chymerra
Written on Sep 24, 2016
**All opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone. I received Serene (A Dr Rachel E. Color-Me-Mystery) from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) through NetGalley for free for my honest review**
Now onto my review:
I was intrigued by premise of this book. It is part adult (and stress adult….the pictures in there are not safe for work or around kids) coloring book and part mystery. I made the huge mistake of leaving my Kindle on with one of the pictures up and my 11-year-old had a look. Thankfully she had no clue what it was but still…lol.
If I had the paperback (or even hardcover) of the book, I would have been totally coloring in those pictures. They looked fun to color and did go with the story.
The story, itself was also very decent. In the beginning, it was all over the place….which is something I absolutely hate in a book. But once we got past Rachel’s back story, the story progressed very nicely and the author did a great job keeping who the bad guy a mystery until the very end.
Rachel had overcome a lot in this book. Her parents moved her to a commune when she was 10, being chosen as a “bride of passion” by the commune leader and raped when she was 12 and her parents dying at a young age. That’s a lot for a kid and she has issues (mainly in the sex area because of obvious reasons). She returns to the commune after two IDF soldiers, who just so happen to be ex members of the same cult she was in, are murdered in horrific ways. That’s where she agrees, with the help of her own psychiatrist/lover, to become the beta tester for a project that her parents were working on when they died.
I won’t say much about the book after this point but I will say that it is full of androids, some very weird and disgusting sexual practices by so-called normal people and one woman who is just looking for answers.
I did like that the Kabbalah was mentioned in here. Rachel was a student of it and the author did get into some of what it is about….but not enough. I kinda wished that he did because I find it fascinating.
The end of the book was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting the killer to be who it was and only because that person was cleared in the beginning of the book. I am pretty good at figuring out mysteries and this one I didn’t and it still chafes at me….lol.
How many stars will I give Serene? 4
Why? It is an interesting combo of adult coloring book and mystery. Just don’t read around children or at work because the coloring part is very sexual. The mystery did keep me guessing until the end.
Will I reread? Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes but with a warning about the coloring book pages.
Age range: Adult
Why? Sexual coloring pages, child rape, sexual situations and language.