Review: Phenomenal follow-up in a mind-blowing series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 24, 2012
Well, once again Lauren Hammond managed to completely mess up my head and leave me hanging by a thread screaming "WHAT??!!!"!!  White Walls was another addicting, mind-bending, terrifying ride written by this amazing author, she just never ceases to amaze me!I was surprised when I started reading this, because I figured it would pick up where Insanity left off.  Instead, we are taken back to two separate points in Addy's past, both of which helped to partially clear up the baffling confusion that was her situation in the first book.  It's written in "before" and "after" settings, as in before her escape from the institution and after. It got a bit confusing trying to keep up since for the entirety of White Walls we're technically talking about 'before' what happened in the first book, but I think the confusion actually was an awesome idea.  I almost felt like I was losing it right along with Addy at times just trying to figure out what she was seeing, what was going on, and what had or hadn't happened yet based on the time setting!!With the 'before' chapters, we get a glimpse into Addy's arrival at the institution and how she initially deals with seeing Damien's ghost, and it was so incredibly heartbreaking.  The wounds were still so raw, and it just tore her apart knowing that, even though he seemed so real, he wasn't really with her.  As she tries to cope and get past everything, denying the Damienn in her head, I was in tears as Hammond described the crushing blow it was to both Addy and her imaginary love (I know, it sounds weird, but just go with it).  We also got to see how a coherent Addy analyzed what was going on around her and how she figured out a way to work around the never-ending drugs and treatments they used to keep the patients doped up.  I liked seeing the flashes of a strong and clear-minded Addy even in the midst of all the insanity.I was so glad that the mystery behind Elijah was cleared up in this book, because I wasn't sure what to make of him in Insanity.  I was completely enamored with Damien after reading the first book, even my slight fascination with the sexy doctor wasn't enough to push me in Elijah's direction.  I'm still confused about the steamy scenes in the first book, whether it was all in her head or it was actually Elijah I may never know! But it intrigued me enough to be very excited when he was introduced in White Walls, and Hammond did not disappoint!!  He intrigued me from the start, and when he started showing a tender side for Addy despite his terrible bedside manner, I was hooked! He was a brooding, domineering, sexy, successful older man that had me Fifty Shades of hot and bothered, and the tension between him and Addy as he tried to help her get on her feet made my heart race!!!My mind was a little more open after reading the first book in this series, which had me catching little blips of clues left and right.  Whether or not I'm onto something will be unclear until the last book in the series comes out, but it definitely seemed like Hammond was leaving cookie crumbs for us to follow in order to see behind some bigger picture.  I have some theories, and I can't wait to see if any of them are on the mark or if maybe my mind has been exposed to too much time in the asylum!! =)  I will be anxiously awaiting the 3rd book in this series, and I highly recommend it to anyone willing to step out of the sane world for awhile!!