
Series: Insighter #2
Published by Berkley on November 7, 2017
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 320

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I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The New York Times bestselling author of the Undead Novels takes on reincarnation in this unforgettable Insighter Novel about the pitfalls in past—and love—lives…
Leah Nazir lives in a world where the past can and will come back to bite you in the ass. No, not teething ghosts—reincarnation! As an Insighter, it’s Leah’s job to delve into the murky and (often) deadly former lives of her patients. And she knows a thing or two about danger after killing her mother’s murderer with the help of new beau, Archer Drake.
Isn’t he the best?
Now, it’s time to take their relationship to the next level, but not in any way Leah could have predicted. She and Archer head to Chicago to meet his parents—and try to figure out why Archer’s dad killed his brother decades ago. When someone tries to sabotage their investigation, Leah must decide if the Drake family past is a deal breaker…
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During the first book, Deja Who, I had a difficult time adjusting to the writing style of MaryJanice Davidson. A lot of my problem revolved around the characters thought narration. Their thoughts were like they were interrupting themselves and I had a hard time with that. This is also something I noticed in Deja New, however, this time I was prepared for it. It still had me reading sentences over a second or third time, because I would lose track of the purpose of the sentence when their thoughts would wander off then return.
I did enjoy the Drake family and all their different personalities. They were a fun bunch and really brought out some smiles during the book. Archer and Leah are back, although after the first encounter at ICC failed, I wasn’t sure why they stayed on in the story. It was mostly focused on Angela and her fight for the man she believes is wrongly in jail. Besides a mind blowing revelation of Leah’s, and a little help from her for Jack, Archer and Leah don’t really play much of a part in Deja New.
Despite being mesmerized by the story, I was confused by the mystery. Even at the end, I still don’t think I completely understand the purpose behind the actions of the characters. We do go through a scene where it is explained to Angela, but for some reason the motives that are explained, don’t seem like substantial motives to me. It was a bit puzzling for me. I’m still not sure I understand exactly why what happened happened. It was a mystery for sure!
The mystery and the writing may have dampened some of the enjoyment of the book for me, but the characters really brought life to the story. Learning about each of them was fun and entertaining. I’d love to see more of them. I’m determined to be able to read this style of writing without the problem of losing train of thought. I also found the chapters going back to previous lives a little distracting and kept trying to apply them to the present characters.
Overall, I found I had a few problems with the book, but I felt the characters really saved it for me. They were interesting enough that they kept me entertained through most of my confusion.
Insighter Series
Reading this book contributed to these challenges: