Name: Lauren Buchanan's review of Visions by Kelley Armstrong
Item: Visions
Rating: 4
Author: Lauren Buchanan

Kelley Armstrong

Estranged from Gabriel when his past mistakes come to light, Olivia Taylor-Jones receives a sinister warning in the form of a murder victim dressed to look like her and struggles to learn the truth about the victim, the role of her new home and her susceptibility to old enemies. By the best-selling author of the Otherworld series.

A Cainsville Novel

Visions

Lauren Buchanan

In the second book in bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's exciting new Cainsville series, Olivia's newly discovered power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her hometown. Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes. Their success, however, is short lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel's past mistakes come to light, creating a rift between them just when she needs his help the most. Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia's certain it's another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman with a connection to Cainsville went missing just days earlier--the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has Olivia's new home played in this disturbing murder? Olivia's effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don't want revealed.

The Cainsville Series

Jackie Cunningham

I would say better than Omens - which I loved. Will be hard to wait for #3!

*A sequel that took the series in a disappointing direction and ended my interest in continuing with the series*

 but thought it had enough potential to try to the sequel. 

 picked up the day after the first book. So the characters continued as if only a page turned. But the months between me reading the first and second books left things fuzzy. And the story certainly didn't do much to recapture my attention.

 switched between 1st & 3rd person, past tense leaving the narrative muddled and chaotic.

This series sounded like it had potential. The secret town full of creatures from folklore plus a murder mystery sounded like something I'd love. The first book seemed to lay a decent foundation though I had my qualms about it. But then 

 basically turned into a romance novel bordering on erotica with some over-the-top sex scenes – which would be fine if that’s what I signed up for, but it most certainly is not how this series is advertised. The whole thing felt like such a cliché. You have sexy biker badboy doggedly pursuing the main character almost to the point of stalking. And then there is Olivia acting like a spoiled teenager wanting to rebel against her upbringing by dating the badboy from the wrong side of town. And none of the characters felt like real people.

But it wasn't just bikerboy panting after Olivia. Nope, there were three men circling Olivia and I did not care for any of them. If a book is going to catfish you into a romance, it could at least have the decency to present a decent love interest. But no, your choices here are shady lawyer with a wonky moral compass, stalkerish heir to a criminal organization, or controlling rich boy politician. I'll pause a minute to let you contain your enthusiasm...

I'm all for morally grey characters, but these guys would have to apply copious amounts of bleach to clean up enough to warrant that label. And as I mentioned, most of them were so clichéd in their roles. I certainly didn't need so many reminders that Olivia was turned on by bad and/or dangerous behavior. Again, the sheltered rich girl sowing her wild oats got old so fast.

 felt less like a mystery and more like romantic suspense - with most of the focus on the romance. Except it's a romance destined to fail. The story outright says that. And I didn't like the guy anyway, so it was hard to be invested in it. Which left me rolling my eyes for most of the book. There was a mystery subplot, but it got shoved to the side for most of the book and wasn't that interesting.

The mythology/folklore aspects continued to be underwhelming. Yes, they were more present than in the first book (which really only hinted at them). But none of it grabbed my attention or imagination the way folklore usually does. Perhaps because it was shrouded by so much drama and obfuscation. While more was revealed about Olivia's past and the secretive town, I continued to feel frustrated about how Armstrong drew out revealing the truth. And rather than feeling compelled to get answers, I feel this series just isn't for me. Seriously, how do you turn “my parents might be serial killers from a town full of supernatural beings” into such a snoozefest??

It is so convenient when a book sums up how I'm feeling about it. And that quote captured my opinion perfectly. Too bad those feelings weren't particularly generous.

This will be where I abandon this series. I've enjoyed Armstrong's more recent books significantly more than this series, and there is absolutely nothing luring me to finish something I feel so disinterested in. So adios, Olivia. You'll have to make your trainwreck decisions without me as witness.

Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars

Colleen

2.5 Stars

*A sequel that took the series in a disappointing direction and ended my interest in continuing with the series*


I was underwhelmed by Omens but thought it had enough potential to try to the sequel. Visions picked up the day after the first book. So the characters continued as if only a page turned. But the months between me reading the first and second books left things fuzzy. And the story certainly didn't do much to recapture my attention.

Like the first book, Visions switched between 1st & 3rd person, past tense leaving the narrative muddled and chaotic.

This series sounded like it had potential. The secret town full of creatures from folklore plus a murder mystery sounded like something I'd love. The first book seemed to lay a decent foundation though I had my qualms about it. But then Visions basically turned into a romance novel bordering on erotica with some over-the-top sex scenes – which would be fine if that’s what I signed up for, but it most certainly is not how this series is advertised. The whole thing felt like such a cliché. You have sexy biker badboy doggedly pursuing the main character almost to the point of stalking. And then there is Olivia acting like a spoiled teenager wanting to rebel against her upbringing by dating the badboy from the wrong side of town. And none of the characters felt like real people.

But it wasn't just bikerboy panting after Olivia. Nope, there were three men circling Olivia and I did not care for any of them. If a book is going to catfish you into a romance, it could at least have the decency to present a decent love interest. But no, your choices here are shady lawyer with a wonky moral compass, stalkerish heir to a criminal organization, or controlling rich boy politician. I'll pause a minute to let you contain your enthusiasm...

