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A review by fredicia
Visions by Kelley Armstrong
5.0
Who's the lucky duck that got a early copy and binge read for four hours because she doesn't know how to pace herself?
And who's extremely happy about the result?
No, but seriously, this sequel is everything I could have wanted. Gabriel and Olivia are friends. They are actual friends that eat together and hang out after work and spend time in each other's company for personal enjoyment, despite Gabriel being a emotionally deficient teapot.
Kind of like this dude:
He's getting better though. But more on that later.
Good things! Excellent things!:
==> And the plot thickens. In this book, we learn much more about the origins and goals of Cainsville. Why are they involved in so many weird things? If you've read Cainsville 0.5, you can probably make a semi-basic reasonable conclusion, but it's not the whole story and there's a vast amount of information in addition to that. There's also a new aspect, the Hounds or the Wild Hunt, which is related to the Satan's Saints (Ricky Gallagher's bikers). We're not really sure how they fit into Olivia's and Gabriel's lives (He's representing them, remember?), or if there are ulterior motives, but I suspect they will play a large part in the future. They're not enemies exactly, but the Hunt want Olivia's abilities for themselves and are courting her favour. It's just mentioned in passing in a teensy tiny bit, but it reminds me of Richelle Mead's Gameboard of the Gods. We have a new player on the gameboard, who's name is Tristan, but he's kind of a wild card and no one is sure what his endgame is. As far as I'm concerned, he's just there to mess shit up.
It's getting so interesting. Gabriel and Olivia have a new case they've been dragged into, and Armstrong does a fantastic job of moving things along at an excellent pace. The reader is never bored, and she answers questions that we've had since the first book, specifically, WTF is going on with Cainsville (Seriously, they've had way too many dead bodies connected to them), while adding new aspects to her story. It's good, so entertaining and engaging and I was absolutely ecstatic at the end of this.
==> This is a book about faeries, if it has to be linked to the supernatural; really, at its core, it's a mystery. There are more fantasy components in this sequel, but it's still at low levels. Once again, they do an excellent job of aiding and adding another dimension. That will probably change in the third novel, but right now it is integrated nicely as it is so we'll see where it goes from here. Our protagonists just sort of ... crash into the idea of the supernatural because of Tristan and it creates this other mess for them to deal with. It's like a train wreck that is currently in process.
A train wreck I'm anticipating. Impatiently.
==> CHARACTERS! My favourite, favourite part. Armstrong has here signature banter between our main characters, which is always a delight.
What's developed most in this book is their dynamic and Gabriel's attitude towards Olivia.
Olivia, like in Omens, is stubborn, gets into trouble and doesn't take any bullshit. She's also very humorous and much more confident in her intuition and her relationship with Gabriel. She knows that she can depend on him for help, and I think she shows her appreciation of that in her protectiveness and being on his side. It's a interesting push and pull they have, because while Olivia already had developed her loyalty and her trust, Gabriel has some catching up to do in that department.
My favourite part about all of this, of ANY of this is that she's perfectly aware of how easily Gabriel can defend himself. But someone should defend him once in a while, and she doubts that he'll let anyone else. Olivia is almost foolishly loyal, but it wins people to her side. She isn't dull or insipid. James, her ex, has realized this. So has Ricky and Gabriel. She has the curiosity to match her spunk, and a ridiculous magnet for danger. I'm slightly surprised she made it this far without a serious injury. Hell, I don't even think she's broken any bones. Yet. Olivia, in addition, takes to the supernatural like a fish to the water. She like "Patrick may be immortal? oh cool, let's find some evidence. Changelings are real? Great, let's run some DNA tests from the hair we've stolen." The girl's adaptable.
All of this makes her a compelling character to read about, to follow and immerse yourself in. Because what person doesn't want to read about this amazing lead as a protagonist?
Let's move on to Gabriel now. If you have read this book, which you probably haven't at this point, you'll know that Gabriel has changed.
He's still an arrogant ass...
but, he's become better at showing his feelings, admitting his mistakes and confiding to Rose and Olivia. And he cares. He cares alot more than he did before, and it shows in his actions. Other people are starting to notice that his gestures and protective instincts now include Olivia. They've become partners in the best sense of the word. To me, that's even better than lovers.
He trusts her instincts and doesn't doubt her, even when she backpedals. And the looking out for each other's well being is reciprocal.
