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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Second in the Cainsville urban fantasy series set between Chicago and a small town outside it and revolving around Olivia Taylor-Jones, alias Eden Larsen, and Gabriel Walsh.
It’s been three weeks since Olivia fled her home in Omens, 1, and only yesterday that Edgar Chandler was arrested.
My Take
I do love the sound of this town, a perfect Currier and Ives cozy village, where everyone is interested in everyone else. Until you begin to see under that rug, the questions that rise up. I also love the story, even if Armstrong makes me crazy with all the questions I have, the information I want, and she keeps on tugging at my heartstrings, my curiosity…I gotta know!
It's a dance through Visions. Some of the story is told from Liv's perspective using the first person and some is from Gabriel's but using the third person. It's one of changing relationships, growing knowledge, forays of manipulation… Olivia and Gabriel each need to grow, to understand themselves and the people and family around them better. God knows we learn a ton more about Gabriel's childhood, who his father is. The opposition who steps momentarily out of the shadows along with the visions that begin to break down Liv and Gabriel's resistance. Truths rising up.
Olivia is developing a backbone when it comes to family. And as much as Cainsville comes to mean to her at the end, it's also giving her a truer life. Gabriel. Oh, you'll cry for this Gabriel. He only knows survival and at such a cost.
LOL, Rose has dating advice…and it involves banana bread. It is not, however, advice that will help Liv, caught as she is between three men. A man she feels duty-bound to love even as she realizes the truth about her attraction to him, the contrast forcing her to see the other two as too real, too alive to be ignored.
Ya really gotta feel for Gabriel. He's so careful, so held back, so bound around by his own childhood issues that when Olivia comes into his life, he has no idea how to handle it. Even if the elders are all rooting for him. And I can see Olivia's point about Gabriel's promises. Dang it. I want to say she's wrong, to go for it, but Armstrong has made that impossible! And then there's Rose. Lol, she does not pull her punches when it comes to assessing her grand-nephew.
There's Ricky, mmmm-mmm, a man who is too persistent for words. It's impossible to say no for so many reasons, lol. Gorgeous, fair, and honest. He's so honest…! He's also romantic and so amazingly vulnerable that he is sweet.
Then there's James. The man who "can see beyond her background" and can't bear to lose.
It's a messy story with all the balls Armstrong has tossed into the air. Balls that may seem unrelated but that are all pushing at Olivia and Gabriel to change how they see their worlds. Balls that change how we see the characters in the series.
The Story
There are omens and portents everywhere Olivia looks, a "gift" her birth mother refuses to explain. Only there’s one "portent" that Olivia doesn’t need explained when James confronts Gabriel about their deal. And Olivia is furious at learning the truth about why Gabriel hired her.
But there’s still the appeal for her birth mother. There’s still the omens and now the visions arising…
The Characters
Olivia Taylor-Jones, a.k.a., Eden Larsen, is the adopted daughter of Lena Taylor and the now-deceased Arthur Jones and heiress to a department store fortune. Lena is not a demonstrative mother; it was her adopted father with whom Olivia had such a warm and loving relationship. Howard is her adopted mother's lawyer. Pamela Larsen is her birth mother and imprisoned for life for multiple murders. Her birth father, Todd, is in another prison. TC is the cat she doesn't want. The same one that goes missing and Olivia goes nuts.
Gabriel Walsh looks like a thug in an expensive suit. In reality, he's a wealthy defense lawyer who knows what his clients face. He's hired Olivia as an investigative assistant to aid him in preparing her mother's appeal. His mother was Seanna Walsh, a drug addicted prostitute who cared more about her fix than her son whom she abandoned at 15. His Great-aunt Rose is a psychic in Cainsville who wished she could have done more for him as a child. Lydia is Gabriel's secretary.
Ricky Gallagher is Don's son pursuing an MBA. Don Gallagher heads Satan's Saints, a motorcycle gang, and he's one of Gabriel's clients. Wallace is Don's sergeant-at-arms. Chad "Sully" Sullivan is an errant member of the gang.
James Morgan is Olivia's ex-fiancé. He's the CEO of a rising tech firm, the son of a former Illinois senator, and on the city's most eligible bachelor lists. Karen is James' administrative assistant. She used to like Olivia. James is getting an ultimatum from Neil, his father's former campaign manager. Maura is his escalating mother.
Detective Fuentes insists on interviewing Olivia about Ciara. Kendrick Walker works at a funeral home.
Cainsville is a sweet, sleepy village with some deep secrets. Susie is a fellow waitress at the diner, which is owned by Larry, an ex-con and a dream boss. Grace is Olivia's landlady. The elders of the village include Ida and Walter Clark, Veronica and Roger who volunteer at the police station, and Minnie. Patrick is the diner's resident novelist and one of the few who dares to talk back to the elders. Chief Eddie Burton is married with two teens. Doc Webster is the town doctor.
