Review: The Unseen 2 (Blood Brothers and Sin and Salvation) by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Penguin (Speak)

Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 This book is a combination of Part III (Blood Brothers) and Part IV (Sin and Salvation), the first two books of The Unseen series. It's available only at Walmart.

Too many deaths, too many terrifying visions and sleepless nights have taken their toll on Lucy Dennison. She wonders if she can trust anyone or anything anymore - even her own mind. Lucy knows there must be something, somewhere that can tell her why she was chosen to receive the terrible visions, why she feels the sinister presence all around her. As Lucy searches desperately for answers, she knows time is running out. Too many people have disappeared - or worse - and the constant feeling of being surrounded by something truly evil grows stronger each night. Can Lucy defeat the evil in time?

Review:

It’s been a few weeks since I read this (maybe more, actually), so some of my emotions for it have lessened in intensity. So, sorry for that.

This was the third and last parts of the series, and I had more hopes for it than I received. The messy wording and usage of ellipses and italics was still very much present. The italics were probably the part that I didn’t mind the most; but there was still a huge amount used, and I’m sure it could annoy others.

And then there’s Lucy. She annoyed me so much. At the end of the second book, she sounded like she was accepting things and moving forward, but instead she proceeded to change nothing. She was still hesitant and denied everything (until the very end), and even when her friend tried to convince her otherwise, she denied things. I don’t… I don’t understand why the villain was after her. Because she’s easy and fun to play with, I guess? She’s not smart, so that couldn’t be it.

Also, she felt a lot for Gran and Byron, and I felt that that was a little fast. She didn’t really get to know either of them, but was still all but actually in love with Byron and protective of Gran. I honestly don’t see what everyone likes about her, or why they think she’s so special. She’s really not. There were more people than I thought in love with her by the end, and I just don’t get it.

The plot was actually pretty good, though. There were quite a few more complications thrown in, some of which I wasn’t expecting. Or, at least, the amount of which I wasn’t expecting. Although I didn’t quite understand what Lucy had to do with the family feud. (Maybe she was just another thing they were fighting over? Or perhaps it’s just fuzzy in my mind?)

Again, the biggest thing that bothered me was Lucy. She was dumb. And several other characters would have been a better protagonist. Byron’s sister or Dakota, for example.

And the ending! I don’t want to spoil it, but it frustrates me beyond belief. I couldn’t understand why Lucy thought what she was doing was a good idea, since it was very obviously not. Although, I kind of did like the ending, no matter how much her stupidity frustrates me, because she kind of deserved it. She even asked for it, for God’s sake.

I don’t know what else to say about it. I’m frustrated, and while it was kind of torturous to read at times, the ending bumped the rating up a bit. I hate Lucy and I kind of want to punch her in the face or something because she is so dumb. I did kind of like the villain and the twists that were thrown in. I could probably continue to rant about my hate for Lucy, but it would get repetitive and probably boring (as my frustration, in my head, is just nonsensical not-actual-words-but-sounds to express my feelings), so I’m not going to do that.

(Sidenote: Aren't the covers on the original version of the books, when they were first released separately, terrible? It goes really well with the books, though, as it is basically hinting that this is going to be one of those cheesy, maybe stereotypical mystery-horror books.)

Um, happy reading?