Sparkles and Lightning

*****FINAL RATING: 4.70 STARS*****CATCHALLBecause of my obsession with all things glittery and pink and girly, very rarely do people guess that have a thing for horror and gore. It never ceases to amaze people. Which is cool with me, because I don't like predictability. Anyway, the point here is that I absolutely loved this book. It was amazing and awesome and I was enthralled by it. Also, you cannot fully appreciate this book without slipping off the dust jacket and admiring the gory and gorgeousness of the hardback itself.THE HEROJASPERDamn, he is hot. And sexy. The possibly illegal things I would do to this boy if I could. Jazz is just so incredible. He's extremely likable and there's hardly a but of sweetness in him. He's tough and disturbed, and he thinks a lot about a wide range of subjects, most concerning his father. I beyond adored him and he is without a doubt one of my favorite book characters. By the end of this book I freely admit that I was completely in love with him and that love is not going anywhere soon. Or ever, probably.THE BEST FRIENDHOWIEI love Howie! He provided some awesome comic relief, and was so fiercely and beautifully loyal that I couldn't help but fall a little bit in love with him. He has some of my favorite lines in the book without a doubt, and it simply wouldn't have been the same without him. Despite having weaknesses, he works around them bravely. He always tries to do the right thing even when he's not really sure why or even what it is, and I loved that.THE GIRLFRIENDCONNIEActually, I really didn't care for her at all. I honestly didn't really like her, and would totally shove her off a cliff without second thought (which has a lot to do with the fact that I want Jazz, but whatever). She's super annoying and I found myself wanting to slap her at multiple points in the novel because she was so freaking annoying. First of all, I have no clue as to why the hell she is so obsessed with her hair. Sure, I know how many hours that kind of hair takes to put in place. But that's not very often. I'll have you know that I spend two to three hours a day on my hair just to get it to look decent. I know what it is to spend time on your hair, but if my boyfriend messes it up I really couldn't give a damn. There's a ton of other things that bother me about her, but if I don't shut up now this is going to turn into a full-on rant, and we don't want that.THE SERIAL KILLERTHE IMPRESSIONISTI'll admit that I really didn't see that one coming! It was so creepy to be inside his head and see what he was thinking and his reactions to everything, and yet so amazing at the same time. It's so sick at times, his humanity stripped away, and it's both haunting and gorgeous. It was such an awesome thing to see, and even though it throughly scared me, it was totally worth it. (Though really, Barry, couldn't you have used another name? Now every time I look at my favorite Degas paintings this book is going to come with it.)THE PLOTThe plot was awesome. There was so much suspense and action that I could hardly breathe. It was extremely intense and I could not put this book down. Every moment held new discoveries and revelations, and I was so thrilled.I really could never have seen some of the twists coming! Just when I thought I had figured everything out, the entire story was turned on its head and I found myself gaping, yet it was so artfully done that it really works for this book.Some things were a bit of a stretch for me to believe realistically, although I'm actually only talking about one event in particular that really bothered me. I was really frustrated and actually kind of found it funny because it was just such an unrealistic and ridiculous thing.Still, overall the plot was complete epic and amazing and kept me needing more throughout the entire book. I couldn't put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next, how everything was going to turn out.THE ROMANCEI wasn't originally sure I was going to put this section in, but I decided to, because there is romance in the story. I love Jazz's conflicted thoughts about it, although one thing that he thinks is shocking and bothersome and while I understood why he thinks it, I still found it to be gross. Also, y'all already know that I don't have any love for Connie, so it's not like I was cheering this romance on or anything. Even so, the romance was written well. I'll give you that.THE WRITINGBarry's writing is awesome and seductive. It draws you in and won't let you go. I couldn't get enough of Jazz's voice and even the way the Impressionist is written is artful but creepy. I was pulled into Jazz's world and his mind and I adored every moment of it. The description of everything that's happening is so vivid that I can literally see it, in all its gory horror. Everything about the writing is smooth, and the words flow beautifully into one another, each one bleeding into the next. (See what I did there?) Anyway, it's lovely, and completely enjoyable.THE ENDINGThe ending was a complete shock to me! Maybe I'm just dumb, but I would never have seen it coming. It was hugely unexpected and I really was genuinely surprised. But I loved it! There was so much intensity in the last few pages that I was almost afraid I'd lose my ability to breathe. It was so intensely marvelous and deliciously awesome! It wrapped the book up prettily and did leave a major cliffhanger for the next book, one that left me eager and desperate.WRAPUPOne thing to note is that this book has made me terrified of knives in the sink, which basically everyone I know uses as ammunition against me now. Just the other day my boyfriend shot me the amused I'm-humoring-my-sweet-little-girlfriend look when I got up to wash the knife he'd just been using to cut fruit. I am always washing knives now. Even butter knifes in the sink freak me out. Also, I've always been prone to nightmares and this knife situation isn't helping. Though honestly, I don't mind, because I'd be having awful nightmares anyway so at least these concern a book I love. Anyway, I loved this book and cannot wait for the sequel!FINE.Read more of my reviews on Sparkles and Lightning!