Book Review – Insanity (Asylum #1) by Lauren Hammond

4 – 4.5 stars.

“I. Am. Not. Crazy. That’s just ludicrous. Ridiculous…. I can’t be. But if I wasn’t I wouldn’t be here, right? So maybe… I am.”

Wow – I was looking for something unique and just “different” and this absolutely fit the bill!

The story was creative and original and honestly was just a total mind fuck that constantly had me questioning each theory I’d come up with.

The book was told from the perspective of a young woman, Adelaide, who was committed to an insane asylum. She didn’t believe she was crazy, but everyone else seemed to think she was. So… who was right?

The story was instantly gripping – the kind that made me curious and desperate to find out more. But the more I found out, the more I wondered. Was she crazy? Was she broken? Was everything that I was reading imagined? Or did it really happen? Where was the line between illusion and reality?

As to whether this book is a romance, I’d say yes. Technically. Ish. Kinda? It wasn’t your typical romance to be sure. There was sex and some hotness but I don’t want to say TOO much about it for fear of spoilers.  I do think though that over the course of the whole trilogy it’ll be really really interesting to see where the author takes that part of the story. But the romance is a key part of the story. I just don’t want to give away too many details because honestly, they’ll just lead to spoilers.

The story was told in a mixture of both “before” and “after” she is committed. In the “before”, you saw her abusive home life and the build up of what led her to where she was now. And the more you saw the pieces of her “before”, you couldn’t help but wonder… what the hell happened to her?

Even in the way Adelaide talked, I could sense that something just wasn’t quite right with her. Or was I just looking for it because I was expecting it? I love books that make me question everything. That make me search for answers and where everything is not just black and white. There was just this constant feeling throughout the whole book of reality being JUST beyond my grasp.

The book was very well written. I enjoyed both the writing style and the pacing as well as the back-and-forth between the past and present story lines. I think I felt a tiny bit disconnected simply because I felt like I didn’t have even one solid piece of reality to hold on to because EVERYTHING was in question, but at the same time, that really set the exact right tone for the story.

It was also fairly short (not a novella though) and could easily be read in a few hours.

There was a huge twist near the end. I suspected it about half way through the story but honestly was just really happy to be proven right because it was almost a bit of “proof” that despite the book being a mind fuck, I had still retained my sanity 😉

The ending is a cliffhanger and I definitely want to read the other books in this series. I feel quite invested in the story and can’t wait to see where the author is going to take it.

I wanted something “outside the box” and this book most certainly delivered!

Here’s a small teaser that might help you decide if you want to give this book a shot:

There’s a ringing in my ears that I can’t shut out. There’s a hand on my wrist that doesn’t let go. Before exhaustion takes over I look up. Blue eyes is at the end of the bed. He releases my wrist and laces his fingers through mine. I squint as the sedative blurs my vision, begins to decapitate my mind, and then notice the painful look in those blue blue eyes.

On top of the pain in the two blue gems there’s familiarity.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

How could I forget him? Him, of all people. The one person in the entire world who holds the key to my heart. The one and only person who has ever really loved me. Then I remind myself that they feed and inject me with so many drugs, that its a miracle I don’t forget who I am.

I struggle to sound coherent, “Damien?”

He mouths something.

Six words.

Six words that seem too impossible to be true.

Six words that bleed hope into my soul.

Six words.

“You’re not crazy. I love you.”

4 – 4.5 stars.

READING ORDER for THE ASYLUM TRILOGY (click links to buy books):

• Insanity (Asylum #1) 
• White Walls (Asylum #2)
• Beautiful Nightmares (Asylum #3)