Review: Inescapable (The Premonition, #1) by Amy A. Bartol

My name is Evie Claremont and this was to be the making of me–my freshman year of college. I’d been hoping that once I’d arrived on Crestwood’s campus, the nightmare that I’ve been having would go away. It hasn’t.
I may be an inexperienced seventeen-year-old, but I’m grounded…sane. I look for rational explanations to even the strangest circumstances. Since meeting sophomore Reed Wellington, however, nothing makes any sense. Whenever he’s near, I feel an attraction to him–a magnetic kind of force pulling me towards him. I know what you’re thinking…that sounds fairly awesome. Yeah, it would be…if he liked me, but Reed acts as if I’m the worst thing that has ever happened to Crestwood…or him. But get this, for some reason every time I turn around he’s there, barging into my life.

What is the secret that he’s keeping from me? I’m hoping that it’s anything but what I suspect: that he’s not exactly normal…and neither am I. So, maybe Crestwood won’t be the making of me, but it could be the breaking of me. I’ve been left to wonder if the dark future my dream is foretelling is…inescapable.

If you're familiar with this blog and my tastes than you're aware that I'm a sucker for a great series.  This series opener by Bartol quickly grabbed my attention and had me flying through the pages wondering how it had taken me so long to find the series as well as her writing.  How it's possible that a book like this has been out there since 2011 and escaped my notice boggled my mind, but in the end I was just glad that I'd finally found it.

I love a good college age story because let's face it, there's something fresh and enticing about students getting a clean slate at a new place with new people and nothing but choices ahead of them.  Freedoms are given and responsibility doubles, but it gives everyone a chance to spread their wings, so to speak and see how they fare on their own in a lot of ways.  Evie is no different than every other college freshman trying to get her bearings and make a place for herself at her new school...except for these nightmares she's having.  And they aren't just normal run of the mill scary dreams.  They recur and cause more than just loss of sleep.  Throw in an attractive upperclassman with instant attraction and of course the attitude that typically follow and we've got ourselves quite an addictive mix.

Evie will have to make her way through more than just introductory classes, but uncovering secrets and questions will be her biggest hurdle right off the bat.  Is she overreacting or is there more to this sophomore heartthrob?  Are her dreams just that?  Or is there some force at work that's trying to warn her of something?  And even if she gets the hint, will she figure it all out in time?  That's basically what Bartol reels you in with...suspense and questions that quickly answer themselves only to be replaced with more to keep you guessing and reading faster.  It's a great combination and one that had me making my way through this first book very quickly only to add the other installments in the series to my library as well in order to avoid having to take breaks from all the fun!