Insanity by Lauren Hammond

INSANITY Asylum #1 Author: Lauren Hammond Publication Date: 05/08/2012 Audience: New Adult Genre: Contemporary, Suspense, Romance  

Adelaide Carmichael and Damien Allen couldn’t be more opposite.

Adelaide’s mother abandoned her when she was ten years old, leaving her to be raised by her abusive and alcoholic father.

Damien on the other hand came from a wealthy family, was a local celebrity, and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him.

Despite their differences, Adelaide and Damien were young, wild, and fiercely in love.

And they had a plan.

They were going to run away.

Be together forever.

And their plan was set in motion, until tragedy struck and for some reason, Adelaide wound up in The Oakhill Institution for the insane.

Adelaide has no idea what she did to wind up at Oakhill, but she knows one thing for sure...

She wants out.

And after Damien follows her there to aid her in escaping, Adelaide slowly begins putting together the pieces of her memory that are missing.

And it doesn’t take Adelaide long to figure out that sometimes...

That one true love never dies.

Warning:Do not read if you have a weak heart.

  Picture and Summary from Goodreads       REVIEW  

My thoughts on this book are still a little jumbled. Insanity is a fast read with a storyline that makes it easy to keep readers guessing and turning the pages. During the entire book I was dying to know what the truth was, we are given small clues to point us towards the truth but yet there were things that had me second guessing what I thought was reality. It is really easy to connect with the main character and I instantly feel defensive of her when she has flashbacks involving her abusive dad.

As for romance, I really didn't get attached to Damien and Adelaide's relationship. We never really get to see them interact or connect. We just know that they love each other because Adelaide tells us so. Also in the middle of the book it seems like the author decided she was going to make this for mature audiences and threw half a dozen sex scenes into the mix. Now don't get me wrong, they weren't done in bad taste, I just felt by that point that it wasn't necessary for the story. The book felt like it wasn't even going in that direction when BAM sex scenes, pretty much one after another.

There were a few instances where the plot didn't meet up correctly and there were quite a few grammatical issues, BUT my biggest problem with the book is that it is being stretched into a series. I really feel like it would have been better for the author to make it a bigger book and finish the story off at the end, it just doesn't seem like series material. Though I will probably read the next books because I am left curious about what Adelaide's true story is.

Overall I enjoyed Insanity but I am left with a LOT of questions.

 

3.5 Stars

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Flight by Lindsay Leggett

FLIGHT

Author: Lindsay Leggett

Publication Date: 04/01/2013

Published By: Createspace

Audience: New Adult

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance

The first rule of survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves her broken and confused.

On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.

Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.

Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.

Picture and Summary from Goodreads

 

 

 

REVIEW

 

Flight takes place in a world polluted and unlivable due to radiation.  Humans are living underground, or if they are made of money, in zones where the air is clean.  Our MC is Piper Madden, she was born with a type of blood/gene that only Hunters have.  Hunters are given the job to track down Harpies and kill them.  Harpies are creatures who have evolved over the years and feed on humans.

  

The story starts off with the Prologue telling us that Piper and her love interest, Asher, are trapped in a burning room.  We don't know what's going on other than they've been given something that will cause them to forget each other and they know it's happening.  When chapter one begins it's clear that Piper has no memory of Asher, even when she runs into him on the street they have no memories of each other.  The rest of the time we spend playing catch up  with Piper as she's given one crazy revelation after another.  Nothing is as it seems!

 

I have to admit the book started off a little confusing and slow for me but by halfway through I had found my groove and rolled right on through to the end. I had never read a book about Harpies so the idea was original to me and I thought Lindsay did a good job of developing them.  The characters are well developed and their interactions come across as believable. Asher is smoking hot and has the whole bad boy exterior with a mushy sensitive center.  You can feel the chemistry between him and Piper and it kills me that no one will leave them alone so they can be with each other!

