Insanity by Lauren Hammond

Sometimes love...can drive you crazy. Adelaide Carmichael and Damien Allen couldn't be more opposite. Adelaide's mother abandoned her when she was ten years old, leaving her to be raised by her abusive and alcoholic father. Damien on the other hand came from a wealthy family, was a local celebrity, and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him. Despite their differences, Adelaide and Damien were young, wild, and fiercely in love. And they had a plan. They were going to run away. Be together forever. And their plan was set in motion, until tragedy struck and for some reason, Adelaide wound up in The Oakhill Institution for the insane. Adelaide has no idea what she did to wind up at Oakhill, but she knows one thing for sure... She wants out. And after Damien follows her there to aid her in escaping, Adelaide slowly begins putting together the pieces of her memory that are missing. And it doesn't take Adelaide long to figure out that sometimes... That one true love never dies.

Initial Thoughts:
A romance set in an insane asylum? I'm in.
The Pros:
The flashbacks between her life then and her life now painted a brilliant picture of psychiatric care in the past.
The characters inside the insane asylum were so interesting.
Her Romeo and Juliet-esque romance with Damien was cliche, but sweet.
How she dealt with the monster that is her father for that long, I have no idea.
Is she crazy? Is she not? This books keeps you guessing.
The Cons:
There were parts of the book that left me really confused. I know there are multiple books in the series, so 
I'm hoping my questions are answered in future books.
It was hard to read about some of the "treatments" they used back then. It left me haunted.
The Wrap Up: 4/5
Wonderful start to an eerie series. It really gives you a history of psychiatric care and what love can do to a person.
Favorite Quote: "I love her son like he's the oxygen in my lungs, the plasma in my bloodstream, and the rapid pulsating beat of my heart. Sometimes I feel like I love him so much it aches when I'm not near him. It's like tiny pricks from a sewing needle jabbing into me repeatedly. I miss him so much that since yesterday my heart has felt like a towering inferno and there isn't any water or a fire extinguisher around to put it out. I'm burning, burning, burning. I want to burn eternally."

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.

Initial Thoughts:
This came up on my recommendations on Goodreads, and I can't say no to a good psychological thriller.

The Pros:
Holy cow. This book was INTENSE.

Poor Christine. I felt so bad for her throughout the whole book. Can you imagine waking up and not remembering so much of your life?

The revelations throughout the book kept you guessing.

The surprise ending was so crazy I could barely wrap my head around it.

The Cons:
The ending was a bit far fetched.

It reminded me of the movie 50 First Dates, which was a comedy, which is probably not what I was supposed to be thinking about while reading. I kept thinking about the penguin from the movie.

Parts of this book were so slow moving that I debated putting it down, but I trucked on because I knew that in a few pages something else would be revealed.

I didn't like the story line about her son. It seemed so cruel, but really everything else in her life was just as cruel, but that part really stood out to me.

The Wrap Up: 3/5
A pretty decent thriller. It definitely gave me the creeps, but didn't leave a lasting impression in my mind.

Favorite Quote:
"With him everything is a test, affection is measured, that given weighed against that which has been recieved, and the balance, more often than not, disappointing him."