bunnieslikediamonds's review
5.0
Pleasantly surprised by this one. Set in Belfast, it tells the story of Alex, a boy who sees and converses with demons, and Anya, a psychiatrist with a troubled past. There is nothing spectacular about the paranormal elements of this novel. Ruen, the demon Alex pitifully thinks of as his best friend, is brilliantly described through Alex's eyes as a grumpy, childish and sometimes almost congenial Mozartloving creature, though it is obvious for the reader that he is in fact evil, whatever that means. The effect is eerie and disturbing. The portrayal of the neglected, traumatized boy is excellent, and his desperate optimism and selflessness very touching. The book has it's flaws, but the overall impact is impressive.
rfelt's review
4.0
So much to love about this book. The characters, the setting, the breakdown of demons in our lives...this is one I will be returning to.
emilyusuallyreading's review
3.0
This book had so much potential, but it failed. The ending failed me and made the entire book pointless. There is so little point that I might as well not even write my typical longer review.
yuno_hu's review
4.0
It's the second book I read by this author, the first one being 'A Guardian Angel's Journal' and I really did enjoyed both of them.
This story is about a boy named Alex and a special friend of him, Ruen.
Ruen is a demon, and Anya is a doctor trying to find out what's wrong with Alex for him to be having psycosis while dealing with her own demons herself.
The thing is: Does Alex have an imaginary friend? Or is Ruen real?
This story is told by to points of view, Alex's and Anya's.
And i find the transitions real good and interesting.
The story was overall delicious to read, it was fun, it was intense, it made me devour every chapter as quick as I could.
I read this book only knowing the title and i'm glad i did! And after the fist chapter I was addicted. I like the 'Memoirs of an imaginary friend' vibe going on but with more creepiness in. Do I make any sense?
Really looking foward for more of her books!
This story is about a boy named Alex and a special friend of him, Ruen.
Ruen is a demon, and Anya is a doctor trying to find out what's wrong with Alex for him to be having psycosis while dealing with her own demons herself.
The thing is: Does Alex have an imaginary friend? Or is Ruen real?
This story is told by to points of view, Alex's and Anya's.
And i find the transitions real good and interesting.
The story was overall delicious to read, it was fun, it was intense, it made me devour every chapter as quick as I could.
I read this book only knowing the title and i'm glad i did! And after the fist chapter I was addicted. I like the 'Memoirs of an imaginary friend' vibe going on but with more creepiness in. Do I make any sense?
Really looking foward for more of her books!
wombat_88's review
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
sjj169's review against another edition
3.0
This book was more of an 3.5 stars.
Alex is a young boy who lives with his mom in not the greatest of environments. She has tried to commit suicide several times and they are dirt poor. Alex is such an unusual boy though. He is way smarter than his years and there is the fact that he sees demons. In particular one demon named Ruen. Ruen appears to him mostly as a old man.
Ruen says he is helping Alex and I do see that he does that somethings but all in all-he is a shit. Being a demon allows that though.
Anya steps in to help the family. Mostly you know what happens when peole get involved "helping" someone. The mom and Alex both end up in the hospital. I did like Anya though. Her heart was in the right place but she was dealing with demons of her own.
That frigging ending though!
I did recieve a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alex is a young boy who lives with his mom in not the greatest of environments. She has tried to commit suicide several times and they are dirt poor. Alex is such an unusual boy though. He is way smarter than his years and there is the fact that he sees demons. In particular one demon named Ruen. Ruen appears to him mostly as a old man.
Ruen says he is helping Alex and I do see that he does that somethings but all in all-he is a shit. Being a demon allows that though.
Anya steps in to help the family. Mostly you know what happens when peole get involved "helping" someone. The mom and Alex both end up in the hospital. I did like Anya though. Her heart was in the right place but she was dealing with demons of her own.
That frigging ending though!
I did recieve a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
larissaleest's review against another edition
2.0
3.5 stars... it's time for bed. I'll explain tomorrow.
So.. it's a little past tomorrow. I couldn't make up my mind. I enjoyed this book but I feel like this book didn't reach its full potential.
I liked the characters, the writing style and the concept, but the plot was flat. No tension. My own curiosity got me through, which the story didn't really satisfy. A lot of things in the story were superfacial and there were no exciting parts. The pace stays the same. The story doesn't go from A to B. It's AAAAAAA all the time.
Every part stayed small and didn't develop towards the ending. Alex background could have been more detailed and the same goes for the story surrounding Poppy. So the concept is okay, but it could have been more.
The thing that most disappointed me... was actually the fact that the writer chose to stay with the clichés like Alex having a disorder instead of him seeing real demons whilst nobody believes him. The latter is what the synopsis indicates. But maybe that's just me. Carolyn could have used that and blown up the balance between hallucinations and reality.
Then there is "something" between Anya and Michael... but it felt like this was just because the writer needed something to fill the pages. A little break from one point to the other. It didn't do anything for the story. So it wasn't really necessary
So overall it was an okay read because mental illness still interests me and the writing is quite good. But I was expecting to be blown away especially by the uniqueness of the plot and that was not the case.
So.. it's a little past tomorrow. I couldn't make up my mind. I enjoyed this book but I feel like this book didn't reach its full potential.
I liked the characters, the writing style and the concept, but the plot was flat. No tension. My own curiosity got me through, which the story didn't really satisfy. A lot of things in the story were superfacial and there were no exciting parts. The pace stays the same. The story doesn't go from A to B. It's AAAAAAA all the time.
Every part stayed small and didn't develop towards the ending. Alex background could have been more detailed and the same goes for the story surrounding Poppy. So the concept is okay, but it could have been more.
The thing that most disappointed me... was actually the fact that the writer chose to stay with the clichés like Alex having a disorder instead of him seeing real demons whilst nobody believes him. The latter is what the synopsis indicates. But maybe that's just me. Carolyn could have used that and blown up the balance between hallucinations and reality.
Then there is "something" between Anya and Michael... but it felt like this was just because the writer needed something to fill the pages. A little break from one point to the other. It didn't do anything for the story. So it wasn't really necessary
So overall it was an okay read because mental illness still interests me and the writing is quite good. But I was expecting to be blown away especially by the uniqueness of the plot and that was not the case.
a_story_in_punk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nikkiaudralynn's review
dark
emotional
tense
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
3.0