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lmitchell0813's review against another edition
4.0
I was sad when Armstrong's Otherworld series ended and wasn't sure how I'd like this new series since it is so far removed from the other. But, Omens quickly sucked me in and I couldn't put it down. A great read!
littlefoot10's review against another edition
4.0
New series from one of my favourite authors...The first chapter gets your heart pumping, it's thrilling and exciting. a bit slower in some parts, but it's a new book with lots of history to root down !
brokenrecord's review against another edition
5.0
I JUST REALLY LOVED THIS. I hesitate to promote it too strongly because it wasn't a perfect book by any means, but it felt perfect for me, like it was written with my specific interests in mind. First off, I saw some complaints in reviews that this was more of a detective/mystery novel than anything else, and yes, the mystery does take the primary focus, but there are definitely fantastical/supernatural elements in play. You might be disappointed if you go in expecting answers as to exactly what's going on, but since I'm a huge fan of slow and gradual development, it worked perfectly for me that there were various hints towards more supernatural things going on, but the greater explanations are going to be coming in future books. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the supernatural elements are built more and explained in the future. And the small town setting was great. I really love weird, small town settings where random supernatural stuff is happening; it actually was a bit reminiscent of Haven now that I think about it. I enjoyed all the random characters we met, and I'm eager to learn more about them and figure out everything that they know.
And then there was the relationship between Olivia and Gabriel, which, okay, it's not really a relationship yet, but I can only imagine that's where it's heading. There's really nothing romantic going on between them in this book, only the slightest of possible mentions that there could be some attraction on either side, but that was totally fine for me. Like I said, I'm a fan of slow development, and that definitely applies to romantic relationships in books (and in series, especially) as well. I enjoyed that this book really took its time developing their working relationship and each of them gaining the slightest bit of trust in the other. I was afraid from the summary and the reviews that Gabriel would be a typical, obnoxious alpha male, but he really didn't bother me like the vast majority of alpha male characters do. He was much more calm and collected than most alpha males, and while he's definitely in it for himself above anything else, his behavior never stepped too far over the line for me to be okay with. I'm definitely hopeful and eager for their relationship to develop further in future books.
So yeah, anyways, I got so much more sucked into this book than I ever expected, and I'm now overly anxious for the next book to come out!
And then there was the relationship between Olivia and Gabriel, which, okay, it's not really a relationship yet, but I can only imagine that's where it's heading. There's really nothing romantic going on between them in this book, only the slightest of possible mentions that there could be some attraction on either side, but that was totally fine for me. Like I said, I'm a fan of slow development, and that definitely applies to romantic relationships in books (and in series, especially) as well. I enjoyed that this book really took its time developing their working relationship and each of them gaining the slightest bit of trust in the other. I was afraid from the summary and the reviews that Gabriel would be a typical, obnoxious alpha male, but he really didn't bother me like the vast majority of alpha male characters do. He was much more calm and collected than most alpha males, and while he's definitely in it for himself above anything else, his behavior never stepped too far over the line for me to be okay with.
Spoiler
Agreeing to take James's money to protect Olivia was a bit douchey, but like he said, he was going to try to protect her as best he could anyways, and it's not like he was taking money for nefarious purposes. It was clearly something Olivia would have a problem with, but I'm glad that he realized that and actually told James he wouldn't work for him anymore before Olivia even found out (so it's not like he was just doing it to seek forgiveness or anything, since she didn't even know about it).So yeah, anyways, I got so much more sucked into this book than I ever expected, and I'm now overly anxious for the next book to come out!
breruby's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shomarq's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
All the way back in 2001 I read Armstrong's first Otherworld book, Bitten. And fell in love with the strong, very straightforward female protagonist who thinks nothing of putting herself in confrontational situations and needs no guy as her backup. So cool.
We've got another such protagonist here in Olivia Taylor Jones, a socialite who suddenly finds herself in the media spotlight and estranged from her prior life when it's discovered her bio-Mom and bio-Dad are convicted serial killers.
So she finds a small town to hide out in-- Cainsville. Your typical, everyday small town where everyone knows eachother's business, there's a real fortune-teller across the street, gargoyle statues that only come out at night, strangely-behaved cats and ravens.
Meanwhile Olivia is investigating one set of murders her bio-parents are convicted 0f, with the help of handsome, morally-grey lawyer Gabriel. But Olivia's experiencing interesting occurrences in Cainsville, and also paying more and more attention to omens (like seeing an owl or rain on a sunny day) she's noticed her whole life.
The investigation is fine, and Olivia's relationship with Gabriel is certainly interesting because it doesn't follow the usual tropes. Gabriel is definitely not a hero. Neither of them are blind to the fact that he's extremely self-centered. When Olivia gets angry at him, it isn't for not being a good man, it's mostly for breaking contract with her. Interesting angle.
This is definitely "let me introduce these characters, set up a story line, and set the Cainsville scene" kind of book. Nothing really resolves. We don't know (granted, there's a TON of clues about what's up with Cainsville) for sure what's going on with the various forces in Olivia's life, and I wasn't a huge fan of POV head-hopping because when I head-hop I want more insight into characters, and by the very nature of this slow-reveal kind of book that's not possible.
