Reviewed by David Royce for Reedsy Discovery
A novel of torture, revenge, and redemption through the lens of people with special psychic abilities.
Books about folks with extra-special psychic abilities and the suffering their powers bring aren’t anything new. You have books such as Carrie, Firestarter, and The Institute by Stephen King plus many more from various authors across various genres. So finding something new, fresh, and unique in this genre is fantastic. And that’s what we have here.
Set in a world you might consider dystopian, but reads like a western, Devin is a young lady who has no control over her powers. There are others, who are called “sykes,” and the town of Purity persecutes them. Sometimes they are killed outright and sometimes they are sent to a “facility” which is nothing more than a torture chamber of horrors. This is the fate of Devin. There, she is tortured until her mind almost breaks and her abilities are numbed.
Not caring if she lives or dies, she is rescued, or kidnapped, by a trio of men from a train heading home. Mike Sutter is the leader and it appears, at first, that he’s her rescuer and savior perhaps. But we’ll find out that he’s one of the most powerful sykes around and he lives for bloodthirsty revenge against the town of Purity for what he’d been put through. He has a ranch far away from prying eyes and a whole crew full of other sykes who have been rescued and found a safe space there.
But is he as friendly as he first seems? And can Devin reclaim her powers to help him? Does she even want to? Those are questions this book will answer, and the terrible truths about hating people for who they are and the seeds of destruction this abuse plants in their minds are at the forefront. Devin will have allies. A romantic arc with a rancher named Jack, a bruja who has her own form of magic, and another hard-nosed woman will help along the way.
Devin is a sympathetic character. She’s tough and holds her own but there’s a tenderness there as well. Mike is a character who could fall under the protagonist/antagonist category. He’s not necessarily a bad guy but his quest for revenge blinds his moral compass at times.
Filled with an incredibly heartfelt narrative, moments of destruction and bloodshed, and a romantic angle which actually means something to the story, I highly recommend this novel. Five stars.
—Reviewed by David Royce, Reedsy Discovery
“Immediately immersive” 
