Review – Head Rush (The Disillusionists, Book 3) by Carolyn Crane (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 475 KB
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd
Release Date: December 6, 2011
ASIN: B006BDKTBK
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd in Disillusionists Trilogy
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the third book in the Disillusionists trilogy by Crane. The second book ended on a total cliffhanger and then when Crane’s publisher dropped the series I almost died of suspense. I was so happy to see the third book finally published and what an awesome third book it is.

Justine is in nursing school now and working on her wedding plans to Otto. She doesn’t remember most of what happened at the end of Book 2. She thinks Packard killed Avery. But there are inconsistencies. Where did her car go? Why does she flinch every time Otto reaches for his breast pocket? Why does she panic when she thinks about Packard in danger? Justine has to figure out what happened to her, she has to stop Otto from taking over the city, she has to deal with her debilitating hypochondria, and she has to do it all before she gets married. Otto has said that everything will change after their wedding and for some reason Justine thinks that it won’t be a change for the better.

I pretty much love this series. It is just so darn interesting and creative; just the idea of using mental disorders as magical weapons is awesome. Otto and Justine appear to be a sweet couple to those outside but their relationship is revealed as quite disturbing to the reader. They are both totally co-dependent on each other and they both feed each others fear of Vein Star Syndrome. Basically they are both perfect for each other and absolutely horrible for each other.

Justine really grows as a character and overcomes some huge obstacles in this book. We also get to meet Justine’s germ-fearing father, bringing more insight into how Justine got as crazy as she is. Packard is an absolutely wonderful character; his trust in Justine and certainty that she will figure out she’s been revised is absolutely wonderful. I am not going to go into what happens in the story much because I don’t want to reveal any surprises but the story takes a number of wonderful twists and turns.

I love how Crane changes the way the Disillusionists act based on how long ago they zinged someone. You can tell when Shelby is deep in despair or when she’s zinged that despair into someone else, she’s like a different person. The fact that these small changes in personality are consistently displayed so accurately says a ton about Crane’s writing ability.

Everything wraps up beautifully and leaves the reader feeling good. This is just an absolutely perfect ending to this series.

Overall I pretty much adored this book. Everything is wrapped in a way that is surprising and interesting yet very satisfying. The characterization is awesome and plot is full of surprising twists and turns. I was absolutely drawn into this book and couldn’t put it down. Now the next question is what will Crane be doing next? I recommend this for urban fantasy lovers who like some psychological thriller and mystery in their urban fantasy. This is a great urban fantasy series that is just completely different from anything else out there.