My favourite part about their relationship is that it is slow burn. If they do end up together, it's not going to be anytime soon. Right now, Gabriel resents anyone taking away Olivia's time. He's like "that's my friend, she was my friend first." He doesn't have many - hell, anyone really whom he can be around without putting on a mask. Slowly, periodically, he's thawing, and while he's very mature in some ways, he's significantly less so emotionally wise. But he's getting there.
Yeah, nothing ever impedes these two.
-------------------------------------------------------
I found an excerpt online:
http://www.penguin.com/book/visions-by-kelley-armstrong/9780525953050
GO CHECK IT OUT!!
-----------------------------------------------------
The good thing about reading the first book almost a year after its publication is the short time you have to wait for the sequel. Thank Heavens because
I want so much from this book. I want sass, I want wit, I want Olivia and Gabriel to become FRIENDS. But mostly, I just want them to kick some serious ass.
And who's extremely happy about the result?
No, but seriously, this sequel is everything I could have wanted. Gabriel and Olivia are friends. They are actual friends that eat together and hang out after work and spend time in each other's company for personal enjoyment, despite Gabriel being a emotionally deficient teapot.
Kind of like this dude:
He's getting better though. But more on that later.
Good things! Excellent things!:
==> And the plot thickens. In this book, we learn much more about the origins and goals of Cainsville. Why are they involved in so many weird things? If you've read Cainsville 0.5, you can probably make a semi-basic reasonable conclusion, but it's not the whole story and there's a vast amount of information in addition to that. There's also a new aspect, the Hounds or the Wild Hunt, which is related to the Satan's Saints (Ricky Gallagher's bikers). We're not really sure how they fit into Olivia's and Gabriel's lives (He's representing them, remember?), or if there are ulterior motives, but I suspect they will play a large part in the future. They're not enemies exactly, but the Hunt want Olivia's abilities for themselves and are courting her favour. It's just mentioned in passing in a teensy tiny bit, but it reminds me of Richelle Mead's Gameboard of the Gods. We have a new player on the gameboard, who's name is Tristan, but he's kind of a wild card and no one is sure what his endgame is. As far as I'm concerned, he's just there to mess shit up.
The specific answer isn’t as important as the general one, which is that Patrick isn’t human. That something is going on in Cainsville, and we’re caught up in it.
It's getting so interesting. Gabriel and Olivia have a new case they've been dragged into, and Armstrong does a fantastic job of moving things along at an excellent pace. The reader is never bored, and she answers questions that we've had since the first book, specifically, WTF is going on with Cainsville (Seriously, they've had way too many dead bodies connected to them), while adding new aspects to her story. It's good, so entertaining and engaging and I was absolutely ecstatic at the end of this.
==> This is a book about faeries, if it has to be linked to the supernatural; really, at its core, it's a mystery. There are more fantasy components in this sequel, but it's still at low levels. Once again, they do an excellent job of aiding and adding another dimension. That will probably change in the third novel, but right now it is integrated nicely as it is so we'll see where it goes from here. Our protagonists just sort of ... crash into the idea of the supernatural because of Tristan and it creates this other mess for them to deal with. It's like a train wreck that is currently in process.
A train wreck I'm anticipating. Impatiently.
==> CHARACTERS! My favourite, favourite part. Armstrong has here signature banter between our main characters, which is always a delight.
“Please don’t tell me you think vampirism is the explanation here.”
I shuddered. “God, I hope not.”
“We do see Patrick during the day,” Gabriel said.
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula went out in the daytime.”
“You aren’t helping.”
"Sorry."
“Later, I’ll set up a Twitter feed for the firm. Don’t worry—I’ll run it, too. Advertising tweets like: Gabriel Walsh, Attorney-at-Law. Finding the Saint in Satan’s Saints. Or helpful tips like: Note to clients, quicklime is a preservative not a corrosive.”
He gave me a look.
“We’ll work on it,” I said
What's developed most in this book is their dynamic and Gabriel's attitude towards Olivia.
Olivia, like in Omens, is stubborn, gets into trouble and doesn't take any bullshit. She's also very humorous and much more confident in her intuition and her relationship with Gabriel. She knows that she can depend on him for help, and I think she shows her appreciation of that in her protectiveness and being on his side. It's a interesting push and pull they have, because while Olivia already had developed her loyalty and her trust, Gabriel has some catching up to do in that department.
