In Review: Asylum by Madeliene Roux

Asylum (Asylum #1)
Madeleine Roux
Released June 2013
Harper Teen
Own/ Purchased

Synopsis from GoodReads:

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

   I'm so conflicted!! I really wanted to love this book especially for the creep factor. Hello, creeptastic pictures and the fact that it takes place in an old asylum what was converted into a dorm, by the why who would do that? It's just wrong. And it is creepy, but I think it was mainly because of the pictures and the fact that I was reading it at 2am with a small book light. In daylight hours I think it would come off as interesting at best.
   The story itself left something to be desired. Don't get me wrong, in general I liked the story. I liked learning about the history of the asylum and trying to figure out who was behind notes and murder (attempts), but I think the plot develops a little slowly. Instead of increasing the intensity of the story as you read it just repeats the same type of occurrences until the end when it's like BAM! Dan's next on the murder's list. Dan keeps receiving creepy notes and losing bits of time and his friends get angry a few different times without a real explanation. It left me with questions and not in the OMG I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NAOW! good way. What was real and what was staged by the murderer? Are these people really just crazy or are we dealing with something a little more paranormal...?
I say if you like creepy pictures and a little bit of mystery give it a shot.
  Sanctum  (book 2) comes out later this year. I will most likely pick it up to see where the story goes, but I don't think it will be one I race out to grab on release day. 

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