From Goodreads: When Hugh wakes up in a smoldering crater—no memory, no clothes—a single thought echoes in his head…trust no one. Frightened and alone, with no memory of who he is, he stumbles upon a grisly murder scene and is fatally shot. He wakes, only to find he can heal himself. He has superpowers, and he’s going to need them.
Desperate and bleeding, Hugh stumbles upon fifteen-year-old Cece, who’s got enough troubles of her own. Between caring for her bipolar mother and trying not to get evicted from her run-down trailer, Cece may be the only person struggling as much as Hugh. Drawn to Hugh, Cece finds a love she’s never known. But when the real killer—a man-hunting beast—chooses another victim, Hugh and Cece realize they must unlock the clues to their past if they have any chance at a future.
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This is a very short novel. At just under 200 pages, it is a quick read for those looking for something on the shorter side. Overall, I think it had a great concept and premise, but the execution just wasn’t my style. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was well done, but as I’ve found with many shorter novels, I just didn’t have time to connect with the characters on that deep level that I enjoy so much. Hugh and Cece are both interesting in their own right, and God knows they’ve been through hell and back, with Hugh’s inability to remember the past and trust a soul, and Cece’s home-life in a hoarding situation with her bipolar mother, but I wanted more. While I felt badly for them throughout the novel, that’s about as far as my feelings were able to extend because I just didn’t get to know either of them well enough. A little more fleshing out of character and an explanation and slowing down of the “whirlwind romance” would have been preferred for me, personally, but to each his/her own.
One aspect that I had a very difficult time with was that of the aliens. I am intrigued by stories of this nature and wanted to understand more about Hugh and his people right away, but French gives very little information in terms of Hugh’s background, and I never did figure out why all the murders were taking place or what the purpose was behind them. Obviously it’s connected to Hugh, but why it’s happening escaped me. Perhaps I just missed it, or maybe it’s something that will be addressed in the next book, but overall, I finished the book with more questions than answers. Two stars.
Katie French Books has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read this novel via Netgalley.
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