Still, Olivia is exactly the matter-of-fact kind of heroine that's a great antidote to overly-angsty urban fantasy heroines. I'll give the series one more chance to flesh out Olivia's relationships and let us know the stakes behind the various Cainsville players.
We've got another such protagonist here in Olivia Taylor Jones, a socialite who suddenly finds herself in the media spotlight and estranged from her prior life when it's discovered her bio-Mom and bio-Dad are convicted serial killers.
So she finds a small town to hide out in-- Cainsville. Your typical, everyday small town where everyone knows eachother's business, there's a real fortune-teller across the street, gargoyle statues that only come out at night, strangely-behaved cats and ravens.
Meanwhile Olivia is investigating one set of murders her bio-parents are convicted 0f, with the help of handsome, morally-grey lawyer Gabriel. But Olivia's experiencing interesting occurrences in Cainsville, and also paying more and more attention to omens (like seeing an owl or rain on a sunny day) she's noticed her whole life.
The investigation is fine, and Olivia's relationship with Gabriel is certainly interesting because it doesn't follow the usual tropes. Gabriel is definitely not a hero. Neither of them are blind to the fact that he's extremely self-centered. When Olivia gets angry at him, it isn't for not being a good man, it's mostly for breaking contract with her. Interesting angle.
This is definitely "let me introduce these characters, set up a story line, and set the Cainsville scene" kind of book. Nothing really resolves. We don't know (granted, there's a TON of clues about what's up with Cainsville) for sure what's going on with the various forces in Olivia's life, and I wasn't a huge fan of POV head-hopping because when I head-hop I want more insight into characters, and by the very nature of this slow-reveal kind of book that's not possible.
Still, Olivia is exactly the matter-of-fact kind of heroine that's a great antidote to overly-angsty urban fantasy heroines. I'll give the series one more chance to flesh out Olivia's relationships and let us know the stakes behind the various Cainsville players.
sshpurple1's review against another edition
3.0
This is a murder mystery, with some elements of paranormal mixed in. I loved that Olivia is such a strong female character, even if she does make you want to smack her upside the head. She finds out she isn't what she thought she was, and because people do not react the way she wants she runs away. Plus gives up all the money. While I admire her wanting to figure things out on her own, running away and leaving behind ALL the money is just dumb in my opinion. As for Gabriel I can not wait to learn more about him. He is an interesting mystery on top of the one they are investigating. I am looking forward to jumping into the next book 'Visions'.
Omens Book 1
Visions Book 2
Omens Book 1
Visions Book 2
meganmreads's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Omens. It was not at all what I expected, yet it felt very similar to the urban fantasy style that I’m used to. It was more of a supernatural mystery than an urban fantasy, not focused on romance or supernatural creatures at all. The book was set in a normal world, but Cainsville itself was a strange town that Olivia ended up in. She could also read omens, but didn’t really know why.
Olivia thought she knew who she was, but she discovered she was adopted and her real parents were convicted serial killers. Her adopted father passed away and Olivia really only connected with him in her family, so the news was shocking and it left her feeling like she had nowhere to go. Her life was turned upside down, so she decided to find out more about her real parents.
Gabriel is one of my favorite characters. He was weird, untrustworthy, icy, and incredibly interesting. Olivia and Gabriel began this weird working friendship in which he assisted her, but they both clearly wanted something from each other and it was the only reason Olivia chose to work with him. It was strange, but I was drawn to their relationship.
Omens didn’t really contain any romance, but I could sense a slow burn between Gabriel and Olivia and I loved watching their friendship unfold. There also seemed to be people in the town of Cainsville rooting for their friendship, which was also interesting. The town itself was supernatural, I think, but couldn’t be sure. The rest of the book seemed like a regular mystery, so I liked the underlying weirdness that set it apart from regular mysteries and urban fantasies because it straddled the line.
I definitely recommend Omens, especially if you like urban fantasies, but want something different.
Olivia thought she knew who she was, but she discovered she was adopted and her real parents were convicted serial killers. Her adopted father passed away and Olivia really only connected with him in her family, so the news was shocking and it left her feeling like she had nowhere to go. Her life was turned upside down, so she decided to find out more about her real parents.
Gabriel is one of my favorite characters. He was weird, untrustworthy, icy, and incredibly interesting. Olivia and Gabriel began this weird working friendship in which he assisted her, but they both clearly wanted something from each other and it was the only reason Olivia chose to work with him. It was strange, but I was drawn to their relationship.
Omens didn’t really contain any romance, but I could sense a slow burn between Gabriel and Olivia and I loved watching their friendship unfold. There also seemed to be people in the town of Cainsville rooting for their friendship, which was also interesting. The town itself was supernatural, I think, but couldn’t be sure. The rest of the book seemed like a regular mystery, so I liked the underlying weirdness that set it apart from regular mysteries and urban fantasies because it straddled the line.
I definitely recommend Omens, especially if you like urban fantasies, but want something different.
threeseagrass's review against another edition
3.0
More of a 3.5. I really liked the premise of this and was thankfully warned that it wasn't paranormal/urban fantasy before going into it.
The story line was interesting and suspenseful, though there were too many characters for my liking. I don't know if I'll be moving on to the next book, but I am still desperate to know whether.
The story line was interesting and suspenseful, though there were too many characters for my liking. I don't know if I'll be moving on to the next book, but I am still desperate to know whether