Synopsis:
Quinn is looking forward to her senior year at Poe University. She has big plans to hang out with her best friend, flirt with a cute boy-genius, party at her favorite dive bar, and figure out what she¹s going to do after graduation with her not-so-useful art major. But that’s before she meets Luke, a hot townie who’s moved back home to help take care of his dying sister. And it’s before a weird epidemic sweeps across campus, mysteriously turning people’s eyes purple.
Is it an odd side effect from a new party drug?
Is it a rogue virus developed in a campus lab?
Is it the mark of the devil?
Tensions heat up as more people become infected. Soon the town starts blaming the university and the student religious group becomes frighteningly aggressive in their accusations. Quinn and Luke are caught in the middle, a place that becomes further complicated when an on-campus tragedy reveals Luke to be more than the happy-go-lucky boy-next-door Quinn had believed him to be.
My review:
Heartsick is the debut work from author Caitlin Sinead and is a page-turner from start to finish.
College senior Quinn is happy to be starting her senior year. Poe University is a small school in an even smaller town and though at times the locals and the students don’t mix well, for the most part it’s a great location. Things are of to the normal beginning of the year start when it gets weird around campus. People’s eyes had started turning purple. As if that wasn’t weird enough, there were other abilities being noticed too. Like the ability to heal faster, for one. Now everyone was trying to get to the bottom of things, including Quinn’s newest beau. Would they all be able to survive this weird epidemic?
Now, this was a mystery from the very beginning and I am a no-spoiler type of gal so I’m going to do my best not to give anything away in his review. I really loved a lot of aspects of this story. Quinn’s sense of humor and descriptions of things (like how her boyfriend, Luke, laughs) were two of my favorite things about this book. Another thing I loved was the pacing and introduction of more and more mystery. I was really kept guessing about a lot while reading and I like that in a story. Especially if it’s done well, which it was in Heartsick. From what was causing this purple eyed sickness to what Luke did for a living, we were given bits and pieces throughout the book that all add up in the end and it was a real keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat read. There were also more than a few twists I hadn’t seen coming and that added even more to this book. Add to all of that a dash of romance with Quinn and Luke and it was rounded out beautifully.
Mystery, suspense, romance, and action, Heartsick is a fantastic debut! I look forward to seeing what author Sinead has in store for us next.
Four Loves
Book links:
About the author: (from Goodreads)
I am represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc. and my debut novel, Heartsick, will be published by Carina Press in 2015. My writing has appeared (or is forthcoming) in multiple publications including The Alarmist, The Binnacle, Crunchable, Jersey Devil Press, and Northern Virginia Magazine. I earned a master’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2011 and have also studied writing at the College of William and Mary and Yale University. I currently work as an editorial manager and continue to keep an eye out for good stories.