*OTS* Innocence (Dean Koontz)

Welcome back to another review! I finally feel like I'm getting back on track with this blog, and I'm hoping to continue that so there is a new review every 2-3 weeks. For this review, I don't actually have a back story as to why I chose to read the book - there was no request, no friend suggestions, and no discovery through Tumblr: I just pulled it directly off the shelf and decided to give it a go! This is almost like my personal take off of Meghan Camarena's (Strawburry17) YouTube show called Something New. Since I don't have other people's opinions or preconceived notions of the book, my opinion can not be clouded by what I had already visioned in my mind. I'm going to call it Off The Shelf and will include OTS in the title of any review part of this series. Here we go :)

Innocence by Dean Koontz is an adult fiction novel, categorized as suspense, fantasy, and romance: which makes it a triple threat in my mind, since you get a little bit of everything. The story follows Addison, a boy left to lead a life of solitude beneath the city due to a difference in him that would certainly get him killed by society. Having been used to the horrors above ground, Addison becomes curious of a girl, Gwyneth lurking through the night despite her ability to exist in the day. Upon discovery of Gwyneth's secrets, Addison is drawn out of the shadows to help her survive from the horrors of her past. The story can be described as a contemporary version of Beauty and the Beast, in a round about way; two unlikely characters coming together for one purpose.

The overall story plot was interesting and I did find myself being drawn into the book whilst I was reading it; however, I found the book to be slow and I even found myself confused at times. Before I found myself immersed in the book, I was at least halfway through the novel itself - not something you want to discover. Once you are halfway through a book, you should have already been sold and at the point where you refuse to put the book down; I on the other hand was left wondering if I should just put it down and be done with it. Despite not wanting to continue, I did so for the sake of finishing the book for a complete opinion.

Upon completion, I was left with mixed emotions. The relationship that developed between Addison and Gwyneth was unique and believable, which I was very glad to discover. Seeing an unlikely pair grow together, despite their own flaws, restored my hope in authors creating believable relationships, instead of "society-perfected" ones. However, despite the wonderful relationship between the main characters, the writing of the book was flawed. The chapters continuously flipped between past memories and present occurrences, without any distinction between the two; the first few times this happened, I was left extremely confused. More confusion occurred when I finish the book, since one of the constant pieces brought up in the book didn't play a significant role or have an final explanation; to those who have read this, you will likely know that I am referring to the marionettes.

Alternate Cover

Overall I would rate this book a 2.5/5 because it was slow and had poor plot conclusions, but it did have a good character relationship. One thumbs up and one thumbs down!

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

P.s. Make sure to come back on September 1st for a special review!

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