Tommy Nightmare
J.L. Bryan
Series: The Paranormals, #2
Release date: April 1st, 2011
While Fallen Oak recovers from the Jenny pox, someone new is hunting Jenny.
Like Jenny, Ashleigh Goodling belonged to a pair of opposites with powers that mirror each other.
Now Jenny and Seth must face the opposite of love…
We meet Tommy right away. We get the story of his heartbreaking past, and how his life is about to intertwine with Jenny’s. Instead of shying from his touch, he manipulates people to get his way. I hated him. I really did – and I loved it! If there is one thing I have to applaud JL Bryan for, it’s his villains. From Ashleigh to Tommy, the villains in this series are masterfully crafted. They will anger you and exasperate you; You. Will. Want. Them. To Die! And if you think you’ve seen the last of Ashleigh, think again!
Even though it’s named Tommy Nightmare, the story is not exclusive to Tommy. We see quite a bit of Jenny and Seth along with some new characters. The one I found the most interesting was Heather. I’m always curious about the general repercussions of horrific events such as the ending in Jenny Pox, and not only are we shown the law enforcement’s reaction, we get the actual POV of someone at the CDC: Heather is a CDC investigator and 200+ unexplained deaths in small town, nowhere has gotten her attention. Theories ranging from the plague to bioweapon, I’m especially happy that the aftermath didn’t get shrugged off with a mere paragraph, but looked into, questioned, and studied. This also becomes very important in the story as it gives Jenny even more people to fear.
Amounting to strong plot developments, flashbacks are a frequent occurrence in this sequel. We learn a lot about Jenny’s past where we see that everyone’s character is not always as it seems. We get a deeper understanding of the powers that these people wield, as well as a better perception of who they really are. These flashbacks combined with a multitude of different perspectives makes it a pretty hefty novel; there’s a lot to keep track of along with considerable story building. The frequent shifting does cause the pace to slow down at times, but I was impressed at how well it all flows together, giving us a vastly exciting and an overall action-packed novel.
The chemistry filled romance between Seth and Jenny is tamed down in this book. The “new” spark has calmed, plus Jenny is distraught over what she did on top of the doubts being implanted by a certain someone. This is in no way a negative point, though – at least to me. It’s realistic and natural for a relationship at their age. Plus, I was never a huge fan of Seth. He’s easy to manipulate, I don’t mean by Ashleigh which is expected but rather by his parents and friends. I much prefer the tougher, more assertive types. Let’s just say that I was very pleased by the ending!
Equally as entertaining as Jenny Pox, Tommy Nightmare is an excellent sequel to a fantastic series. I strongly recommend it to all my fellow horror fans! I do have to warn you that even though they’re teenagers, the series is considered an 18+ horror novel as it has some (epic) adult content.
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Jenny Pox has been sitting in my Kindle, like forever. I soo want to start it, but other books always get in the way. I really need to start it and see if I’ll enjoy dipping my feet into horror, again, since I’m not a huge fan of that genre. I’m slowly warming up to it, though. Once again, thanks to you and your recommendations! Heck, you got me to read Rhiannon Frater, and look how awesome she is, so I’m sure I’ll like this, too.
Nick
Now, this sure does seem like an exciting read. I’ve seen Alexa at Pages Of Forbidden Love, raving on and on about this series. Now, that you actually enjoyed it, I might check it out. Plus, it has horror ! π
I love horror!
Awesome-sauce review, Giselle π
Maja (The Nocturnal Library)
Ohh, I love that old characters were brought into this one. It sounds scary, and gutsy, to have your main character be a villain, someone not easy to relate to (unless you’re a villain yourself, I guess, buahaha).
And of course, as a huge fan of Newsflesh, I always love it when the CDC gets involved.
Awesome review, Giselle!
Nicola
I love your review! It’s made me really eager to get started on this series. The best thing is that Jenny Pox is freeee on Kindle! :O I’m going to make a conscious effort to get to it within the next week! The series sounds so different.
I was reading an interview just earlier where JL Bryan pointed out that he hadn’t written this as a YA series and I was a little shocked as I just assumed it was!
Mel - Thedailyprophecy.
Jenny Pox, I have a Kindle edition snatched for free for a long time now. I still haven’t got the time to read it, but you really make me excited for it! I’m a horror fan, so this definitely sounds like something for me! π
Danielle B.
