Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Jamais Vu by Monique O'Connor James Review



Synopsis:
After an "accidental" shooting and a near death experience Darby Lambert must tame her demons, quell the dreams that haunt her, and reconcile her life. Darby wakes up every morning from a night of dreams about the demons that chased her in death, yet she was sent back by a figure in light, that spoke of an unfulfilled purpose she must complete.

Join her in efforts to find herself amist drugs, lies, and family secrets.
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My Review:
When Monique (I call her Mo) asked me if I wanted Jamais Vu before everyone else, so that I could review it and post my thoughts about it on its release day, I was beyond excited! Never before have I had the privilige of doing something as amazing as that. I am truely honored that she thought of me.

The first sentence in JV is, "There is nothing easy about dying; not the act itself, and certainly not the coming back." Never before has a first sentence sucked me in so completely. I knew that Jamais Vu was Monique's favorite, passing up her other paranormal novel The Keepers, which I loved so much! JV is even better! I love Monique's writing style. She was already one of my favorite authors after I read her first book, and now even more so!

Jamais Vu is part paranormal, part thriller. In it, Darby questions what is real and what is reality.  The things she sees are terribly frightening, and yet are described so perfectly that I actually had chills running along my spine. Monique has also crafted scenes that had me in tears, or extremely angry. (I really don't like her sister or Evan!) I also felt other things like how annoying it was for Darby when her sister would bother her, or the equally annoying sound of her therapists pen tapping against something. It's an emotional roller coaster that you will want to experience again and again.

Darby is 24 years old, has a stuck up, awful boyfriend, along with a bitchy sister, and parents that don't show her as much love and attention as she deserves. She drives a nice car and judges people based on how much money they have. But all of that changes when Darby accidentally shoots herself with her father's gun. Darby changes completely and becomes someone new.

Darby begins having these dreams of people she knows. Dreams about them being hurt and killed. Demons haunt her dreams, too. But one dream in particular, of a boy she has not yet crossed paths with, really stands out to her.

I loved all of the characters. Darby, is such a fun character. She's incredibly strong and yet so vulnerable at the same time. All she wants to do is help the people in her dreams escape their horrible fates. But I LOVE Kasey the most. He's the rocker that sings in a band, rides a motorcycle, and is still incredibly sweet. He's tortured, and has a drug problem. But despite my absolute hatred for drugs and what they do to people, I still fell incredibly hard for him. (Why isn't he real!?!?!) And not only are Darby and Kasey great by themselves,but their chemistry is simply amazing. The two of them just click.

Once again Monique creates a setting that is almost like a character itself! Joel's plantation house especially!

I love that the book has twists and turns that aren't fully revealed until close to the end. The mystery factor had me staying up until the early hours of the morning, frantically reading until I would pass out from exhaustion.  And oh my gosh, the cover! I had a serious case of cover love way before I even knew what the story would be about!

The ending is spectacular. I would have never guessed it would end that way. I am so excited to read the sequel Deja Vu, which will be the next book out from Mo! I love this book and highly recommend to anyone that likes paranormal mixed with a little bit of mystery and romance.

In short, JV has everything you could possibly hope for in a book: great plot, lovely setting, wonderful characters, entertaining and believeable dialog, haunting descriptions, action, romance, and a beautiful cover. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

Monique is not only a great writer, but also a great person! Even though I only know her through
 facebook, it's as if I've known her for a long time and I truely treasure my friendship with her. I encourage you to add her on facebook or to like her fan page!

Jamais Vu-a disorder of memory characterized by the illusion that the familiar is being encountered for the first time.
5/5

Happy Reading!
*Kristina*

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