Review: Mania (The Night Walkers #3) by J.R. Johansson (Series Ender Challenge #2)

First, I have to thank the author, as well as Netgalley and Flux publishing.  I first came to love this series back in January of 2014 when I read Insomnia, the first one, after winning it in a giveaway.  I got the 2nd book, Paranoia, as an egalley from Netgalley last summer, when I was not fortunate enough to get to meet the author on the last day of BEA.  A couple weeks ago I got an email from the author asking if I was still interested in reading and reviewing this third and final book in the series.  Of course I hopped on the chance!!  She emailed me a copy, and right about the same time I remembered that I'd also seen it on Netgalley and requested it there as well.  And I have to say I loved this book as much as I loved the first two, which if you click on their titles, you can go to my reviews.  Obviously if you haven't read those two, most of what I say her won't make sense, and will be spoilery. But if you have read the first two, then I shouldn't be giving anything away with my summary.

This book not only is back in Parker's life, but we get to also see from his brother Jack's viewpoint.  When the last book ended, the Takers' headquarters had been destroyed by Parker's and Jack's father.  Unfortunately their father also died.  The good news is that supposedly their father had figured out a new type of vaccine that would help the Takers to be able to dream and sleep.  So that they wouldn't have to take over people's lives like they did.   Unfortunately the leader of the Takers, Cooper now that his father is dead, still wants the elixir they had been given that would help them to be able to take over people for good and as they put it, be gods.  Chloe, Cooper's sister, also a Taker, has now started to go along with Jack and Parker and Finn. When she let Finn go, her family basically disowned her.  And now all she wants is to help make the serum that will give her a normal life.  But their dad didn't just leave instructions.  He left clues to get to bits and pieces of it until they had it all added together.  And along the way they get one more thing to deal with, Parker gets kidnapped and taken by Cooper and his group.  Once there the scientists start injecting him with all kinds of things that make his life miserable, to the point where he can only hope to die.  Jack is given 10 days to make the original serum, which his dad didn't leave any instructions for.  So of course the time is spent doing their best to find all that is needed for the new "cure" in time to save Parker.

Another great story.  I like both viewpoints, really helped to see just what was going on, as well as getting a look inside some of the characters you might not otherwise have had time to learn about.  And it was so great getting back to Finn.  I love Finn.  His funny t-shirts, all of it.  So it was really fun to have him back.  There is lots of danger in this.  Times we don't know for sure if someone has betrayed the group.  Or if someone else might be able to help even though they are on the wrong side.  I liked all the different/new ways they were able to do things in dreams, and even finding more about what started all of the different things they're dealing with.  The ending was pretty set, although I can see that maybe, some day, there could be another book, and I would not be opposed to that!  A great finish to a favorite series of mine.   

Waiting on Wednesday: Mania (The Night Walkers #3) by J.R. Johansson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  Again it's another series that I'm excited for there to be another book in.  I enjoyed the first two, Insomnia, and Paranoia.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads for this 3rd book:

Jack and his half-brother Parker have no time to mourn the loss of their father, Daniel Chipp. With an attack by the body-stealing Takers imminent, the pair must put aside their grief and track down the ingredients of Daniel’s formula—one that will rein in the power-hungry Takers—to keep their family and friends out of danger.

Their only hope lies in a puzzle their father left behind, a riddle where each brother unknowingly possesses a piece of the solution. The puzzle sets them on a deadly path, spiraling between reality and the world of dreams where nothing and no one can be trusted entirely. And when Parker finds himself deep in the fray between the Takers and the other Night Walkers, it’s up to Jack to complete the formula and save his brother’s life.


I'm very excited to read more about this family and what they will do with their abilities.
 What book are you eagerly anticipating this week? 

Review: Paranoia (The Night Walkers #2) by J.R. Johansson

Thanks to Flux Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book.  I thought it had never downloaded, but then I had an update on my Nook and it showed up again!  So I was very glad to get a chance to read the sequel to Insomnia, a book that I really enjoyed.  Now I am really big on following authors on Facebook and Twitter.  And so I saw that the author was going to be at BEA the last day.  Unfortunately, if you saw my post about that last day, I was unable to find her and meet her.  One day though I hope to!  So, if you haven't read the first one, you might not want to read much further.

We're back in Parker's life.  And he seems to be able to control his dream watching, or maybe at least able to deal with it better.  When his friends that usually help him go out of town, he hopes to just go into his mom's dreams every night, to save himself from anything else.  One night he decides he needs something different, and he ends up at the movie theater, planning to look in the eyes of a girl who he thinks will have pretty tame dreams.  Outside he gets attacked by one of Jeff's friends.  Jeff is the guy that was actually doing the stalking in the first book, that died in the fire.  And at first his last eye match is Thor, the friend.  But a guy pulls Thor off of Parker, and then his eyes are the last ones Parker looks into.  At first it seems to be okay.  But then Parker goes into a black space.  When he wakes up he is in jail.  He is bailed out by Jack.  The mysterious guy in the last book who seemed to know what Parker was going through.  And now who seems to know Parker's dad.  He teams up with Jack to try to figure out not only how to control this evil or bad side of himself that is taking over, but also to help find and save his dad from people called Takers.  These Takers are not only going after Watchers like Parker, but they seem to be behind other mysterious disappearances and strange happenings in the town.

This was a very good sequel.  We learn some things about Parker's dad, and we also learn that there are so many things Parker should have been able to do the whole time, that would have made his life so much easier.  There is another kind of person, one that can't go into others dreams, but is good for Watchers, they can help them get the sleep and rest that they need to live and be healthy.  And the one in Parker's life isn't who you would expect.  I liked all the background, I kind of guessed the little secret about Jack a bit before it was revealed.  I like when I can do that.  We also learn that things that happened in the first book weren't all as they seemed.  And maybe some of the guilty parties may not have been working on their own in the way that it was thought. 

Waiting on Wednesday - Paranoia (The Night Walkers #2) by J.R. Johansson

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  This week I've chosen the sequel to a book that I just read this past month, a book that I'd won last year, and then really enjoyed once I finally got around to reading it.  And it had kind of a cliffhanger ending.  Here is the summary from Goodreads.com:

In the aftermath of the events that nearly killed him, Parker Chipp is trying to learn to cope better with life as a Watcher. And it seems to be working...until he wakes up in jail with a hangover and 12 hours of missing time. Darkness has somehow taken control and Parker doesn't have a clue how to stop him. He finds an unlikely ally in Jack, the mysterious guy in the motorcycle jacket who offers to help Parker master his abilities as a Watcher. But even as they practice, the darkness inside Parker is getting more and more powerful, taking over Parker’s body and doing everything he can to destroy Parker's life.

When Jack reveals that there is another kind of Night Walker, known as a Taker, Parker starts to wonder if the strange things happening in Oakville are more than just a coincidence. After all, people are more than just sleepwalking. They're emptying their savings accounts with no memory of doing so, wandering into strange parts of town and disappearing, they're even killing other people--all in their sleep. If Parker wants to find out what's happening or have any hope of seeing his father again, he’ll have to defy Jack and put his own life in danger...because the more he learns about these other Night Walkers, the more certain he becomes that his life isn't the only one that could be lost.

So that is my pick for the week.  Have you started this series yet?  What book are you waiting on this week?