Done yet?

I'm all for morally grey characters, but these guys would have to apply copious amounts of bleach to clean up enough to warrant that label. And as I mentioned, most of them were so clichéd in their roles. I certainly didn't need so many reminders that Olivia was turned on by bad and/or dangerous behavior. Again, the sheltered rich girl sowing her wild oats got old so fast.

Visions felt less like a mystery and more like romantic suspense - with most of the focus on the romance. Except it's a romance destined to fail. The story outright says that. And I didn't like the guy anyway, so it was hard to be invested in it. Which left me rolling my eyes for most of the book. There was a mystery subplot, but it got shoved to the side for most of the book and wasn't that interesting.

The mythology/folklore aspects continued to be underwhelming. Yes, they were more present than in the first book (which really only hinted at them). But none of it grabbed my attention or imagination the way folklore usually does. Perhaps because it was shrouded by so much drama and obfuscation. While more was revealed about Olivia's past and the secretive town, I continued to feel frustrated about how Armstrong drew out revealing the truth. And rather than feeling compelled to get answers, I feel this series just isn't for me. Seriously, how do you turn “my parents might be serial killers from a town full of supernatural beings” into such a snoozefest??


I didn't understand. And I was so sick of these teases, of these hints, of all this weird shit that meant something and didn't mean something.


It is so convenient when a book sums up how I'm feeling about it. And that quote captured my opinion perfectly. Too bad those feelings weren't particularly generous.

This will be where I abandon this series. I've enjoyed Armstrong's more recent books significantly more than this series, and there is absolutely nothing luring me to finish something I feel so disinterested in. So adios, Olivia. You'll have to make your trainwreck decisions without me as witness.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

Briar's Reviews

Kelley Armstrong is by far one of my favorite authors, but this book let me down quite a bit.

Visions is the sequel to Omens, and by my opinion, made the series go down hill. 

Now, it's not the plot that is bad. The plot was fantastic, and the character development was fantastic. The speed and movement of the story was my issue with it. I found that this book was so much slower than the first one, and I wanted to put it down numerous times. I only didn't put it down because I love Kelley Armstrong and I wanted to see where her writing would go.

I wouldn't suggest this book to people, despite my love for Kelley Armstrong. This book was just to slow, and I almost don't want to read the next one because of this. But, I will, because I am very interested in the Gabriel character.

Overall, I wasn't impressed. I expected so much more out of this book.

Three out of five stars.

Maggie Gordon

(Probably a 3.5. Solid follow up to the first novel but slightly less compelling)

Olivia Jones is smart, capable, loyal... and the daughter of convicted serial killers. Taking refuge in the mysterious town of Cainsville, she is busy investigating her parent's case. But when the body of a missing girl is dumped in her car, she is forced to change tack. Trouble is, there's only one person who can help her - the charismatic, morally ambiguous lawyer Gabriel Walsh. The one man she has sworn never to trust again. Gabriel and Olivia are convinced that the killer is still at large in Cainsville. But secrets have a habit of staying buried in this eerily friendly town. And digging too deep has deadly consequences... A twisting and atmospheric standalone thriller, Visions is also book two in Kelley Armstrong's Cainsville series.

Becky

I mean, I thought Omens was good but this series is getting better as it goes along. The reveals are amazing, the mystery is intriguing and I am in love with the characters. There were parts of the story I don't like but even the stuff I don't like I still like (does that make sense?) and I am just so upset the final book in the series isn't out until next year (or at least it's the conclusion to this story arc anyway) so I've got to try and savour each book in this series so I don't have a long wait until August 2017. I just need to devour all Kelley Armstong books really. I am in love with this woman's writing.

Judy Hudgins

A great continuation to the first book in the series. Eden/Olivia finds out more about her background and the crazy lithe town she is now living in. Gabriel and Ricky are along for the ride. And who to pick? Sexy, biker, MBA student Ricky or brooding, strong Gabriel. But heads of dead girls in your bed doesn't leave much time for romance. There are still questions to be answered.

Chantale

I read this yesterday and I am so glad I read it on a day I had no plans at all because I just couldn't put it down and I didn't want to. I just wanted to keep reading until it was over.
Some of the questions have been answered but there are so many more now which makes me want to read the next book but unfortunately I will have to wait until the next book comes out.

This is a faced paced book that got me hooked from the very beginning. 

I highly recommend this book.

Rhiannon Mansfield

Toni pilato

Carlee Edwards 

Kayla Bruce

Ashley vatafu

Jeni Szilagyi

Miki Rose

danielle bush

Pam Sartain

Justine Travis

The second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling author’s Cainsville series Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, has just taken refuge in the secluded town of Cainsville when she finds a dead woman—dressed to look like Olivia—in her car. When the body vanishes, she convinces herself it’s just another omen. But then she learns a troubled young woman with connections to Cainsville went missing just days ago— the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. With the help of her recent and unlikely ally, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia sets out to uncover the truth, but her efforts place her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces.

Lauren Buchanan &
Visions by Kelley Armstrong

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