I love when a book has an idea that makes me immediately curious. Haven Lives definitely has one.

What happens when a foster parent becomes obsessed with transferring human consciousness, and the woman investigating the case is forced to confront the abuse she experienced as a child?

That premise had my attention.

Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite keep it. Haven Lives moves quickly and has some genuinely promising ideas, but the writing and plot needed more development to turn those ideas into the psychological thriller I wanted to read. By the end, I was less interested in what would happen next than in trying to figure out what had happened at all.

Still, I think there’s something here worth talking about.

*Spoilers will be hidden and labelled so you can choose to read or skip.

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My first impression of the cover of Haven Lives is that it is simple, not trying too hard. The background image seems to be a body of water that is mostly blacked out, which suggests that the book may have some kind of deep-water scene or theme.

Color Story

Deep ocean blue fades to black, pushing the text forward in distressed taupe.

Typography Notes

Bold, sans serif type with blunt corners and moderate tracking are genre staples for thrillers.

Genre Signals

As noted, the dark colors of the palette and staple font choices speak to the thriller/suspense genre.

Hidden Details

The cover does not seem to be hiding anything. Let’s hope the story offers more intrigue.

Mood Check

Serious. Dark.

Beyond the Dust Jacket

Margins and paragraph spacing are very large, as if trying to make the book longer.

Chapters are both numbered and titled, bold, and barely larger than the main body text.

Did the design affect whether I bought the book?

I didn’t buy the book, but I bet my husband bought it based on the author’s story rather than on the book itself.

Rowan Hale is a Child Protective Services Investigator who was once a child in the foster system. The reader does not know much about her, except that she has a reputation for pushing too hard and not letting things go.

Detective Thorne is a criminal investigator called in to preside over a suspicious fire. He teams up with Rowan as the case becomes more serious. We know little about him other than he is serious, rarely smiles, and he is in charge of the investigation.

The premise of Haven Lives is super interesting, and the author sets a brisk pace. However, the delivery feels like it lacks maturity and is overall underdeveloped.

The writing in Haven Lives relies heavily on dialogue to carry the plot. This alone is not a problem, but there is not enough information to keep characters from randomly disappearing and reappearing elsewhere.

The author is clearly trying to set up scenes by noting what things look and smell like at the beginning of each chapter. Gustin is on the right track and even uses excellent descriptive language, but there is just not enough to anchor the characters and setting.

Haven Lives has inconsistencies from one paragraph to the next and plenty of plot holes. Overall, the writing feels rushed and unedited. There could be a great story here, but, in my humble opinion, it needs more work.

Confronting your past to make room for your future.

Fear of biotechnology?

What Worked:

• The premise seemed promising
• The pacing was quick and kept the story moving
• Descriptive language was appropriate to build the setting (just not enough of it)

What Didn’t Fully Click:

• Lots of plot holes
• Underdeveloped writing
• The villain’s objective was not abundantly clear.
• How the protagonists beat the villain was fuzzy at best.

Overall:

Weak for a published book, but has the seeds of a really interesting story.

My husband attended an event and happened to sit next to the author of Haven Lives, Ashley Gustin. They got to talking, and he mentioned that I review books on my blog and socials. He called me and gave me a brief pitch on what the book was about, and I said I’d be interested in it. He purchased the book and the sequel and brought them home.

When I received the challenge prompt to read a self-published book, that was a great opportunity to give this book a try. Haven Lives is only 202 pages, and the text, as I mentioned, is set with lots of paragraph spacing and wide margins, so I breezed through the book in a few hours.

While it started out strong, I noticed I was writing myself notes like “what does this mean” and “wait, where did the kid go?” The story kinda went off the rails, but I stuck with it to see how it was going to come together.

I really wanted to love Haven Lives, but it was just ok. I genuinely think that the story has so much potential. I hope that Gustin keeps honing her craft.

Read if you like:

• Supporting self-published authors
• Psychological thrillers
• Interest in the sins of the foster-system or child abuse
• Biotechnology.

Skip if you dislike:

• Underdeveloped writing
• Plot holes

I read Haven Lives to fulfill the Playing Card Reading Challenge prompt: Read a indie/self-published book.

Have you ever read a book with a great premise that you wished had been developed differently? What did you think it could have become?

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.

Happy Reading!