Review: Velveteen

Velveteen by Daniel Marks 

Release: October 9, 2012

Source: e-ARC from publisher 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me just say that Velveteen really surprised me.

The blurb above tends to misled the reader into thinking that the story is about a girl, Velveteen, who is murdered and sneaks out of purgatory to haunt her killer. This premise was unique and intriguing and I started Velveteen with certain expectations. Yes, Velveteen haunts her killer, Bonesaw. Yes, there is some gore. But that is not the real story. 

The real story? A Purgatory Revolution. 

For those in purgatory, life is not ideal. It's bleak, mundane, with no way of knowing when they will "move on" (be it heaven or hell). Velveteen is stuck in purgatory, in the middle of unrest. 

I admit, I was somewhat disappointed. I was looking for a revenge story and didn't get it. Eventually, I accepted disappointment and accepted the book for what it was: a story about revolution. And around page 100, I was hooked. Be warned, though:  this book is not for the faint of heart. There's still plenty of gore and plenty of mayhem that makes this more of an "upper young adult novel". 

So, why did I like Velveteen? 

Reason number one: Velveteen. She's a kick-butt girl, full of anger and snark. Who wouldn't like her?

Reason number two: the descriptions. Daniel Marks has a way with words. There's no doubt about that. And the way he weaves those words together to paint such vivid images of Purgatory and its word is just fantastic!

Reason number three: world building. This goes hand in hand with descriptions, but yeah. I found the world-building fascinating and incredibly unique. It's definitely not your "run of the mill" story.

If I had one complaint, it'd be the romance. Now, don't get me wrong. I like Velveteen and Nick. I just wish that the romance could have been turned down just a notch. There's so much going on in this book that, honestly, I couldn't care less who hooked up with who. I was more concerned about the revolution and the ramifications of it.

I'm not going to lie--this book felt long. It was good, but long. And, I think part of reason it felt that was was because Marks tried to put so much into one book. It could have benefited from a little more trimming, plot wise.

Regardless, I did enjoy this book. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, so hopefully this review gives you an accurate picture of what to expect from Velveteen.

Also, check out my Q&A with author Danny Marks HERE. 

RATING: 4 SLICES