Book Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

 

Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)

Expected publication: October 9th 2012

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

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The Blurb: 

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

My Review:

Velveteen is the first book in the Velveteen series written by Daniel Marks. I was really looking forward to reading this book and had such high expectations for it. It wasn't at all what I expected, which is good and bad.  I'll start with the bad since I like to save the best for last. I had a hard time getting myself invested in this book and found it too easy to tune out while reading. The first chapter grabbed me and then I tuned out for a chapter or two. This back and forth pattern continued through the book. I never  truly connected with it or the characters. Many of the characters seemed pretty superficial to me. The main character had all this inner turmoil about her, but I still never meshed into her world. 


Now for the good. The concept behind this book is entirely unique. I've never read a book that revolved around purgatory and the souls in it. I found it to be a very interesting idea of what purgatory could be like if it exists. I liked the real world similarities with the possible corrupt government and rebel citizens.  I absolutely love the cover! It catches your eye and fits the book perfectly. Overall, it wasn't for a book for me, but that doesn't mean it won't be for you. I think its uniqueness will attract many fans to this series. I'll probably still check out the sequel, because I want to know what happens. Pre-Order Now!

To learn more about Daniel Marks and his books, visit his video blog.You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.


I received the ARC of Velveteen by Daniel Marks  from the Publisher through NetGalley for review. The opinions are my own.