pictures of their amazing lives for all to see when the truth about their lives is not always so ideal.

I like how Kelly Harms took a very relevant topic of today’s society and created this story!

Take a look:

As one of the most popular influencers on social media, Mia Bell has lived her life online for years. With her celebrity dog and gorgeous fiancé, she is planning the ultimate virtual wedding—expensive, elaborate, and entirely paid for by sponsors. But off-camera, her world is far from picture perfect. After being jilted by her fiancé and faking her nuptials to please her sponsors, Mia finally has had enough. She heaves her phone off a cliff, ready to live—and maybe find love—offline for a change.

Mia’s sudden absence doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by techie loner Paige Miller, who hacks Mia’s account and begins impersonating the internet celebrity. Paige has her reasons. Her half sister, Jessica, idolizes Mia and desperately needs something to believe in. If taking over Mia’s online persona is Paige’s only means of connecting to her sister, so be it.

Creating a like-worthy life is more fun than Paige expected. But when she grows too bold and is caught in the act, a fiasco ensues that could forever change Mia, Paige, and the people who love them. Because somewhere amid the chaos is an invaluable lesson—one that only real life can teach.

While the book isn’t heavy in the sense that its not a scary horror or twisty suspense book, it definitely tackles topics that aren’t sweet and fun. Depression, anxiety, grief are all addressed in this novel. I think Kelly Harms did a fantastic job with this!

Coming out in May, order now by going here.

I received an ARC from the publisher. I'm a big fan of Kelly Harms, but The Bright Side of Going Dark is not her best work. It lacks the laugh-out-loud moments of her other novels, and I struggled to find anything to like about either protagonist. Disappointed, but will continue to recommend Harms' other books, especially The Overdue Life of Amy Byler!

This book was unfortunately not for me. I found it boring and it felt like the story never really took off.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this novel!

CW: This book has discussions of suicide, suicide attempts and can be triggering to some.

I went into The Bright Side of Going Dark thinking this would be a more light-hearted read. It definitely is not that, although it does have some light moments in it.

Told in alternating POV, we follow Mia, who is a Pictey influencer, and Paige, who works on the IT side of Pictey. I didn't find there to always be much of a voice difference between the two characters, so sometimes it'd take me a moment (if I was mid-chapter) to remember whose POV I was reading in.

Paige just felt....almost robotic in a lot of her dialogue. I realize she's a tech person, but it just didn't seem natural to me. Sometimes she'd seem so normal and other times it was like she was a machine spouting off facts.

Mia felt like, I guess what a typical influencer could be? Her story with Tucker and stuff felt like a lot of the same scenarios I've read before, so it wasn't anything new.

What I did enjoy was that there was a lot of discussion about healthy social media boundaries and exploring why people potentially use social media the way that they do. It did give me some pause on my own social media usage and I can appreciate taking the time to really reflect on that.

There's a teensy bit of romance in this book, but really it's a sub-plot in the rest of the story, which is that Mia is taking a social media break and Paige hacks Mia's account to keep posting as her. She does this mainly to keep her half sister, Jessica, happy.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but there is a suicide attempt and a lot of discussion about anxiety and depression. It's definitely a heavy topic and I felt like it was handled pretty well.

Overall, I did enjoy this book even though it wasn't a light-hearted read like I'd anticipated.

This was a great book! It was an easy and fun read that had a meaningful message. The characters were well done and I found Paige especially relatable. It was pretty entertaining to follow along as she took over Mia’s Pictey account. Mia was a good reminder that people’s lives aren’t as perfect as they seem on social media platforms and it was refreshing to see her reclaim her life.
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There really is a bright side to going dark. In other words, there is a bright side to cutting down, or even taking a break from, our usage of phones and social media. Speaking to myself here. Throwing your phone off a cliff (like Mia) is probably a drastic measure, but taking a step back and thinking about how much time we spend on our phones and the effect that has on us sure wouldn’t hurt.
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Definitely pick up this book when it comes out! In addition to this book, I’d recommend The Overdue Life of Amy Byler which is also by Kelly Harms.

Thank you to the author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and enjoyable read, told in alternating POVs by two characters who are meant to be diametrically opposed in lifestyle -but who actually have many of the same issues to deal with in their lives. Although the writing was a bit formulaic, the premise was intriguing and the characters, including secondary characters, well-drawn (not necessarily likeable though). I loved the fact that the author did not shy away from hot topics like mental health, women in tech, picture-perfect lies on the Gram, social media and the hold it has on us. The ending was predictably neat, with all loose ends tied into a happy-end bow - but satisfying in spite of the predictability.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

I absolutely loved this book. It is different, fresh and readers can relate to the characters. The Bright Side of Going Dark is accomplished and exemplary writing by Kelly Harms.

