Happy Release + Review: Heartsick by Caitlin Sinead

Heartsick

By Caitlin Sinead

Genre: New Adult Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Quinn is looking forward to her senior year at Poe University. She has big plans to hang out with her best friend, flirt with a certain boy genius, party at her favorite dive bar and figure out what she’s going to do after graduation with her not-so-useful art major. But that’s before she meets Luke, a hot townie who’s moved back home to help take care of his dying sister. And it’s before a weird epidemic sweeps across campus, mysteriously turning people’s eyes purple.

Is it an odd side effect from a new party drug?

Is it a rogue virus developed in a campus lab?

Is it the mark of the devil?

Soon the town starts blaming the university and the student religious group becomes frighteningly aggressive in their on-campus accusations. Quinn and Luke are caught in the middle—until a tragic accident forces Luke to reveal the one part of himself he’s kept carefully hidden. That he’s so much more than the happy-go-lucky boy next door Quinn had believed him to be isn’t a surprise…but this truth might be too dangerous for her to handle.

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Michel’s Review

Heartsick by Caitlin Sinead is refreshing change in the New Adult genre. It blended the Romantic Suspense and Fantasy genres to the mix. The plot was unique. There was some mild romance with a romantic triangle thrown into the mix.

What happens when a group of college friends start changing. Their eyes become lavender colored and their immune system is that of a super hero. Their ability to heal is surreal. What is causing this phenomena with these students?

Quinn is the main character in this book. She is an art major at the exclusive Poe University in Virginia. She is looking forward to her senior year. She doesn’t want to be tied down and wants to enjoy her final year with friends. Those hopes are about to change when her roommate’s eyes change to lavender.

It seems as though there is a virus or some kind of chemical change that is affecting a group of students. Their eye colors are changing and their DNA is changing. They are able to heal quickly from severe injuries and physical trauma’s. This phenomena is infecting Quinn’s inner circle of friends, including herself. When it starts to spread among the campus and small town, the government authorities are called in. The pandemonium begins.

At the same time Quinn has just met the sexy townie Luke. He is unlike most of the men she has ever dated. Although she doesn’t really want a relationship, she cannot deny her attraction for him. Luke is also a detective. When this odd virus begins to spread he puts his investigative skills to work.

When murder comes into play it is clear that everyone at Poe University and citizens of the town are in danger.

Heartsick was a riveting romantic suspense. I am going to say romantic very loosely. The reason I am saying loosely is that the build up, sexual tension, and desire between Luke and Quinn was not overly convincing. I never felt the heat between them. I never felt the attraction. In fact it didn’t feel like Quinn was overly interested at all. Then there was another contender added to the mix. Quinn had a history with Rashid. He was still vying for her interest. I never really felt any connection between these two at all.

Although this plot was unique, there were kinks throughout the story. The characters were obscure in some ways. It was hard to get a handle on who they were. Their personalities just didn’t come to life. Their connections to one another were confusing at times and hard to grasp. The sequencing of the story was hard to follow at times. I felt different passages were jumping all over the place. In the end I felt like the conclusion was somewhat rushed.

Overall Heartsick was an interesting story. I just felt like it needed some work to reach the potential it promised.

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About Caitlin Sinead

I am represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc. and my debut novel, Heartsick, will be published by Carina Press in 2015. My writing has appeared (or is forthcoming) in multiple publications including The Alarmist, The Binnacle, Crunchable, Jersey Devil Press, and Northern Virginia Magazine. I earned a master’s degree in writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2011 and have also studied writing at the College of William and Mary and Yale University. I currently work as an editorial manager and continue to keep an eye out for good stories.