I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. I think it's safe to say that what I've written below is unbiased.

DNF 9%

While I was interested in the premise, I couldn't get past the writing style, particularly the inconsistent verb tenses and the awkward, overly descriptive sentences. (If you've read my other reviews and know me, you'll know one of my pet peeves is inconsistent tenses.) The straw that broke the camel's back was when Rory met the obvious love interest in such a forced way that my eyes almost didn't roll back down.

Let me set the scene.

Rory wakes up in the middle of the night while at the asylum. She tries to get back into the dream she was having about a boy. Suddenly, she's dragged out of bed by two nurses who mysteriously hate her.

She's taken to a room with all the other patients, who spit on her because they all mysteriously hate her, and she'll never make friends.

Turn the page...and some new male patient tries to comfort her. Here's a snippet of the exchange.

"Leave me alone," I shouted at him. He shot back from me, holding his hands in front of him in defense.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear. I was just trying to help," he said innocently. He still held his hands up, and when I straightened up showing him I wasn't scared, he ran them through his non-existent hair.

"Let me guess. You're new?" I tried.

He cocked his head.

"Your head is newly shaved, and you're not afraid of me yet," I told him. "You will get used to your hair, and you'll be staying away from me. Trust me."

I buried my head in my hands and tried to sink away from everything.

"What if I am not afraid of you?" the boy whispered in my ear. I tried hard not to show how scared I was of the intimacy of his breath on my body. "What if I want to get to know you? Then what?"

Without lifting my head I said, "You won't."

First of all, she's in an asylum for the "criminally insane", supposedly for killing her boyfriend but not remembering it. Which means all of the other patients would have to have done something criminal while experiencing severe mental health problems. The author keeps saying that everyone hates Rory, but why??? She says it's because they're scared of her, since she killed one person. And yet she doesn't look scary. She's spacey and skittish and is trying to understand why she's there, not terrorising the other patients. It doesn't make sense!

Second of all, the author seems to plop in sentences just to prepare for plot points. Page: everyone hates me and I don't have any friends. Next page: new boy is whispering sweet nothings in my ear.

Sorry, I don't think I can read any more of this. It's a shame, really, because the concept IS really interesting. It's just not well-executed and could have done with more editing and a few more drafts to develop the rough idea into a flowing, engaging story (with better grammar).