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

Title: Paranoia

Series: The Night Walkers #2

Previous book in this series: Insomnia

Author: J.R. Johansson

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: June 2014

Published by: Flux

Source: The publishers via Netgalley

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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis:

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.

My rating: ★★★★☆
So in this second installment of The Night Walkers, we have Parker who is finally getting a hang of this whole Watcher thing... well, kind of thanks to Mia's dreams. But when Mia, Addie, and Finn leave on vacation for a whole week, things take a horrible turn into Freakyville. At the start of the week, things seem to be going somewhat okay for Parker, nothing more than sleep deprivation and exhaustion, but keeping Darkness under control. Until one day, when the week is almost up, the tight hold Parker had on Darkness loosens, allowing Darkness to take over his body once again, landing him in freakin' jail! Crazy, I know.

We actually learn who Darkness really is, and that there are more people out there like Parker... but other people with different powers! Totally blew my mind! AND we learn their origin too! Where they came from... it was really interesting and intriguing and actually kind of realistic. Anyway, I was so glad to finally find out how and why Parker got this weird power. And the experiments they talked about... they reminded me A LOT of a Creepypasta called "The Russian Sleep Experiment." I LOVE Creepypastas! They are basically short horror stories, and you know how much I love horror ;) If you love horror, (and this series!) you definitely need to read/hear "The Russian Sleep Experiment!" (I don't actually read them, I listen to them on YouTube! If you want, you can listen to that story here or here. Same story, different narrators, but love both! Be warned, there are creepy pictures in the videos).

Anyway, this book had so many twists it blew my freakin' mind! I just could not believe the things we found out... and I do appreciate when books can surprise me like that! Plot Twists FTW!

I gotta say, one of my favorite characters in this series has got to be Finn. He is just so funny and overall fun! He is just an awesome friend! Love him! Really like Parker too... he's an awesome protagonist and he can be funny when he wants to be ;) But you know what, I didn't really care for the Parker-Addie relationship =/ I don't know why but in the last book I think I cared more about it than in this one. And then there's Jack... you remember that mysterious guy with the skull-type thing on his jacket? Boy, you will NEVER believe who this guy really is! Can you say plot twist? Anyway, I was kinda iffy about this guy throughout the book. But I guess I was okay with him by the end.

Overall, I really liked this book! It was very suspenseful, exciting, and had many surprising twists and turns I did not see coming! Great sequel to Insomnia!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)