 

Although I liked the book there was some stuff that bothered me.  I didn't really know until the end of the book whether it was taking place in the present or in the past.  At the end of the prologue Piper makes it seem like she's going to start telling us the story from the beginning (meaning before the fire and what led up to them being there) but as I continued reading there were things that made me think it was happening in the present.  Then there was the whole fact that Piper knew she couldn't remember things from before her brothers death, but she NEVER questioned it!  I mean we don't even realize that she doesn't remember anything until about halfway through the book.  When she admits her lack of memory that's when things start to really roll and she starts to suspect something isn't right.

 

Overall though the book was a good read and I have high hopes for the second installment.

 

 

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THE AUTHOR

-Lindsay Leggett-

Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.

 

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The Last Bastion Of The Living

THE LAST BASTION OF THE LIVING:

A FUTURISTIC ZOMBIE NOVEL

Author: Rhiannon Frater

Publication Date: 06/12/2012

Published By: Indie Inked

Audience: Adult

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Zombie

 

The Bastion was humanity's last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.

Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.

 

(Picture and Summary from Goodreads)

 

 

 

 

 

**I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley from Indie Inked in exchange for an honest review.  In no way does that effect the thoughts and opinions voiced here.  I did not get paid in any way to write this review.**

 

 

 

 

REVIEW

 

I had forgotten how much I love stand alone books!  It's so nice to end a book and have everything tied up nicely with all my questions answered.  I was reminded of this with The Last Bastion of The Living.  Unless Rhiannon Frater changes her mind it is very much a stand alone novel and I LOVED it!

 

The world that the story takes place in is one where a zobie-esque virus has wiped out much of the population.  The humans remaining have one last hope (even if they don't know it's happening) that lies with a special ops team lead by our MC, Maria.  I loved Maria, she's fierce and independent, and she totally knows how to handle herself.   When she volunteers for the top secret mission she thinks she knows what she's getting herself into.  That's her first mistake and from that moment on the plot twists and turns throwing one surprise after another until you're dying to know what's going to happen!

 

The author does a great job of world building and her characters are anything but shallow.  She paints a vivid picture of everything that is going on around Maria while she is out in the field.  Frater has created monsters that are frightening yet still hold a touch of humanity.  In the end the creatures Frater has created turn terrifying.

 

The ONLY thing I had a problem with was the fact that Maria's love interest was named DWAYNE (I mean seriously?! That name is not what I think of when I think hot, interesting love interest!) and the fact that he was 25 years her senior, EW.  But that comes with it being more of an adult novel rather than a YA novel.  It also didn't bug me past first finding out about it.

 

The ending was simply beautiful.  I seriously wish all books could end as nicely as the one created by Frater.  Like I said things are wrapped up nicely but still left room for the reader to have a little imagination with where the characters go from there.

 

Overall The Last Bastion Of The Living was an exciting thrill ride.  One that I will definitely read again. 

 

 

 

 

 

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THE AUTHOR 

 

Rhiannon Frater was born and raised a Texan. Though she has lived in various towns all over the state, she finally settled in Austin, Texas where she met her husband and worked as a governmental consultant.
During her travels for her job, she was inspired to write the story of two women fleeing into the Texas Hill Country in an attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse. Originally published as a serial online under the title AS THE WORLD DIES, she later self-published the series in three novels to satisfy the many fans of the story. The first novel in the series, THE FIRST DAYS, won the 2008 Dead Letter Award for Best Book (Fiction). The second book, FIGHTING TO SURVIVE won the 2009 Dead Letter Award in the same category.

The AS THE WORLD DIES books were purchased by Tor in 2010.The first book, THE FIRST DAYS, was released in July 2011 and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The second, FIGHTING TO SURVIVE, was released on November 8, 2011. The third book, SIEGE, will be released in April 2012.

She is also the author of THE LIVING DEAD BOY AND THE ZOMBIE HUNTERS, PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES: A Vampire Novel and two novels in the Vampire Bride Series (THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE and THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE). All her works have been optioned for either TV or film.

Rhiannon continues to live in Austin, Texas with her husband and is now a full-time writer.
She is represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media agency.

(Picture and Bio from Goodreads Profile)

 

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