What Lies Within by James Morris

Pages: 226
Publish date: June 2nd
Publisher: Kindle Press
ASIN: B00VF6T5C2
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

What Lies Within:

I received a copy of What Lies Within by James Morris for review in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my opinion on the book.

I hadn’t heard about What Lies Within before I was contacted. I had no idea what it was about or anything about the author, but I read an excerpt and I was hooked.

What Lies Within follows Shelley Marano as her world is tipped upside down and on its head after she finds out that she is adopted in a not so conventional way. As she goes on a journey trying to uncover her past, she delves into things that anyone wouldn’t want to know. Not only was she adopted, but she was part of a scientific experiment on the theory of nature vs nurture.

I would class What Lies Within somewhere on the thriller spectrum, but then it has mixes of different types of genre’s that make it a real interesting read.

The concept of What Lies Within was intriguing. It was similar to other ideas, nevertheless James Morris made it his own. The plot started right in the thick of all the drama and kept on going up from there. I found What Lies Within fast paced and packed a punch with all its twists and turns.

Her search was over. Matthew Ridge came into her life like a storm and then left, leaving behind a trail of windblown breadcrumbs that had led nowhere.

I also loved the writing style, it was beautiful and pulling. It kept me engaged from the start. How a word flows into another, how sentences fit perfectly together was brilliant.

Shelley is an interesting character. She works with her single father is his auto body shop while not at school and only has one real friend, Winston. Shelley was a strong female lead, which took the reader on a journey. The reader is able to grow with Shelley and feel her emotions. At times she did annoy me with her superficiality, however as the novel went on, the reader is able to see her move away from all this.

I certainly an enjoyable Winston as a character. The reader is able to see that he cares deeply for Shelley and that he would literally do anything for her. I wish we were able to see a little more of his personality.

…she took an art class in school and knew there was something about putting your soul on paper. Sharing yourself in a way that was more personal than mere words.

I also wish we could have gotten more interaction between Shelley and her dad. I understand that her life was all a mess, though he was barley in any scenes and when he was, there wasn’t much interaction between the two. And what he did, I totally understand why he did it because, well if I had a kid and they told me what Shelley did, I would think that they are a little crazy too.

One thing that I didn’t like was the romance, if you could call it that. One moment she was thinking about her crush and then next thing I know BOOM! Like what on earth. I could not believe what I was reading. It took me by shock and, Shelley was all for it.

The ending was explosive and in my opinion unpredictable. I was in such shock, but a good, breathtaking shock. It was a unique way to finish a book and I haven’t read anything like it before. I thought I knew what was going to happen with it all and then bang it was totally different to what I was expecting and it was such so good.

Overall, What Lies Within was a really enjoyable, thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was beautiful and intriguing and although there was a few elements that I didn’t like it was still a fun read that I enjoyed.