The drug-addicted Ciara Conway is one of their own. And the woman Olivia saw in her car. Macy Shaw is the trapped woman at the State Hospital, and she's a gamechanger. Her brother, Tommy, has had numerous run-ins with the law.
The Carew house is owned by Cainsville and has been abandoned since its last owner died. Daere Carew Bowen is Pamela's mother and Liv's maternal grandmother, a.k.a., Grandma Jean, who married John Bowen. They moved to Chicago where John was a factory foreman.
Edgar Chandler was arrested for two of the murders for which her parents had been sentenced: Jan Gunderson and Peter Evans. Seems that Will Evans, Peter's father, was the one who killed his son and his girlfriend. Michael Anderson was Chandler's bodyguard, the one who's now missing half his foot.
The Black Shuck, a.k.a., the black dog, a Cŵn, means danger to everyone in Cainsville. It's a Cŵn Annwn who confronts Olivia at the fund raiser, gives her the boar's tusk amulet, tells her she has no reason to fear the black hounds. The nice one who wants Olivia to come over to their side. The Wild Hunt, a.k.a., Gabriel's Hounds. I get the impression that Arawn is a leader or something of the Cŵn Annwn when Minnie wonders if Ricky is this Arawn.
Tristan Crouch is with The Belarus Group and very persuasive.
Tylweth Teg are Fae; do not say fairies! Matilda is Mallt-y-nos, the Night Hag, and seduced into one last ride. A choice that will doom her. And lose her Gwynn of the Tylweth Teg to Arawn's delight.
The Cover
The cover is the dark grey of the rounded roof of an old Queen Anne porch for a house going to wrack and ruin, ravens flitting about in the green-toned stormy sky.
But are the Visions in this title truly dreams, hallucinations, or reality?
It’s been three weeks since Olivia fled her home in Omens, 1, and only yesterday that Edgar Chandler was arrested.
My Take
I do love the sound of this town, a perfect Currier and Ives cozy village, where everyone is interested in everyone else. Until you begin to see under that rug, the questions that rise up. I also love the story, even if Armstrong makes me crazy with all the questions I have, the information I want, and she keeps on tugging at my heartstrings, my curiosity…I gotta know!
It's a dance through Visions. Some of the story is told from Liv's perspective using the first person and some is from Gabriel's but using the third person. It's one of changing relationships, growing knowledge, forays of manipulation… Olivia and Gabriel each need to grow, to understand themselves and the people and family around them better. God knows we learn a ton more about Gabriel's childhood, who his father is. The opposition who steps momentarily out of the shadows along with the visions that begin to break down Liv and Gabriel's resistance. Truths rising up.
Olivia is developing a backbone when it comes to family. And as much as Cainsville comes to mean to her at the end, it's also giving her a truer life. Gabriel. Oh, you'll cry for this Gabriel. He only knows survival and at such a cost.
LOL, Rose has dating advice…and it involves banana bread. It is not, however, advice that will help Liv, caught as she is between three men. A man she feels duty-bound to love even as she realizes the truth about her attraction to him, the contrast forcing her to see the other two as too real, too alive to be ignored.
Ya really gotta feel for Gabriel. He's so careful, so held back, so bound around by his own childhood issues that when Olivia comes into his life, he has no idea how to handle it. Even if the elders are all rooting for him. And I can see Olivia's point about Gabriel's promises. Dang it. I want to say she's wrong, to go for it, but Armstrong has made that impossible! And then there's Rose. Lol, she does not pull her punches when it comes to assessing her grand-nephew.
There's Ricky, mmmm-mmm, a man who is too persistent for words. It's impossible to say no for so many reasons, lol. Gorgeous, fair, and honest. He's so honest…! He's also romantic and so amazingly vulnerable that he is sweet.
Then there's James. The man who "can see beyond her background" and can't bear to lose.
It's a messy story with all the balls Armstrong has tossed into the air. Balls that may seem unrelated but that are all pushing at Olivia and Gabriel to change how they see their worlds. Balls that change how we see the characters in the series.
Note to Self: Don't pack weapons in a purse or backpack unless they're spares.
The Story
There are omens and portents everywhere Olivia looks, a "gift" her birth mother refuses to explain. Only there’s one "portent" that Olivia doesn’t need explained when James confronts Gabriel about their deal. And Olivia is furious at learning the truth about why Gabriel hired her.
