ARC Review: Velveteen

Title: Velveteen
Author: Daniel Marks
Genre: YA Fantasy, Horror
Release Date: October 9th

See it at Goodreads

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that's not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it's not a fiery inferno, it's certainly no heaven. It's gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn't leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what's really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she's figured out just how to do it. She'll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It'll be brutal . . . and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen's obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she's willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can't help herself when it comes to breaking rules . . . or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

Meet the strange and dark world of Purgatory in Velveteen. This was an oddly beautiful and fascinating story with a lot of depth and unique world-building. I went into this novel with a lot of excitement to begin with because I am a huge fan of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. So when I heard some of the comparisons that it was like reading a darker YA version, I jumped at the chance. I’d like to make a note now that in my honest opinion, it’s NOTHING in comparison to The Lovely Bones. It’s fantastic, yes, and it’s told from the view of a dead girl, but this is darker and wittier at times. Velvet has power and sass, and it’s unique all on its own.


Purgatory was strange. I kept imagining a gothic Tim Burton setting world, kind of like in the movie Sweeny Todd. I know. I’m probably strange for that, but that’s the picture I kept picking up for it. The descriptions were vividly detailed. I thought the ash was interesting and the concepts kept my attention. The only thing I wanted more from the story was more of Velveteen’s conflict with Bonesaw. I think from the blurb, I had expected it to be more about her revenge on her killer, but the majority of the story was about life in Purgatory it seemed. However! I don’t want to give away spoilers at all. Let’s just say that it’s a long book with a lot of interesting action that didn’t disappoint in the slightest.


The characterization was confusing sometimes. There were several characters to keep up with. And I was a bit distant from the romance on occasion.
Velveteen (by the way, I just LOVE her name!) has spark. She’s a bit bitchy at times, and she’s not afraid to admit it. I like her personality. She’s straight-forward, strong, smart, and witty. Plus has a great sense of fashion. But what a violent way to die. I felt sympathy for her often, which proved that I had easily attached myself to her character from the beginning and held on through the end.


I liked the dark humor sprinkled in at times, and the natural flow of dialogue between the characters. The background was chilling and twisted. I was hooked from the beginning until the end. The writing was incredibly crafted.


All in all, Velveteen was a wonderful read and I certainly hope to be reading more in the future. This will keep you up late into the night gasping out loud and flipping the pages with a rush.


P.S. I just adore the cover of this book!