Review: Dark Visions by L J Smith

Title: Dark Visions
Author: L J Smith
Publish Date: 3 September 2009 by Simon & Schuster
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository | Galaxy Bookshop
Sapphired Dragon Rating: ***

Synopsis: Kaitlyn Fairchild has always felt like an outsider. Her haunting eyes and prophetic drawings have earned her a reputation as a witch. But Kait's not a witch: she's psychic. Tired of being shunned, Kait accepts an invitation to attend the Zetes Institute, where she can study with other psychic teens and have a fresh start.

As Kaitlyn learns to hone her abilities with four other gifted students, she starts to discover the intensity of her power - and the joy of having true friends. But those friendships quickly become complicated when Kait finds herself torn between two irresistible guys. 

Rob is a healer - kind and gentle, he's surrounded by good energy, while Gabriel is aggressive and mysterious - a telepath concealing his true nature.

Together, Rob and Gabriel's opposing forces start to threaten the group's stability, and when an experiment traps the five teens in a psychic link - a link that threatens their sanity and their lives - Kaitlyn must decide who to trust and who to love...

Review: This book is  a hard one to review. I mostly liked it, enough to give it 3 stars,  but there was nothing particularly memorable about it.  The plot line seemed unoriginal and I sure I have read similar plot lines before.  The characters, 2 dimensional and somewhat stereotypical. There was the 'golden boy', the 'bad boy', the girl trying to choose between them along with peripheral characters whom in some cases I cared so little about, I kept forgetting whether they were male or female. 

And yet I have given this book, which actually contains a trilogy: the strange power, the possessed and the passion, three stars so it must have some redeeming qualities right?

Let's see...

Firstly I managed to finish it so that's a start. The first story I flew through, the second and third took a wee bit of prodding but I persisted and got through them. The ending was a little bit predictable but I think still did enough to satisfy and complete the story. Even though the plot line has been done before, there were some things I liked. I liked the idea of psychic vampires as opposed to the run of the mill ones. I actually like the whole psychic angle and in general like stories about psychic powers so this definitely counted in its favour. 

So would I recommend it? If you are an L J Smith fan or a fan of this genre then it's probably worth a read. In terms of L J Smith's books, it probably sits about half way between the night world series and vampire diaries however the story line does lean more to the vampire diaries. 

Lastly, is it just me or does the girl on the front cover at first glance look like Elena from the vampire diaries tv series? Up close I think she actually has blond hair but when glancing quickly...

Anyhew I give this book 3 stars (just) on the Sapphired Dragon rating scale. 

Sapphired Dragon xx