Review: Head Rush

Head Rush

By:  Carolyn Crane

Publisher:  Samhain

Publish Date:  October 2011

Format:  Audiobook

Genre:  Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Series:  3rd of Disillusionist Trilogy; 1st Book ~ Mind Games, 2nd Book ~ Double Cross, 2.5 (short story in) Wild & Steamy

Recommendation:  Yes, and if you started this trilogy you need to finish it!  I just love the take on the phobias and zinging.

Book Synopsis:
Justine Jones faces her ultimate enemy: herself!

In an attempt to put her unhappy past behind her, Justine Jones throws herself into nursing school and planning her wedding to Otto Sanchez, the man of her dreams.  But something is off.  Random Details aren't adding up...and is it her imagination, or are her friends and fiance keeping secrets from her?  And what's with this strange sense of unease, and her odd new headaches?

Justine tries to stay upbeat as Midcity cowers under martial law, sleepwalking cannibals, and a mysterious rash of paranormal copycat violence, but her search for answers leads her into the most dangerous mindgame yet.

With the help of unlikely allies, including her paranoid dad and best frenemy Simon, Justine fights her ultimate foe...and unravels the most startling mystery of all.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Weeks since last free of body guards Otto has assigned to "protect" her, Justine is with Simon eluding her protectors and looking for her car.  Justine only has two Disillusionist friends left, Simon (hard to believe) and Shelby, as the others have all left on their own missions and a few left with Packard... after what Packard did (at end of Double Cross).  Justine has a full life; along with not zinging in sixty-two days and counting, she's going to nursing school, doing Mid-city things with Otto, and planning her wedding.  Although she has a feeling the world ended the day of the shooting, but she is doing her best to carry on... until things start to come to her attention.

I listened to this book as I couldn't wait for it to come into print, and I will purchase the print version as well to complete my set here.  I'm not much of a book listener, and this was my first experience.  I do think I prefer to read as I get to reread sections as I want when I like them or feel there is more to the words than first interpreted.  But the narrator did a very fine job with the characters.  She had different voices for the characters, some of which I would never have hear like she did but they worked.

The starts of this book gives us a reminder of Justine as we first found her in Mind Games, the hypochondriac version of Justine.  It was so different seeing her this way after evolving with her in Double Cross, but was wonderful in tying the books together and a reminder where we started before the bang of an ending here.  As Justine is one to have things come at her timing, things do surface and Justine returns to the Justine we all remember so fondly and loved in Double Cross.  But in the end Justine evolves even further!  Amazing!  I loved that.

The characters, we get a full cast here again as we easy back into the world.  We get our Simon, lol Simon.  He makes me laugh with his clothing selections and his desire to make Justine do things she doesn't want to do - always a bet for him to make, even if it's with himself.  We see Shelby, who is still hurting.  But we get to meet Justine's dad in this book as well!  I LOVE her dad.  He fits the need we have to know Justine's history and sooo makes the book in the last half.  He really is a great person, even with his own phobia.  Oh, did I not mention Otto and... Packard?  Well, they are here too.  But I'm not mentioning them as I might give something away I don't want to. ;)  I will say... it seems to Justine all her friends and lover have secrets they are keeping and working on, without Justine.

The world in Midcity is still a mess.  We have the cannibal sleepwalkers controlled by the dream invader then there are copy cat murders showing up, ones copying the murders of the highcaps Otto has put away.  The streets are dangerous and there is a curfew put into affect by Otto.  We do get to spend some time in the Tangle, which I find interesting since reading the short story in Wild & Steamy.  I love this tangled mess as it seems a world all its own.

This book was wonderfully done and I'm so grateful Carolyn found someone to print it.  It's the conclusion to her Disillusionist trilogy and one that ties all together wonderfully.


I listened to this book for my own pleasure.