Review: Omens by Kelley Armstrong

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

Shona's review 5 of 5 stars

I have been a fan of Armstrong's Otherworld series for many years and this series has been on my list to read for quite some time, I've just never gotten round to buying a copy until very recently. But once that book came through the post I knew I couldn't let it languish on my shelf unread. I picked the book up briefly last night to read a few chapters and before I knew it I was 100 pages deep into Olivia's story and showing no sign of wanting to leave it. 

I liked Olivia right from the very beginning. She was more than just a spoiled rich kid.... and when the truth of her parentage came to light she didn't attempt to throw money at the problem and although she left to try and diffuse the situation she did that for her (adoptive) mothers benefit. Its only natural that she would want to seek answers from her biological parents, especially when she starts having dreams/memories of the time she spent with them. But I was a little surprised at how quick she was to agree to look in to their case, to try and find something to clear their name.

I loved Olivia's relationship with Gabriel. I'm not quite sure if I like Gabriel yet or not, but as Olivia starts to trust him more so do I and I cant wait to see how their relationship develops throughout the series.

There are lots of questions asked in this book, and very few answers. And its one of the reasons why I loved this, we're left wanting more and I'm definitely keen to get started on the next book in the series.