But there’s still the appeal for her birth mother. There’s still the omens and now the visions arising…
The Characters
Olivia Taylor-Jones, a.k.a., Eden Larsen, is the adopted daughter of Lena Taylor and the now-deceased Arthur Jones and heiress to a department store fortune. Lena is not a demonstrative mother; it was her adopted father with whom Olivia had such a warm and loving relationship. Howard is her adopted mother's lawyer. Pamela Larsen is her birth mother and imprisoned for life for multiple murders. Her birth father, Todd, is in another prison. TC is the cat she doesn't want. The same one that goes missing and Olivia goes nuts.
Gabriel Walsh looks like a thug in an expensive suit. In reality, he's a wealthy defense lawyer who knows what his clients face. He's hired Olivia as an investigative assistant to aid him in preparing her mother's appeal. His mother was Seanna Walsh, a drug addicted prostitute who cared more about her fix than her son whom she abandoned at 15. His Great-aunt Rose is a psychic in Cainsville who wished she could have done more for him as a child. Lydia is Gabriel's secretary.
Ricky Gallagher is Don's son pursuing an MBA. Don Gallagher heads Satan's Saints, a motorcycle gang, and he's one of Gabriel's clients. Wallace is Don's sergeant-at-arms. Chad "Sully" Sullivan is an errant member of the gang.
James Morgan is Olivia's ex-fiancé. He's the CEO of a rising tech firm, the son of a former Illinois senator, and on the city's most eligible bachelor lists. Karen is James' administrative assistant. She used to like Olivia. James is getting an ultimatum from Neil, his father's former campaign manager. Maura is his escalating mother.
Detective Fuentes insists on interviewing Olivia about Ciara. Kendrick Walker works at a funeral home.
Cainsville is a sweet, sleepy village with some deep secrets. Susie is a fellow waitress at the diner, which is owned by Larry, an ex-con and a dream boss. Grace is Olivia's landlady. The elders of the village include Ida and Walter Clark, Veronica and Roger who volunteer at the police station, and Minnie. Patrick is the diner's resident novelist and one of the few who dares to talk back to the elders. Chief Eddie Burton is married with two teens. Doc Webster is the town doctor.
The drug-addicted Ciara Conway is one of their own. And the woman Olivia saw in her car. Macy Shaw is the trapped woman at the State Hospital, and she's a gamechanger. Her brother, Tommy, has had numerous run-ins with the law.
The Carew house is owned by Cainsville and has been abandoned since its last owner died. Daere Carew Bowen is Pamela's mother and Liv's maternal grandmother, a.k.a., Grandma Jean, who married John Bowen. They moved to Chicago where John was a factory foreman.
Edgar Chandler was arrested for two of the murders for which her parents had been sentenced: Jan Gunderson and Peter Evans. Seems that Will Evans, Peter's father, was the one who killed his son and his girlfriend. Michael Anderson was Chandler's bodyguard, the one who's now missing half his foot.
The Black Shuck, a.k.a., the black dog, a Cŵn, means danger to everyone in Cainsville. It's a Cŵn Annwn who confronts Olivia at the fund raiser, gives her the boar's tusk amulet, tells her she has no reason to fear the black hounds. The nice one who wants Olivia to come over to their side. The Wild Hunt, a.k.a., Gabriel's Hounds. I get the impression that Arawn is a leader or something of the Cŵn Annwn when Minnie wonders if Ricky is this Arawn.
Tristan Crouch is with The Belarus Group and very persuasive.
Tylweth Teg are Fae; do not say fairies! Matilda is Mallt-y-nos, the Night Hag, and seduced into one last ride. A choice that will doom her. And lose her Gwynn of the Tylweth Teg to Arawn's delight.
The Cover
The cover is the dark grey of the rounded roof of an old Queen Anne porch for a house going to wrack and ruin, ravens flitting about in the green-toned stormy sky.
But are the Visions in this title truly dreams, hallucinations, or reality?
marquez's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mpuzzle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
danielled75's review against another edition
4.0
OMG, I really hope there will be more. Review will be posted closer to release date.
varsh31's review against another edition
4.0
I just love this series. Now I have to wait an entire year for the conclusion.
enchantedbibliophile's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
While I guessed at the goings-on in Cainsville while reading Omens, I was still totally wrapped up and lost in Olivia's world.
It started with me wanting to know more about her parents, and it ends with me desperately needing to find the next book, because I realised it's all about Cainsville.
This is just the exact right combination of mystery, intrigue and myth to hit my sweet spot of enjoyment.
It started with me wanting to know more about her parents, and it ends with me desperately needing to find the next book, because I realised it's all about Cainsville.
This is just the exact right combination of mystery, intrigue and myth to hit my sweet spot of enjoyment.
killerkakez1224's review against another edition
5.0
Ugh, why do I let my friends suck me into series' when I'm still in school?! Well written, well researched, the lore is interwoven in such a way as to not be intrusive.
aliyyahj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0