I have this on my kindle and dying to read it. I just need to find the time. Thanks for the review, I think my weekend just opened up for some Tommy Nighmare.
Dalene @ A Date with a Book
I have Jenny Pox on my Kindle. I didn’t realize it was a horror selection. I also thought it was a paranormal romance. π I am not fond of horror. Eh, maybe I will give a look and then decide. Thanks for your reviews!
Amy
I REALLY need to read this series. I have the first two in my nook, I just can’t find time. I suck for taking on about a million review books. I seriously have like 30 books to read from now through August. OMG! That’s so many!! I have others past that too, but not too many. I really need some “me” time. Once I get time I am totally reading this series!! Awesome review muffin!!
Jenni @ Alluring Reads
I need to get reading this series ASAP. I LOVED the Fairy series by J.L. and reading your reviews from this series make me think that I will love these ones just as much. I can’t wait to see what you think of the third!
Giselle
I think almost everyone is surprised when they learn this is not YA. I think it’s bc the characters and teenagers but not the content is definitely adult at least in a lot of parts.
Thanks for dropping by, ladies! I hope you all love the series too! π
Danny
Love this series so much and I loved Tommy Nightmare so much!! It was less horror than Jenny which was good for me π
Shane
Great interview! I’m captivated!
~Shane
p.s: love your blog design.
Rhiannon Frater
The Paranormals are like Stephen King’s Carrie, but only much better. Definitely horror at its very best.
Savannah Valdez
This is such a cool series! Each book just keeps getting better and better!
Ron C. Nieto
So… how did I ever olverlook this series? It sounds great! Thanks for the review, Giselle… now I just need to get my own Jenny Pox (start at the beginning and all that).
Vegan YA Nerds
I haven’t heard of this series but this cover would totally put me off if I saw it, so creepy!!
But I really like the idea and I want to go back and read book 1 first – thanks for the great review, Giselle!
Shooting Stars Mag
I hadn’t heard of this before, but oooh I’m really curious now. sounds like an amazing story. I haven’t really read much that you could call horror but I do love a good mystery and suspense, so I think I could handle the darker aspects. π
-lauren
Lalaine
WOw need to catch up with this series. It soudns amazing. And im a horror fan so yeah totally going to check this one out. Great review Giselle <3
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Megan
Sounds awesome! I’m super excited to start this series (I got Jenny Pox when it was free on amazon).
Suzanne @ Paranormal Book Fan
Great review. This sounds really good. I remember you giving a good review to Jenny Pox at the time too and me promising myself I would get to it soon. I’ve had it on my kindle a long time now.
Sarah Elizabeth
That cover is so creepy! I really have to get round to reading Jenny Pox so that I can read this one too!
Tommy does not sound like a very nice person really! Manipulating people using fear? That’s pretty cruel.
Can’t wait to find out about seth and jenny π
Jennifer Messerschmidt
I’ve had Jenny Pox on my kindle for probably a year. I really love horror so I’ve been wanting to read it. This one sounds awesome too. His touch gives nightmares and I will hate him lol But I kind of like that he manipulates people. Makes for a good drama read. I’m glad to hear there is still a lot of Jenny in this book. I’m not a big fan of series where each book is about different characters. I like to still be able to see what the original characters are up to.
LynnRush
Great review. So, flashbacks. You for them or against them? I’m torn. I think placed correctly they can be helpful. π
Sam
I have a copy of Jenny Pox that I grabbed for free ages ago and still haven’t read it yet. i’m looking forward to it though as this series sounds promising! I’m glad you enjoyed this instalment, Giselle. π
Evie
In celebration of “unsolicited comments” here I am again! π Thank you for your lovely, thoughtful comment, Giselle! So great to see you popping up in my email π I know what you mean, I am so behind in everything, we moved, got swamped, we’re moving again soon, will probably get swamped even more. But I am trying my best to catch up with my reads. There’s a contemporary fiction month kicking off in June (hope to see you around!), and then, when my husband starts school, I should be able to not only review more, but also comment on my fav blogs, too! *can’t wait*
Anyhoo~! Love your review of this book. You know me, I’m all for dark and creepy and this sounds like something I would very much enjoy. Gotta get cracking on this series!
And also – you are a freaking machine! You post a review per day T_T I clearly need to review HARDER! π
Portugal
Interest in the book: Well, since I couldn’t put down Jenny Pox, it was obvious that I would jump directly to the next book in the series.