Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Book blurb: “She walks a tightrope between psycho and smoking.”
When I saw this book on Netgalley and read the synopsis I HAD to have it, but I was so sure I wasn’t going to be approved that when I got it I swear I did a happy dance that resembled a scarecrow losing control of is limbs and two year old on sugar. Breathe, the concept of heaven, hell, limbo aka purgatory is ingrained in all human culture with their own versions to fit their beliefs. So it was nice to see Daniel’s take on such an old concept and give it a different spin. Purgatory’s mythology reminds me of a governmental agency with protocols and codes of conduct. And dire consequences for breaking the rules (unable to dim). Velveteen (rocking name) I liked her surly-ness she was a great character and it was easy for that surly-ness to be misunderstood. Truth be told I don’t know how I would be after being tortured over days then killed. How would you? I asked myself this and that’s how I approached Velveteen’s character considering she could have been insane towards the end of her life, she had found a way to cope with a horrible situation.
I liked that even though Velveteen was strong outwardly she was still vulnerable and doubted herself but despite having such a shity hand dealt to her, she didn’t have a pity party for herself. Even dead she tried to stop her killer haunting him saving his victims whenever she could. Logan and Louisa were my favorite secondary characters so cute but capable of extreme violence the fact they were older than Velvet reminded me of “Third rock from the sun” Tommy who looks the youngest but is in fact the oldest. The story had a nice flow and the pacing had me finished in two days that’s because I had to sleep. Nick, the love interest is the kind of guy any girl would fall for he says the right things, makes the right moves and is always ready to protect or support Velvet. Much to her dismay, though secretly she loves it and slowly he pushes pass her defenses. It seems that these two have destiny that maybe bigger than both of them. Isadora Velvet’s arch nemesis is barely worth mentioning that is until I read the ending and she surprised me Isadora showed some character by acknowledging Velvet after she had just saved them all.
Dirty bits what I didn’t like, the first chapter leads you to believe that this book will be about Bonesaw and Velvet their conflict. She came to terms with her death and the fact that he was still killing girls. I liked the idea of Velvet haunting him and f*@king up his crap, because if it were me I would want him dead too. The story shifted around quite a bit like incomplete thoughts I don’t know if that’s because its an arc or it was intentional. Nick and Velvet though I like them together there was a touch of instant love there, things seemed too easy. Though I know for a fact that this is a plausible relationship because it remedied me of my own relationship and how easy it was to be with each other. But this is a book make me work for it a little love triangles are only passé if there’re written terribly. Last thing about the romance as much as I liked Nick there were times in the story where he did come off as the girl (wanting to talk about their relationship) and Velvet the jerky guy who was having a little fun with the naive pretty girl, in this case boy.
The unanswered questions left in the air what happened to Bonesaw? What was Manny’s relationship with Clay? What happened that made Clay turn to the dark side? you know those pesky questions. Please tell us in book 2 please. I gave Velveteen a four out five despite its faults when I started reading they became transparent as I read, translation it didn’t get in the way of me enjoying this book. The pacing was good kept me on the hook until the finish line. And Daniel’s writing was so good the way he turned a phrase even if it sucked. I would have kept reading just see they way his words unfolded on the page. Sorry if I sound like a fan girl its just writing has always appealed to me stringing words together to make this world that didn’t exist before like J.K Rowling with Harry Potter, and having it make an impact on people. I just kept wanting to know what happened next.
If you have a YouTube channel subscribe to Danny’s YouTube channel his videos are funny and ranty at times but entertaining. As a subscriber I just wanted to say congratulation because getting to the finish line on publishing a book isn’t easy. Its like taking on a quest from the Olympian gods from start to finish. And if you find yourself reading this review Danny congratulations, and I hope you understand I kept my thoughts true even though I love ya big guy.
Disclaimer: I always try to be honest and impartial in my reviews my goal is not to tear down a writers work but to offer my most humble constructive opinions. Be it negative or positive it meant to be taken as such, after all these are just my opinions so please take it with a grain of salt.
Rating: 4/5
- Title: Velveteen by Daniel Marks
- Series: Velveteen #1
- Published: October 19, 2012
- Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
- Genre: Paranormal Romance
- Rating: 4 / 5
- Recommendations: Paranormal/ Urban Fantasy/ Ghost stories/
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 467
- Buy: Amazon
- Add to Goodreads
Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem. The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.
Bonesaw.
Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days. It’ll be brutal . . . and awesome.
But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker. Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking the rules. . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.