A Vault of Sins by Sarah HarianMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In her stunning New Adult debut, The Wicked We Have Done, Sarah Harian introduced readers to the Compass Room: a twisted experimental jail where the guilty and the innocent suffer alike. But breaking out was only the beginning…
Even though she’s escaped, twenty-two-year-old Evalyn Ibarra is anything but free. She’s desperate to return to a life that no longer exists, but prying reporters continually draw her back into nightmarish memories, using the tabloids to vilify her. Bad press is the last thing she needs during the trial of the year: the case that she and her fellow survivors staked against the Compass Room engineers. A case that could terminate the use of the inhumane system forever...
But in her dreams, she is still locked in that terrifying jail.
When she wakes, someone is trying to communicate with her in secret, through strange and intricate clues. As Evalyn follows their signs, she uncovers a conspiracy that goes so much deeper than her own ordeal. A dangerous intrigue that only she can bring to light. One that will force her to work with the one person she doesn’t want to see.
The person who owns her heart...
My Thoughts:
After reading and falling in love with The Wicked We Have Done earlier this year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel in order to find out what happens to Evalyn, Casey and Valerie. And I have to admit that I was expecting the same heart stopping action and the edge-of-your-seat suspense that we got in TWWHD. However, that wasn’t the case with A Vault of Sins as it was more centered on the actual characters and I really loved that aspect.
It was a pleasure to be able to dive deeper into the lives and minds of Evalyn, Casey and Valerie in this wonderful sequel and to see just how much being in the Compass Room affected each of them. They each had their own coping mechanism whether it be alcohol or building up walls.
Although each and every survivor of the Compass Room was affected deeply it seemed that Casey had the hardest time dealing with repercussions of his crime, probably due to the fact that it was much more personal and hit closer to home compared to Evalyn and Valerie. Nevertheless, I felt like each of them grew as characters in their own ways.
Now to the romance. I love the idea of Evalyn and Casey together and I was ecstatic every time we got a glimpse of the depth of their feelings for each other. However, there wasn’t enough in this installment to keep me satisfied. I’m hoping that we will get more E&C in the next book.
I also really liked how Harian included snippets of news stories, blog posts and fan fiction in with the story. I felt like it gave me more sympathy for Evalyn, Casey and Valerie which in turn made everything that was going on and happening to them have more of an impact on the reader. So well done on that aspect, Harian.
Overall, A Vault of Sins is a magnificent sequel to one of my favorite reads this year. It’s filled with character development, twists that will leave you with your jaw dropped and a promise of more amazing things to come if that ending is any indication. The Chaos Theory is a New Adult series that shouldn’t be missed.
<3, Christy
