The author sent me an ARC of this book (mobi format) in exchange for an honest review.
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Plot
(by Goodreads)
Aimee killed a man. Worse yet, she enjoyed it.
Aimee has survived a bombing, a killer’s torture chamber, countless evils harbored deep within the minds of psychopaths and killers, and even death. But now, the greatest threat is the evil barely contained within.
With her ascension, Aimee gained great power. She no longer needs to touch a person for their every memory and thoughts to be divulged. With that power, she now feels the pull to become judge, jury, and executioner to those who commit evil in this world.
Despite her desire to be alone with Logan and live a normal life, she soon realizes that she, in fact, is the greatest threat to the normality she craves. Without control of her own powers, she inadvertently causes harm to those she loves the most. Aimee is forced to seek out the only other person in this world that can help her: Brett.
Together, they explore the world as ascended beings, reveling in the intoxication of mind control, as flames of love ignite between them. With each new emotion explored, the reasons behind the origin of her powers are slowly revealed.
| Genre(s): | Teen & Young Adult > Horror Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban |
| Series: | The Haunting of Secrets, #3 |
| Length: | 154 pages |
| Release date: | 2016-09-13 |
Teaser
Not surprisingly, all the scary parts are about me. I can’t quite form the words to tell him how I grew stronger after David’s death. How could he ever understand that I now see everything in black and white and that every single person I meet has strange colors that represent thoughts billowing out of their brains like a tornado filled word gusher?
Worst still, how can I tell him that Brett is cursed like me? We both have deceived him by not telling him who we really are. Logan could hate me for keeping things like that from him. I can’t take that chance.
My Opinion
This third instalment of The Haunting of Secrets series takes the readers back to 16-year-old Aimee. After her ascension, nothing is the same, and she is torn between Logan and Brett.
With Unleashed, Shelley R. Pickens has created an intriguing sequel to the story of a girl who tries to keep to herself. Her secret has taken on another dimension. An unanticipated power leads Aimee on a dangerous path. Unleashed is a gripping read with a three-dimensional main character; Aimee’s decisions have consequences. Shelley R. Pickens develops the story in a great way – it gets more and more thrilling as the story proceeds. I was drawn into the story right away, trying to keep a little distance to Aimee and all events – due to the evil aspects.
Unleashed is a great read for young adults as well as fans of paranormal and mystery reads.
Recommended!
In brief:
| Cover | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
| Writing | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
| Plot | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
| Characters | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
| Mood | Suspenseful |
| Pace | Fast |
| POV | First person – present tense |
| Language |  |
| Violence | 😡 |
| Sexual content | |
About the author
Shelley Pickens has been in love with anything and everything on the dark side of paranormal since the time she learned to read. After 15 years of teaching Spanish to high schoolers, she decided to take her unique firsthand knowledge of young adults and apply it to her passion for creative writing and fantasy. When not teaching or writing, Shelley likes to spend time with her husband and two beautiful children in Atlanta, Ga. Her escape from reality is her love of complex thriller and science fiction TV series like Supernatural and Sleepy Hollow. In her spare time she is an avid reader of all types of genres
Connect with the author:
Please take a look at my statement on reading in My train of thoughts on …reading. Now I am asking you. 🙂
My questions for you bibliophiles:
What about you? What did you think about Unleashed? Or – if you did not yet read Unleashed – are you now interested in reading it yourself?
I am looking forward to reading your comments. 🙂
My train of thoughts on... 
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Honestly–no. Although I love a good horror/suspenseful tale, I’m not into young adult fiction. I am glad you enjoyed it though. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
Thank you, Anna. Due to the variety of genres, we all find books and/or series to our liking. YA covers lots of topics (not all my favourites); it was a pleasure reading Shelley Pickens’ series.
Thank you Karen for reading my book and for the wonderful review! Hugs!
Thank you for re-uniting me with Aimee, Shelley. Hugs.
Reblogged this on Author Shelley R. Pickens and commented:
Doing the happy dance- 4/5 stars for Unleashed!
I had a great time reading, Shelley. The praise is well deserved.