Early Review: Visions by Kelley Armstrong

Visions by Kelley Armstrong

Cainsville #2

As #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new Cainsville series continues, Olivia’s power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her new hometown.

Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes.

Their success, however, is short-lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel’s past mistakes have come to light, creating a rift between the pair just when she needs his help the most.

Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia’s convinced it’s another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman went missing just days ago—the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has her new home played in this disturbing murder?

Olivia’s effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don’t want revealed.

I was completely ensnared by the first book in this series, so I was really excited for this installment. It had a slow build, and sure the lack of answers was a bit frustrating, but as I said, I was ensnared, particularly by the characters. I could deal with little to no answers as I loved the characters so much. So, that being said, despite that fierce love of the characters, namely Oliva and Gabriel, I was hoping for a bit more in the answers department this time around. Unfortunately that just didn't seem to pan out the way I would have hoped as while there were answers they only led to more questions and everything was presented in a vague and foreshadowing sense. Even when Oliva figured things out, she would still hide those thoughts from the reader, only adding to my frustration. I realize this could just be a stylistic issue as this is a bit outside of my genre preference, but it still made for a slower read for me. Typically I devour Kelley's books in one single setting, but with VISIONS, I found myself continually distracted by other things. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good book, and the characters and everything is written very well, I'm just not one for being left in the dark so much.

Despite my frustrations with all of the unanswered questions, I found it very easy to slip right into the characters lives. Oliva is so strong and yet more than a little stubborn, which I love her for. It's very clear she's through with letting others control her and all I can say is good for her. Gabriel on the other hand, boy is he a tough nut! He's so damaged and closed off, but in this installment we started to see that shell cracked. I'm still holding out hope for a romantic interest there, but I have a feeling that's still going to take some time as Oliva has to handle him with "kid gloves" in order to accomplish anything personal at all. And of course there's the matter of her current love interest standing in the way, but I have a feeling he's just a companion for now. Nothing against him as he seems to be exactly what she needs right now, but I don't see him lasting with her long term, but again that's just me.

I really hate rating and reviewing VISIONS as only a 3 star after my resounding enjoyment of the first installment, but it really time keeping me hooked. Again this may be a stylistic preference, but readers who prefer more answers rather than portents and hints leaving them largely in the dark may find the same frustrations that I did. I will still be continuing on with this series as I want to see where the characters end of next, but it's probably not going to top my most anticipated list.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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Previous Books:
     1. Omens