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The Bright In Dark

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His memory taken by a near-death experience, “Jack” knows only a few things for certain and one of them is that Luke saved his life. Luke is a kind, gentle, young man—a painter—and he makes Jack feel safe and peaceful in ways he’s pretty sure he didn’t know in his life before Luke.

But Luke deserves a man who knows who he is. And he especially deserves a man who can definitely remember whether or not he’s guilty of being a murderer on the run. Jack should go and stop complicating Luke’s life, but oh how he wants to stay.

71 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2017

2 people are currently reading
50 people want to read

About the author

Missy Welsh

39 books336 followers
Missy Welsh stares into space a lot, has conversations with cats, takes notes while people-watching, records conversations (not the ones with cats), named her laptop Norbert and her phone Pushkin, has backups of her backups’ backups, faints at the sight of a misused semi-colon, and will often ask socially unacceptable questions of strangers. Basically, she’s a writer.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Katrina Passick Lumsden.
1,782 reviews12.9k followers
February 22, 2017
Cute and sweet and everything, but a little quick with the romance, and umm...I think Welsh originally wrote this with a m/f pairing in mind. Because at one point, Jack remembers looking at "the woman" in the mirror, referencing looking at himself earlier in the story. So...there's that.

Otherwise, basically what you'd expect from a formulaic romance short.
Profile Image for Bárbara.
1,212 reviews82 followers
December 4, 2017
Well, for the most part, the story was lovely and entertaining. The later developments, though, could have done with a bit more space, because there was a lot of potential there! I wish this was full-length, to see where things could have truly gone, instead of that rushed ending.
Profile Image for Anansi.
5 reviews
February 9, 2017
Has Missy Welsh ever put out anything that I didn't adore?? Seriously Missy, I want to crawl into your imagination and curl up like a cat in the sun.

This was such a sweet little gem. I'll be honest, I didn't even read the synopsis when I purchased. Because come on. It's Missy Welsh. And she's like, my boo.

The story follows a man who is rescued from the remains of a downed plane. He has no memory of who he is, but was rescued by Luke, an adorable painter who is the sole resident of the island he crashed on.

This story gave me such feels I had to run over and hug my dog because I didn't know what else to do with all the feelings.
Profile Image for Sarah.
890 reviews
November 24, 2017
I need to stop reading short romance stories. I miss the slow burn that can only be found in longer works. The relationship in this book, and many others, seemed to go from 0 to 100 so quickly with terms of endearment and I love yous coming out without much build up.

The plot of this one was also rather...I'm not sure what to call it. Everything that happened was very convenient. Conveniently dramatic when it needed to be and conveniently wrapped up or resolved at other moments. There was no conflict or believable character development. Maybe I'm being too harsh on a novella, but honestly, it was just ok.
Profile Image for DC.
1,088 reviews4 followers
May 16, 2018
I waivered between 3 and 4 stars but eventually went with the higher because, overall, I thought this story was very sweet and enjoyable, and both Luke and Jack were likeable characters. It plays to the romantic in you - lonely man rescues dying man, they fall madly in love, live happily ever after - if you’re willing to give the benefit of the doubt to things that don’t entirely make sense.
First, Luke pulls a badly injured Jack from a burning plane and while he’s trying to revive him and get him home he’s using rather personal endearments like “honey” and “sweetheart”. Using these to a total stranger...in rural North Dakota. So unless Luke’s character was being written as being a total flaming queen, the endearments didn’t fit. Also, if Luke had to perform CPR, which usually cracks ribs, Jack would have needed more than just Luke’s home care.
Once Jack was feeling better, after only two days, things really moved just a little too fast. First they go out on the ATV, find the bridge to town out, go another several hours to the crash site and find Jack’s belongings. Then Jack finds a gun in his bag and runs away in the middle of the night because he’s afraid he’ll hurt Luke. Luke come to find him but this time Jack rescues Luke when Luke falls into freezing water. They go back to the cabin, Jack warms Luke up and they wind up giving in to their temptations and make love. Then the rescuers show up and, ta da!, they head into their HEA. All this over the course of just several days. This would have worked better if this were a longer story so the characters and the events could have been further and better developed.
Profile Image for Pontiki.
2,528 reviews9 followers
February 8, 2018
This is a short story, which is not my genre at all. The premise is really interesting, though, so I read it. "Jack" crashes his plane and can't remember who he is, but Luke saves him.

They're stranded on Luke's island in winter, and can't fight their attraction, even though Jack doesn't know if he has someone waiting for him.

In his duffel bag, he discovers a gun, and remembers snatches of shooting it and being angry. He doesn't want to hurt Luke and decides to leave, in case he's a criminal on the run. Luke catches up and they face the truth together.

A happy ending, too quick, but still good.
Profile Image for Patrice Leonard.
Author 1 book15 followers
February 25, 2017
Cute enough story. Really, really short so don't expect too much character development or plot, etc. But, like I said it was a cute story.
One thing that irked me though. A Glock .22 is NOT a revolver. It's a pistol. There's a big difference. A simple Google search would have been wise. A little research can help avoid those embarrassing details that are so easy to straighten out.
But, again, like I said. It was cute.
Profile Image for Antonella.
1,551 reviews
November 21, 2017
2.5
Generically cute story. I can't get all the 'honey/babe/gorgeous' Luke used with an unknown male crash survivor, nor the way he is flirting with him not knowing if he is gay.
Profile Image for Garth Mailman.
2,537 reviews10 followers
September 22, 2018
M+M A pilot crashes into an artist's remote island retreat in winter. Love ensues.
1,108 reviews
March 6, 2017
This one of Missy's shorter pieces, but it feels like a fuller story complete with character development.
Luke saves John after his plane crashes and they both feel an instant attraction but can't act on it. Both men are aware that amnesiac Jack could be married or have a lover already, but the pull is strong to explore the feelings, both emotional and physical, that they are experiencing. I loved the way that Missy shows us their connection and the way that they naturally fit together. We get to see Jack struggle with his amnesia and the agony he feels over his lost identity. I also love the contrast between the two men, the light and the dark. Jack is tall, dark haired, and troubled; Luke is short, fair haired, and playful. The setting of the cozy cabin is perfect for percolating the romance between them. At last something surfaces that sends Jack into a spiral. How do they deal with the shocking revelations? Can there be something between them or will these secrets destroy their fledgling bond? Great suspense there! The HEA was well done and left me feeling the bright/light emotions that Missy promised.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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