Mia is an internet influencer. She lives in LA. She has half a million followers. She began her career as a yoga instructor. When her three-legged dog, Mike began appearing in her Pictey posts, Mike and Mia became overnight internet celebrities.

Mia’s followers believe every word she writes in her posts, and Mia lives each day for the “Likes” and thousands of emails from her fans. Strangers they may be, but their loyalty attracts sponsors who are willing to hand out freebies (and pay the bills) to have their brands in pictures with Mike and Mia. However, just how true to life are Mia’s posts? What is she hiding?

Paige Mason works for Pictey and is familiar with Mia’s account. She lives in Silicon Valley. Paige is paid to flag inappropriate posts, decide if posts are dangerous or racists, and deal with cyberbullying by pulling those accounts deemed unnecessary or unsafe. Paige is one of the millions of IT gurus paid extremely well to do her job. She is a quality enforcer, better known as one who does not socialize and therefore unfamiliar with many behavioral traits. She has no friends. Paige is a loner by most standards and her coping abilities can be questionable.

Tucker is Mia’s fiancé. Maybe. We will have to watch the @TuckerlovesMia! Pictey account and see their future unfold.

Jessica Odanz is Paige’s half-sister. She is a college student in Colorado. She’s a young 20ish who lives each day by following @TuckerlovesMia! But Jessica is depressed. When she reaches out online to Mia about a possible suicide, Mia flags her comment. Pictey flags her account.

Pictey calls in Paige and puts her on family leave to work with her half-sister. But Paige and Jessica only see each other at Christmas and aren’t close. And Paige is hesitant to reach out to a sister who is suicidal. Why?

Read how these characters go from on top to free-falling and find each other in order to survive. Will they rebound? Who exactly will get hurt? And will there be enough time to save Jessica?

I think I was beginning, as I often do, to feel a bit disillusioned and tired of the blog/Instagram ‘game’, and I haven’t read many books that have social media as a central focus. I of course LOVE this content creation world, but I often think that certain elements have become game-ified, leaving little room for creativity but plenty for a herd mentality. In this novel, Kelly Harms throws this conversation open in a story that’s told through the eyes of two characters and chapters that alternate between them. I think this is a format that works perfectly for this story.

I ended up rating this novel three stars out of five, because although lots was great about this book (the topics tackled, the character development, lots of the characters’ own monologues), I felt some parts of the plot were thin on the ground and others felt like they’d been mangled and squished into the narrative for the sake of it.

At first I thought this book would be too trendy for me, focusing on a social media influencer. I was wrong, as the two main characters in the book are quite unique. Paige is a quirky loner, working in IT flagging issues on sites. Mia is a social media influencer, who at first glance appears spoiled and self-centered. Not to give away spoilers, but as their paths to self-discovery uncover some pretty heavy truths, the story becomes more and more appealing. I recommend the book, and thank Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed reading this, it was exactly what I needed. Given that much of the world is being forced to self-isolate for possibly months, we are turning to social media more than ever. However, it can still be an uncomfortable and difficult presence in our lives. Harms creatively shows both sides of social media, and has written two protagonists that make you think about your own actions. Still an entertaining book, but perfectly though provoking!

This story really dives into influencer culture and how toxic it can be, It was a fast and easy read but of a serious topic. During a time of social distancing this is a perfect book to read and try to disconnect.

DNF at 40%. I had a problem with the dialogue, and couldn’t connect with the characters. The final straw for me was that her sister is in the hospital after a suicide attempt, yet she’s debating even going to see her?? No. It doesn’t add up.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With all that is going on in the world right now with the coronavirus, I found this book to be very timely for me as I've examined my own social media use and its effects on my well being. What I found interesting was that I really disliked the sections dealing with the fictional Pictey platform and Mia's social media presence, and I really enjoyed the parts when Mia starts living in real life. Everything in the book comes together a bit too easily and neatly for me, but this is the perfect light read for anyone giving thought to the influence social media has in their own life.

I loved THE OVERDUE LIFE OF AMY BYLER and was so excited to start this newest release by Kelly Harms. It did not disappoint. THE BRIGHT SIDE OF GOING DARK is an incredibly poignant and timely read about mental health and social media addiction.

Told through the alternating POVs of internet influencer Mia and social media naysayer Paige, this is a deep and meaningful story about self-worth and self-discovery. Mia and Paige’s storylines move separately on a collision course and along the way we meet a cast of interesting and memorable side characters that all have something to teach them. Despite the seriousness of the message, Harms delivers an engrossing and engaging read with several laughs thrown in for good measure.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing & NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy of this fun and relevant book.

Very cute. :)

Longer review to follow, but thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

A fun, fast read. Definitely going to be a contemporary many will pick up and fly through. The characters are laugh out loud at times, emotional at others.