Review: Beyond by S.P. van der Lee

Beyond by S.P. van der Lee

Series: Beyond, #1
Release Date: November 25th 2013
Format: ebook
Pages: 264
Genre: Young Adult – Paranormal/Romance
Source: Author
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
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Sixteen-year-old Raven desperately wants to fit in, but after using a Ouija Board, her already overwhelming hallucinations take a turn for the worse. A ghostly figure named Sam begins to haunt Raven and seems eager to kill her.
She’s saved by a reclusive biker named Damian who goes to the same school and appears to have an interest in her. Raven can’t help but feel drawn to him. Determined to uncover Damian’s connection to the ghost, Raven sets out to discover his secret and the reason Sam started haunting her. However, there’s more at stake than just her reputation. Raven’s choice between unveiling Damian’s true intentions, and living a normal life will put everyone she cares about at risk. To save them, she'll have to go beyond.

Lives are ruined.
Hearts are shattered.
Death lurks at every corner.

I really wanted to like this book but I didn’t. The plot is good but I think it could have been done better and I had a problem with the writing style.

This book follows the point of view of Raven. Raven is sixteen years old and has moved from house to house, constantly trying to fit in. She has been told her whole life that she is having hallucinations that just seem to be getting worse. Her mother insists she take medications to keep her hallucinations to a minimum. However one night when her and her friends decide to use a Ouija and she starts seeing things worse than ever. Then a very mysterious boy comes to her rescue and this of course becomes the love interest. You could tell that from like the first five pages though.

Just Raven and her mom are the ones that move from house to house. When I first started reading the book the mother seemed so fake and almost over the top that I thought there was no way that I am going to get through this book. I don’t know if I just got used to it or if it calmed down some but it bothered me a little less as I read more. At the beginning of the story her and her mother seem to be close but then something just snaps and she decides to constantly fight with her and break all the rules. Thankfully there weren’t a ton of interactions with the mother anyway.

Raven seemed so nosey, whiney, and vain that I could barely stand her. I felt no connections to the characters, which made me really not care about the book. The love triangle, which is sort of one sided is weird. I was sort of rooting for Simon’s character but he seems like he has something to hide. Damien is a bad boy that treats her like crap through most of the story but she is almost obsessed with him and she has no reason to be. Her friends, Lillian and Emma, are pretty much the definition of mean girls. I see no reason why she would want to be friends with them.

There are some inconsistencies with the book and with some editing I think this could be better. However, I had to force myself to finish the book. There was one part towards the end of the book that had me intrigued to see what happens next. I always like to give the second book in the series a try, just to see if it gets better. So if there is a second book released then I will probably be reading it.

 

Oh but I do like the cover...

My Rating

 

 

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.