ARC Joe 2, White Sheets by H.D. Gordon

Joe 2, White Sheets (The Joe Knowe Series)
Synopsis:

Joe Knowe sees things before they happen. Bad things. Just a couple months ago it was a psychopath planning a massacre at the college she attended. Now, she's facing a whole different kind of madman, and one potentially far more dangerous. 

To keep the pending disaster from happening, this time Joe will have to get up close and personal, making herself at home in the lion's den, and attempting not to be swallowed whole. 

Will she be able to keep herself and those around her from drinking the Kool-Aid? Or will they all end up under white sheets? In this second installment of the thrilling JOE series, H. D. Gordon takes you into the heart of a cult, the mind of its leader, and the lives of his followers.

Review:

**Note I received an ARC of this book. Joe 2, White Sheets will be released March 26th. Go buy this book on the 26th! Seriously it is incredible!!**

I started reading Joe 2, White Sheets immediately after finishing Joe last night. I feel incredibly privileged to get an ARC for this book. Since I loved Joe so much I was really looking forward to this one. At first I was a bit taken aback by how different the voice was. Joe is much stronger and determined and just not the scared little girl she was in the first one. I never felt like I just wanted to scoop her up and make everything better in this one. I knew killing the shooter in the first book would change her, but I wasn't expecting to see such a distinct difference. I quickly forgot about all that as the story progressed. Man this book was intense. I feel as though I was holding my breath the entire time waiting to see what happened. My heart was pounding, especially during the Joe chapters, just so worried for her and everyone she cares about. I was really on the edge of my seat. It has been a while since I have read something that made me so tense in such a very good way. I couldn't put it down. Man I am definitely going to need a lighter read after this. It was amazing. Even better than the first one. And I loved the first book. Anyways.

The story starts where Joe ended, with Joe in her aunt's cabin. She has her next vision and it is a bad one. She doesn't hesitate as much or try to push it away as much as she did in the first book. She knows what she needs to do and sets out to start doing it. She tries to keep everything to herself like she always has, but this time Mr. Landry won't let her, at least at first. It is great that she has him and that he is special like her or she could get herself into even worse situations. Really I liked how she is starting to run across more and more special people like her. She still has her too much concern for everyone else and wanting to take on every burden only by herself thing going on in this book. She doesn't want to involve anyone else because then they might get hurt. It doesn't really matter if she does since she has to do this, but she doesn't want anyone else involved. Thankfully she has great people surrounding her and they won't let her bear her burden by herself. Though her lack of including others is slightly detrimental in the end. I hope she learns from this and accepts the help of those that care about her. There are ways to still do what you need to, but still let others have your back.

Part of the reason why the Joe chapters were so intense was the heavy foreshadowing in them.  There was a lot of things like maybe if I would have known at the time then whatever. Or I didn't realize it at the time but the next sentence would seal our fates and so on. It was really intense! I was so worried for Joe the whole time. There was so much everything is going to end horribly written in her chapter I was just like no! I want everything to work out for you! It was great.

This book is written in a similar way as the first. You get chapters from different characters points of view, though a lot more of them are Joe chapters. It was more connected in this one since most everyone is part of a the big group, or part of trying to stop the killer. I will say I wish there were more chapters form Michael's point of view. I kept waiting and waiting for his chapter and almost had to wait for half the book before I got one. I just love him! Not that it needed his POV, I just like him. Then when Joe tries to go off on her own, because she wants to try and make sure Michael and Mr. Landry don't get hurt, man I was wishing I had some Michael chapters. It was so stressful not knowing what they were doing while Joe was in the killers group. It really made it better not knowing when he might show up again or what he was doing. It made me even more on the edge of my seat, but at the same time as I have said I love Michael. I just wanted to know what was happening with him. Really the way it was written was great, and if you would have known what they were doing I think it would have ruined it a little bit.

This book, like the first, doesn't really have a romance aspect which I actually do like. Joe and Michael are dating, Michael calls himself her boyfriend and such, you see them together and getting closer, but it is not really a romance at all. It is about Joe's vision and trying to stop it from happening. It seems like every book I read has romantic aspects, so it is refreshing to read one where there really isn't any (even though I definitely would read just a Joe/Michael romance novel without any visions or anything. I love both of them so much). You don't see them making out, or even kissing much or anything. It is really not a focus which is refreshing. It really is just about Joe and her powers. Oh and her powers do start to evolve and she gets some new disturbing things that start happening. I am very interested in seeing where they go from here.

So I know I am not really talking about what this book is about, the plot besides Joe trying to stop another killer. Well I went into it not knowing anything about it, didn't read the synopsis or anything, and that was great. The synopsis really doesn't reveal that much either so I don't really want to give anything away. I will say Kyle and Kayla, Joe's only two friends when the first book started, are in this one.  I thought the very very end with Kayla was hilarious. I was just like right on! Really this book was amazing. I cannot seem to write enough good things about it. The intense showdown at the end is similar in feeling to the first book. It goes from person to person mid sentence which I like a lot. It just works. I usually don't give very many 5 star ratings, last year I only had 5 out of all the books I read, but this year I have read some really amazing books. This is one of them. On the 26th go get this book. It is amazing. If you have read Joe and enjoyed it, this one is even better. If you haven't read Joe yet go get that and then get this one. Seriously it is incredible.

Rating: 5/5

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads  

About the author:

H. D. Gordon is the bestselling author of THE ALEXA MONTGOMERY SAGA, THE SURAH STORMSONG NOVELS and THE JOE KNOWE SERIES. She is twenty-five years old and a true lover of words. When not hanging out with her two beautiful daughters, she can be found reading, writing, or just taking in the world so that she can translate it's beauty and wonders into the written word.