Things went awkwardly after that. Detective What’s-his-name—yes, I should really pay more attention—decided Gabriel was launching some scheme. By claiming a long-dead addict was his mother? That wasn’t just ridiculous—it was unbelievably offensive. I gave the detective hell. By the end of it, I think he had decided I wasn’t nearly as nice as I’d seemed. In fact, given the choice, he’d probably rather have dealt with Gabriel, who took the accusation in stride, calming me down when I lit into the detective
“And he is a person!” I roared, unable to hold back any longer. “He is not a sword. Not a tool. I don’t care what the hell you had in mind for him. You screwed him over, and now you tell me you were tempering—”
My favourite part about all of this, of ANY of this is that she's perfectly aware of how easily Gabriel can defend himself. But someone should defend him once in a while, and she doubts that he'll let anyone else. Olivia is almost foolishly loyal, but it wins people to her side. She isn't dull or insipid. James, her ex, has realized this. So has Ricky and Gabriel. She has the curiosity to match her spunk, and a ridiculous magnet for danger. I'm slightly surprised she made it this far without a serious injury. Hell, I don't even think she's broken any bones. Yet. Olivia, in addition, takes to the supernatural like a fish to the water. She like "Patrick may be immortal? oh cool, let's find some evidence. Changelings are real? Great, let's run some DNA tests from the hair we've stolen." The girl's adaptable.
All of this makes her a compelling character to read about, to follow and immerse yourself in. Because what person doesn't want to read about this amazing lead as a protagonist?
Let's move on to Gabriel now. If you have read this book, which you probably haven't at this point, you'll know that Gabriel has changed.
He's still an arrogant ass...
“Killing a business rival?” he said. “It suggests I need to eliminate an opponent to defeat him.
but, he's become better at showing his feelings, admitting his mistakes and confiding to Rose and Olivia. And he cares. He cares alot more than he did before, and it shows in his actions. Other people are starting to notice that his gestures and protective instincts now include Olivia. They've become partners in the best sense of the word. To me, that's even better than lovers.
“They were there,” I said. “I swear—
“Am I questioning that?”
“No, but—”
“Then stop panicking.”
“I’m not—”
“You are. You found a body, and you called me, and now it’s gone, and you’re panicking because you can’t prove it was there. I don’t doubt you saw something. We’ll figure out what it was."
He trusts her instincts and doesn't doubt her, even when she backpedals. And the looking out for each other's well being is reciprocal.
“So it’s a simple client–lawyer relationship?” She waved at the door with its small glass pane, blacked out by the wall of Gabriel’s back. “He’s right there. He’s been there since he left, and he only left because you wanted him to go. He jumped to do your bidding. Now he’s hovering there, waiting for any sign that you need him.
He could rectify that now. Send a text. I’m sorry. I behaved badly. Please come back.
He would not say that last part, of course. He would never say that. But it was what he wanted—for Olivia to read his apology and understand how hard it was to make it, and even if she was lying beside Ricky, for her to leave his bed and come back. To give him another chance
My favourite part about their relationship is that it is slow burn. If they do end up together, it's not going to be anytime soon. Right now, Gabriel resents anyone taking away Olivia's time. He's like "that's my friend, she was my friend first." He doesn't have many - hell, anyone really whom he can be around without putting on a mask. Slowly, periodically, he's thawing, and while he's very mature in some ways, he's significantly less so emotionally wise. But he's getting there.
He nodded and straightened, tugging on his shirt and adjusting it, as if it wasn’t blood-spattered and filthy. Then he looked down at me. “I am a little queasy. And my head hurts. Also, there’s a slight pain in my shoulder, but it didn’t seem worth mentioning. None of that, however, will impede me.”
I smiled. “Nothing ever does. Come on. Let’s talk to the police and get out of here.”
Yeah, nothing ever impedes these two.
-------------------------------------------------------
I found an excerpt online:
http://www.penguin.com/book/visions-by-kelley-armstrong/9780525953050
GO CHECK IT OUT!!
-----------------------------------------------------
The good thing about reading the first book almost a year after its publication is the short time you have to wait for the sequel. Thank Heavens because
I want so much from this book. I want sass, I want wit, I want Olivia and Gabriel to become FRIENDS. But mostly, I just want them to kick some serious ass.