Series Overview: Asylum Madeleine Roux

Titles & Release Dates: Asylum (Summer 2013), Sanctum (Summer 2014), Catacomb (Fall 2015)

Author: Madeleine Roux

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Paranormal

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary:

Asylum: Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-illustrated novel that Publishers Weekly called "a strong YA debut that reveals the enduring impact of buried trauma on a place." Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity. Sanctum: An Asylum Novel: In this haunting, fast-paced sequel to theNew York Times bestselling photo-illustrated novel Asylum, three teens must unlock some long-buried secrets from the past before the past comes back to get them first. Featuring found photographs, many from real vintage carnivals, Sanctum is a mind-bending reading experience that blurs the lines between past and present, genius and insanity. Catacomb: Senior year is finally over. After all they’ve been through, Dan, Abby, and Jordan are excited to take one last road trip together, and they’re just not going to think about what will happen when the summer ends. But on their way to visit Jordan’s uncle in New Orleans, the three friends notice that they are apparently being followed.. And Dan starts receiving phone messages from someone he didn’t expect to hear from again—someone who died last Halloween.

Thoughts on Asylum:

I first read Asylum long before my blogging days and I really did love it. At the time I never read anything like it. I had found it scary, and thrilling and I devoured it in a few hours. It was everything I loved in a book. Since 2013 my tastes and books has changed. I did enjoy Asylum, but I didn't love it like I had originally. I did like the characters, Dan was awkward and geeky, Abby was the pretty social butterfly and Jordan was the whiny friend. They were interesting on the aspects of their connections to Brookline (The old Asylum) For Abby's sake, I wish they would have gone into more detail about Lucy's story. I was interested a lot in that. There where things left on answered on that end. Dan learns he is related to Daniel Crawford, the warden to the asylum who did sick experiments on the patients. We were given more information about the warden and who he was. But there are so many things left unanswered. It was main;y the unanswered questions that bought my rating down as much as it did.

Rating:

Thoughts on Sanctum:

I liked Sanctum a whole lot more then I did Asylum. Dan is craving answers to what happened last summer, and when they start receiving weird pictures in the mail and then a message from Felix they decide it is time to go back to Brookline and figure this all out once and for all. My biggest problem with Sanctum? Sometimes the pictures had NOTHING to do with what was going on in the story, they were cool to look at an all both they made no difference to the plot at all. Most of the unanswered questions I was left with in Asylum are answered in Sanctum and they weren't what I was expecting at all. Madeleine did an awesome job of executing The Scarlets and their mission. I did figure out early on that their leader was involved but not to this extent. One last thing: The romance is frustrating. It is there but it isn't. It is almost like the author wanted Dan and Abby to be together but didn't know how. So frustrating.

Rating:

Thoughts on Catacomb:

This series should have really been a duology. Catacomb was not needed. It could probably end up being read as a standalone in my opinion. Catacomb had and awesome idea, but it was dull and didn't keep me interested at all. The other book sin this series I read in a few hours and this one I kept taking breaks to do other things. It lagged A LOT. The only thing I liked is we learned more about Dan's parents and their relation to the things that went on at Brookline. The romance STILL wasn't clarified in this book. I am beginning to think that Dan has no social skills at all. As the same with Sanctum, half the times the book and the pictures didn't match up. They were nice to look at but had no purpose.

*The full review for Catacomb can be found closer to the release date!*

Rating:

(2.5 Stars)

Thoughts on the Series:

Excluding the last book, I did like this series enough to recommend it. It has a creepy vibe to it that makes you want to know what is going to happen next. It is obvious that a lot of research went into the novel and the idea is interesting and I haven't seen it done before.

Do I recommend it: Yes, I won't push this one but I do say give it a shot!