Rating: ★★★☆☆
Genre: New Adult, Drama, Thriller
Recommend: Yes
Summary:
Shelby Nichols stops into a convenience store to buy some carrots. Whilst paying, the bank section of the shop is robbed and she fails to duck before being shot by the thief. The bullet grazes by her head but when she awakes she begins answering people's thoughts, before realising she can read minds. Confiding in her husband, he can't help but treat her differently, knowing he has no privacy. When Shelby picks up on thoughts about Kate, his co-worker, she soon turns into investigator to see what's going on between them.
Meanwhile the bank robber is out to kill Shelby, knowing she's the only eye-witness and Shelby has to keep avoiding his path. Soon, Shelby finds herself working for a mob boss who discovers her mind reading ability and forces her to work for him in exchange for her family being safe.
Working right in the middle of organised crime and battling the mental struggle of being over-powered by so many thoughts, Shelby is soon fighting to merely stay alive.
My Thoughts:
I had high hopes for this book. It sounded so promising with such a unique idea/take on the mind reading front. However, there were a few aspects of the overall story/execution that killed the whole thing slightly.
Shelby: I felt she was poorly developed. Her current emotions were always described but with little reasoning. There was no opportunity to learn what influences or motivates Shelby. Her familial relationship was all over the place in that it wasn't properly defined - although Chris' character was well done. His anger/frustration at Shelby reading his mind was so understandable and realistic. It got quite tedious reading about how annoyed Shelby was towards Kate when she could see Chris wasn't interested nor reciprocating. He trusted her not to read his mind but she couldn't trust him to remain faithful. She just felt a little all over the place and mood-swinging.
Characters: I can usually keep up pretty well with novels that have a lot of characters in them. However, there were too many minor/nameless/faceless characters to keep track of. There were the five business men that remained numbered and then there were other mob names floating around, then the jeweller causing chaos, the policemen, Uncle Joey's men... There were too many introduced with not enough purpose or depth to create an impact and towards the end with the scene in Uncle Joey's office when there's a heavy conversation going on- I just got lost completely.
Ramos: I liked him- was genuinely upset when he got shot and wanted to give up the book!! He was brutal but Shelby could glimpse his moments of humanity and realise he was doing what he did as it was his job and he did find it difficult at times. His care for Shelby was adorable and it's one of the strong points that makes me really want to read on about where their relationship leads...
Story: The whole story in general was enjoyable and unique. The head injury brought on this new ability and it was refreshing to read about the burdens it caused rather than just the positives. I liked how Shelby had difficulty at the beginning to refrain from answering and how Dimples and Ramos were beginning to catch on to her ability and how she went about hiding it. It added a fun and light-hearted aspect to such an eventful book!
Ending: After the final "main scene" it all closed pretty abruptly. Without giving too much away, all the conversations and follow ups just seemed rushed in an effort to finish the story- after a story that nearly carried on a little too much at points. A longer conclusion would have brought this up to 4 stars for me straight away.
Overall:
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys drama/suspense. It's not too focused on a romantic element but more so a thriller vibe. Apart from being confused about characters at times and the sharp ending, overall it was still a brilliant read. It lulled at parts but I really enjoyed it and it was definitely refreshing and a stand out novel; it's one I'll definitely remember. I also love the name of the book; it's just fun and quirky!
I had high hopes for this book. It sounded so promising with such a unique idea/take on the mind reading front. However, there were a few aspects of the overall story/execution that killed the whole thing slightly.
Shelby: I felt she was poorly developed. Her current emotions were always described but with little reasoning. There was no opportunity to learn what influences or motivates Shelby. Her familial relationship was all over the place in that it wasn't properly defined - although Chris' character was well done. His anger/frustration at Shelby reading his mind was so understandable and realistic. It got quite tedious reading about how annoyed Shelby was towards Kate when she could see Chris wasn't interested nor reciprocating. He trusted her not to read his mind but she couldn't trust him to remain faithful. She just felt a little all over the place and mood-swinging.
Characters: I can usually keep up pretty well with novels that have a lot of characters in them. However, there were too many minor/nameless/faceless characters to keep track of. There were the five business men that remained numbered and then there were other mob names floating around, then the jeweller causing chaos, the policemen, Uncle Joey's men... There were too many introduced with not enough purpose or depth to create an impact and towards the end with the scene in Uncle Joey's office when there's a heavy conversation going on- I just got lost completely.
Ramos: I liked him- was genuinely upset when he got shot and wanted to give up the book!! He was brutal but Shelby could glimpse his moments of humanity and realise he was doing what he did as it was his job and he did find it difficult at times. His care for Shelby was adorable and it's one of the strong points that makes me really want to read on about where their relationship leads...
Story: The whole story in general was enjoyable and unique. The head injury brought on this new ability and it was refreshing to read about the burdens it caused rather than just the positives. I liked how Shelby had difficulty at the beginning to refrain from answering and how Dimples and Ramos were beginning to catch on to her ability and how she went about hiding it. It added a fun and light-hearted aspect to such an eventful book!
Ending: After the final "main scene" it all closed pretty abruptly. Without giving too much away, all the conversations and follow ups just seemed rushed in an effort to finish the story- after a story that nearly carried on a little too much at points. A longer conclusion would have brought this up to 4 stars for me straight away.
Overall:
I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys drama/suspense. It's not too focused on a romantic element but more so a thriller vibe. Apart from being confused about characters at times and the sharp ending, overall it was still a brilliant read. It lulled at parts but I really enjoyed it and it was definitely refreshing and a stand out novel; it's one I'll definitely remember. I also love the name of the book; it's just fun and quirky!
