Always Watching - A review

Always Watching - Chevy Stevens (publisher)

Overview

She helps people put their demons to rest.

But she has a few of her own…

In the lockdown ward of a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Nadine Lavoie is in her element. She has the tools to help people, and she has the desire—healing broken families is what she lives for. But Nadine doesn’t want to look too closely at her own past because there are whole chunks of her life that are black holes. It takes all her willpower to tamp down her recurrent claustrophobia, and her daughter, Lisa, is a runaway who has been on the streets for seven years.

When a distraught woman, Heather Simeon, is brought into the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit after a suicide attempt, Nadine gently coaxes her story out of her—and learns of some troubling parallels with her own life. Digging deeper, Nadine is forced to confront her traumatic childhood, and the damage that began when she and her brother were brought by their mother to a remote commune on Vancouver Island.  What happened to Nadine?  Why was their family destroyed? And why does the name Aaron Quinn, the group’s leader, bring complex feelings of terror to Nadine even today? 

And then, the unthinkable happens, and Nadine realizes that danger is closer to home than she ever imagined. She has no choice but to face what terrifies her the most…and fight back. 

Sometimes you can leave the past, but you can never escape. 

My thoughts:

Another great book from Chevy! I love her books. Everyone just grabs me from the get go and I have the hardest time putting them down. Matter of fact it i wasn't so tired last night, I would've been up half the night finishing it.

This time we get to see the story unfold through the eyes of the doctor from the past two books and it's her story this time and it's such a tragic one as well. Tragic past, memory gaps, family issues, drug addicted daughter, and a patient that awakens all these traumatic events from her childhood. Which sends her on a quest to recover lost memories of her time at a commune. Aaron is the perfect creep. Everything about him made my skin crawl. It's almost scary how realistic her characters can be.

What i like most about her books is the mystery, psychological aspect. You are never quite sure what's up or who to trust. Fantastic!

Author's Website: Chevy Stevens

Ink - Amanda Sun (NetGalley)

Overview

Ink is in their blood.

On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn't know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks and she can't seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school's kendo team, she is intrigued by him…and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they're near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life.

Somehow Tomo is connected to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan—and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control. The wrong people are starting to ask questions, and if they discover the truth, no one will be safe.

My thoughts:

Maybe It's my ever growing love and fascination with Japan but I really loved this book!

I loved how the author gave me a YA story set somewhere other than America and she couldn't have picked a better backdrop in my opinion. I love how I felt like was was taken to Japan while I was reading it and the myth's woven into the story.

Kate's last name is really fitting. She is pretty "green" when she gets to Japan and add grieving to the top of it, I'm surprised she adjusted as well as she did. She had her annoying moments during the book and there was a time or two when I was ready to slap her myself but all in all, I found myself growing attached and protective of her. Her friends Yuki and Tanaka were awesome and I hope we get to see them a bit more in the next installment. Tomohiro is the perfect replica of the bad guy who isn't really a bad guy. The kind all the girls find themselves oohing and awing over. His character is so cliche at times but dang if the author didn't end up getting me attached to him as well. I wasn't expecting that. Throw in the Yakuza gang and the other Kami and we have what appears to be a well shaped story forming. 

I feel the first book was more about Tomo and Katie's connection and less about the "meat" of where Amanda is taking these books. I eagerly await to see how their story moves forward in the next book.

Author Website: Amanda Sun