Genre: Erotic/Psychological Thriller
Cover Designer: Cover Me, Darling
Words are funny things. Their meaning, the pictures they paint in
the minds of those that hear them: they’re not always the same and to me at
least, that makes them meaningless. Take for instance the phrase ‘black
widow’. Those words conjure the image of a spider, an eight-legged creature
with the red imprint of an hourglass on its abdomen. However, instead of
speaking of an arachnid, of the resident of a spindly and dew-laden web, the
people who whisper those words are talking about something much different.
They’re talking about me. From what I’m told, I’m called the
Black Widow because no man I’ve ever loved has survived. Yet, I have no
memory of any of it. My new home leads me to the definition of another
vague and meaningless word. It’s a place where I’m supposed to seek
refuge. A place of retreat and security. It’s a place where I’m
supposed to be kept safe because I’m sick. But the definition for this
place is wrong and the word becomes meaningless when you’re tucked away and
made silent by drugs and pretty white jackets. My name is Alexandra
Sutton and this is the story of what happened when I was imprisoned inside an
Asylum.
I
couldn’t contain my anger. “I didn’t kill anybody! I don’t even know who those
men are…” “Do not raise your voice with me, Ms. Sutton. I’ve allowed your
quirks in behavior thus far, but I’m growing tired of your insubordination.
While under my care you will learn to control your outbursts or else you will
be restrained both physically and chemically, if necessary.” “Through drugs,
you mean. You’ll dope me up to a point where I can’t fight back.” “If that’s
what I must do. Like I’ve said, I don’t prefer that type of restraint, but in
certain cases, it can’t be avoided.” Standing from his chair, he rounded the
desk to stand in front of me. I craned my neck to look up at him, my muscles
tightening painfully with anger and the refusal to believe that I’d done any of
the things of which I’d been accused. It wasn’t until he was close enough to
touch me that the notes of his cologne wafted beneath my nose – something
haunting and exotic, masculine and earthy. I shivered at the smell, looking
away from him and grasping my hands together in my lap to the point where my
short fingernails dug into my skin. “Look at me, Ms. Sutton.” I did as I was
told because there was no point in fighting back. A slow roll of recognition
penetrated my thoughts, the abysmal circumstances of this place, the futility
and harrowing truth that I was under their control. Any hint of rebellion and I
would be dosed into compliance, drooling on myself while nodding my approval of
whatever horrible thing they had planned. They stripped you of your strength, your
voice, your entire being, and replaced it with the structure implicit to an
institution for the insane. “You are my patient and as such, you are under my
control and also my protection. I will not hurt you in any way. My only job is
to help you. However, any rebellion on your part will be met with equal force.
Do you understand?” “Yes sir.” I spit out the words, angry that I was answering
to a man I didn’t even know. “That’s a good girl.”
Have you
ever seen the episode of Friends where Joey puts his favorite book, The Shining
in the freezer, whenever he got scared?
That is how I felt while reading Asylum.
I felt like putting it in the freezer when it became too much to handle
and rock in the corner. That is how
FANTASTIC this book is! Lily White has a
fantastic way of dropping you in the middle of a terror inducing story and have
you come out loving every second of it end the end.
Asylum
is the story of “The Black Widow”, Alex Sutton.
Called the Black Widow because apparently no man she has ever loved has
survived, she is spending her life in an Asylum, were everyone is not who they
seem. Evil, dark, and are allowed to use
drugs to sedate patients and pretty much do with them what they want. Alex has no one except for Daine, her brother, to help her figure out her past, and maybe recollect her memory, and
the new sexy Dr. Hutchins, whom has a new therapy to try and draw out her
memories.
I loved
this book. Keep in mind, in typical Lily
White fashion this book is dark.
Terrifyingly dark. So if you are
not a fan of these types of reads then this one is not for you. There are also some questionable subjects discussed
as well. I would recommend this book to
anyone that loves the Dark/Horror genre in a heartbeat!
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