It’s All in My Head by Kristen James

I must say, I’m not usually a fan of novels with paranormal aspects to them, but I actually enjoyed this one! Probably because there weren’t any shiny vampires or hormonal werewolves to deal with. The paranormal theme of this book was much more subtle, and far less annoying. If anything, it was more mystical than paranormal. Avery wakes up in the hospital with a concussion after a tumble on her snowboard (proof that winter sporting activities are evil). Although the doctors assure her that everything looks good, she notices that something isn’t quite right when she starts hearing a male voice speaking inside her head. The voice, aka Marcus, can’t remember many details about his life, or understand how he came to be trapped inside a woman’s head, but the two quickly realize that there’s really nothing they can do to change the situation. Adjusting to having a voice inside her head is difficult for Avery, especially considering that the guy she’s had a crush on forever is finally starting to notice her. Talk about bad timing!

I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this before, and thought it was a really interesting read. That being said I have come across this story before, but in movie form. Have you ever seen Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo? Pretty much the same premise, only in the movie it’s a guy who sees a woman that can’t remember much about her life, and nobody else can see her but him. The personality traits of the characters may have been different, but other than that both stories follow along basically the same exact plot line to the point where I knew where It’s All in My Head was going before it got there, and it definitely spoiled a lot of “no way” moments for me. However, I’m really not complaining because I still enjoyed the book, and I freakin’ love that movie. Hell, I own the DVD. And even though I knew what was going to happen, the book still made me cry at the end like a blubbering fool (something the movie failed to do). There may have been no plot surprises for me, but I was still hooked, and even stayed up past my bedtime into the early hours of the morning on a weekday to finish it! I remember the internal struggle I had with myself: “It’s 1:00am, you have to go to bed!”, “But I wanna see what happens!”, “You already know what’s gonna happen!!”. Definitely needed massive amounts of coffee the next day at work to function like a normal human being.

There was a pretty intricate love triangle happening in this book which brought out so many jealous alpha male tendencies that I couldn’t help but love. Actually, come to think of it, it was more of a love trapezoid. Avery has had a crush on Nash for a long time, and after her snowboarding accident he finally asks her out on a date. At the same time, her ex-boyfriend is jealous of her new relationship with Nash, and engages in some inappropriate flirting with Avery, even though he’s currently dating her best friend/roommate. Oh, and on top of all of this we have poor Marcus, who Avery likes and he likes her, but it’s not like they can have a relationship with each other considering he doesn’t have a body. Wait a minute, if Avery’s ex-boyfriend has a girlfriend does this mean we actually have a love pentagon? Well shoot, I can’t keep it straight.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, especially the ending. However, I wish it had been about one chapter longer. It ended so abruptly, and even though we pretty much know what’s going to happen with our two lovebirds, there were so many unresolved issues with the majority of the other characters.  On the one hand, Avery’s roommate (the one dating her ex) finds out about the inappropriate flirting that’s been going on, and decides to blame Avery rather than the twat-waffle she’s dating. She gets all pissy and moves out, and we never find out if she and Avery eventually resolve their differences over a cup of hot cocoa. On the other hand, a different roommate finds out that Avery’s been hearing a voice inside her head, and thinks she is a tad crazy. Not that you can blame her. I probably would have committed Avery to the psychiatric ward myself. Avery desperately tries to prove to her roommate that she isn’t crazy, but her argument is ultimately futile. My question is, when we finally discover that Marcus wasn’t just a figment of Avery’s imagination, did she go back to her roommate and say, “See, I told you so. Nah, nah, nah, nah!”? Actually, Avery is too nice to ever do something so snotty. But I probably would have!

The culmination of this book in the last few chapters was phenomenal. So intense. But the chemistry between Avery and Marcus throughout the novel was also amazing, and I think what really enhanced the awesomeness of it was the paranormal aspect of the book. Marcus may not have been able to kiss or touch Avery, but she could feel all of his emotions inside her. When another man would touch her she could feel Marcus’ fury, and when she was naked in the shower she could feel his…well, arousal. Tee hee, giggle giggle. Good God I’m so immature. I was surprised at how sensual and powerful their attraction for each other could be considering that Marcus wasn’t physically there. Gotta tip my hat to the writing for that one (I should also probably get a hat at some point). I mean, Avery and Marcus never even have sex in this book, yet I still thought it was a pretty hot read. That’s rare my friends.

*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*

Series: Stand-alone all the way

Should you read it? Yes. Even if you don’t care for books with a paranormal theme I would recommend you give this one a try. It was just so darn cute.

Smut Level: There is a bubble bath scene which is so steamy it’ll be sure to fog up your mirrors.

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