Review: Veiled Innocence was brilliant
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
I’d had that once, during the blind acceptance of youth, until one shattering moment ripped it all away to reveal it was nothing but veiled innocence.Ella Frank brought me another deep and emotional read that made me need a few days to process what I read in order to write about this review.  Why you ask, well that’s simple.  When I pick up a book where I feel that there is a lesson or meaning that runs deeper than just the story and words on the paper I need time to process it.  Time to understand the characters and work out why they are the way they are.  Veiled Innocence is one of those stories for me.Veiled Innocence touches many different subjects that held me captivated until the very end.  It was emotional and complex.  It’s a story about a once lively and bright girl who finds herself needing to be perfect in order to please the people around her that are supposed to love her unconditionally.  Poised and perfect on the outside Addison lives her life day to day with simple reminders of a past she cannot escape.  Broken and battered on the inside she carries the heavy guilt on her shoulders of an event from her past she cannot get past.  The once happy go lucky and careful girl who was Addison no longer exists and sometimes she finds herself just wanting to forget everything and hear nothing but silence and peace running through her body.Mr. McKendrick is a man who finds himself front and center in Addison’s world trying to resist the pull that seems to grab him from the moment Addison Lancaster walked into his History class that very first day of her senior year.  Grayson McKendrick was to know right from wrong and live up to his morals but everything about Addison, from her confident walk, her porcelain skin to the brightest blue eyes he has ever seen pulls at him.  He can truly see her and the innocence that is held in her eyes.  Not knowing her past I feel like Addison gravitated towards him because he didn’t know just how truly broken she was.“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”There is a game of cat and mouse in Veiled Innocence and eventually the cat caught the mouse and fireworks exploded.  Something that seems so perfect and feels right, truly can’t be wrong, however for the case of Addison and Grayson, it is.  The battle between doing what you know feels right and doing what the outside world knows is right are two very different thing.  I loved how Grayson reacted to his struggle between doing what is right and wrong, he fought his feelings and wants but when something is truly meant to be a person can only fight so long because they give in to what their body and heart wants.“That’s why you’re attracted to me, am I right? Because I didn’t know you back then?”“Honestly?”“Yes, Addison.  I want you to be honest, please.  Always.”“At first, yes.  But not now.”“Why, what’s changed?”“I told you.  When you look at me, you see more.”  I cradled his face in my hands and let me eyes roam over him.  “And when I look at you, I see for the first time the possibility of everything.”I love how complex Addison was – there was so much more to her character than a pretty face and a broken girl on the inside.  It broke my heart how she would battle with herself and not let anyone see just how broken she was but on the inside she was crumbling.  When Addison and Grayson were together she truly was Addison – just the young woman – not the broken girl who I felt was seeking for an escape from her world.  However, as time goes on and feelings get stronger it’s only a matter of time before they are caught and just as it happens my heart broke because once again the real Addison that Grayson brought out was once again hidden so deep inside herself she couldn’t find her way out.He’s gone……………………………..Ella Frank told an emotional and complex story that had many layers.  The story flow was flawless and I loved how it was told from Addison in the present thinking about her past.  She didn’t leave out any ugly detail of her time before Grayson McKendrick or the times after Grayson McKendrick.  Addison gave us everything, every deep rooted memory, every ugly scar, and every beautiful detail of her life.  She is just a girl looking for acceptance and understanding, looking to rid the guilt that she has carried around on her shoulders for so long over a tragic event from her past that was continuously drilled into her head that it was her fault.  The consistent chatter of needing to be perfect was all she heard in her head and she wanted it to stop.  She wanted the ticking of the clock to be silenced and that is exactly what Grayson did for her.  She clung to him with everything she had because in her upside down world that was anything but normal, he was her normal – I got it.  With him she didn’t have to be the Addison that everyone else around her expected her to be, she could simple just be her.  She didn’t need to hide the ugly scars that were on the inside because he wanted all of her, he wanted to see the ugly and show her it was beautiful.  He was her new obsession one that either would save her or break her beyond repair.  Replacing one obsession with another is not a good thing but that is what Addison does – she goes all out in everything she does but with Grayson it was different, she truly needed him to breath and how Ella gave us this story showed just that.If you are looking for a deeper read one that will make you think and feel, then Veiled Innocence is the direction you need to take.  It took me a few days to actually process the story and see the deeper meaning underneath the words.  Ella did an amazing job in planning and executing an emotional read that holds a deep meaning.  Amazing!  Great job Ella.