A review by whimsicallymeghan
Visions by Kelley Armstrong

4.0

Olivia is trying to get settled into Cainsville, but when she keeps finding the body of a dead woman in places, and it disappears before anyone else can see, she has no idea if it’s real or visions. Turns out the woman she keeps seeing is related to the town and someone is trying real hard to use the body as a warning. With the help of her lawyer, Gabriel and her new beau, Ricky, the three of them are on the case to find out who murdered her, what it has to do with Olivia and why. This was a great follow up and second novel in Armstrong’s Cainsville series. This is starting to move away from sounding like her other series in the sense that the characters are finding their own voices and the supernatural plots are just so good and spooky. We’re given more background, not only into our main character, Olivia, but the town itself. Armstrong has given us just enough to keep us on our toes and to keep asking questions. This novel left us with yet again a slew of unanswered questions, which is how she’s got us completely keyed up and ready for the next book. But back to this one, we learn so much and so much info is flying at us, but it’s done so well that we never truly feel overwhelmed. There were so many times when the reader wanted to look up what certain words or omens meant, but held off for a better appreciation for the story and how the plot progressed, and that it did. The plot was so fast moving that this novel probably could have been read in one sitting, but the reader wanted to enjoy and savour their time with the story, the writing and the characters. Again, Armstrong is so good at creating really creative and distinct characters who are memorable, have flaws but are ultimately trying to do good. Olivia is still trying to find herself and it was good that we got a bit of a break from that because it let us explore her and how the town relates to her and we kind of got to know the town as a person this book. That sounds strange, but if you’ve read this series it makes perfect sense. Because the town has opened up, we’re getting to see how it not only relates to Olivia, but to Gabriel and it’s been so fascinating how deep-rooted and connected everything is becoming. There are more characters from the first book that we’re seeing get more time; we’re not sure how they’re connected just yet, but there’s a high probability they are. The romance plots for the most part stayed subtle, but the reader likes how they are progressing and how open the communication is, that’s another thing Armstrong is really good at, writing characters with great communicating skills. There’s only one character not so great with it, our antagonist, but it’s done in a way that works for this story. The way this ended means the next book has new developments in store for us that will only cause more questions, but this reader can’t wait. Overall, an excellent sequel to what is shaping up to be a great series.