Innocence by Dean Koontz

isbn: 978-0-553-80803-2

published 2014 (that's what it says buuut it came out 12/2013) 

read: practically all of January 

I'm just laughing at this picture. I'm sure as my blog grows, they'll get better but I'm just happy i have this funny non professional picture. (edit: original picture got deleted so im using an interwebs one.)

any who, whaaat the heck did i just read!? 

I'm not sure why this book took me so long to read but i mean if the short story that was only 38 pages long took me a good while then what was i to expect? 

Addison Goodheart has been on his own since he was 8 because his mother, although she saved him at birth, could no longer live with him; couldn't bare to stare at him or be near him any longer. 

....and then boom **small spoiler!** she kills herself once she has sent him on his way. 

he ends up in the city, almost faces death & gets rescued by the man that he ends up calling Father. 

it isn't until one night that he is roaming in the library after hours that he ends up finding Gwyneth, the one thing that until then he didn't know was missing. 

i love how they are so different from each other yet they compliment each other pretty well. 

read after the jump to read all about the spoilers!!!! 

eeeekkk!

as soon as Addison meets Gwyneth its set in stone that he is in love with her. 

once she escapes Ryan in the library, Addison goes to her in the hidden secret passage (page 42-43. read this little fact!) and lets her know that he is there for her. 

since there's a lot to talk about (believe me i typed it up and i decided to do bullet points instead!) i have decided to just make it as a break down instead of just talking about it so i don't bore you. 

here it goes!!!! if you dont want ANY spoilers stop now!

• Gwyneth & Addison are the same. while i thought maybe Addison had some sort of disfigurement that made people afraid of him and Gwyneth just had some sort of touching people phobia turns out that.....Addison is a pure soul. he was born with a pure life and when people see him directly in the eyes, face or even hands they see their own faults and all the terror that there is. (this i did not see coming!) i guess Gwyneth can do the same but with touch (?). 
• side note: they never get sick, cuts never get infected...so on so on. basically, they're perfect!
• Gwyneth's father was killed by Ryan Tellford with Honey which was his hobby, so to speak (her fathers, Ryan hated honey.) once he killed him he had intended to rape and potentially kill Gwyneth and while he made it up to her own floor room she managed to get away. 
• there's a part about an artist, i forgot his name (of course you did les!), it starts with a P. he became very popular because of his work with abstract art but quickly changed it to painting marionettes. before he killed his family and himself, he created 6 marionettes. Addison noticed one following him with its eyes in the toy store the day he landed in the city; the night that father saved him. Gwyneth while dressing goth to keep people away, she based it of the marionettes. which made them aware of her. she has managed to hunt and burn 4 of the 6. 
•  a drunk homeless man (who was an up and coming artist that lost it all to alcohol) found a young girl badly beaten by (or behind) a dumpster. he took her to the nearest donut shop and they took her to the hospital. after being there for a while since no one had came forward to claim her they were considering cutting her off life support. when Walter hears of this, he calls i believe Gwyneth's guardian who then tells her and she has her estate fight for the rights to take over the young girl. She ends up with custody and the girl is taken care of by Walter and his sister
• note: Walter is husband of the badly beaten and murdered nurse. (that little story you'll have to read for yourself!)
• the homeless man was Simon. Gwyneth took care of him and as a thank you gave him a place to live. unfortunately Ryan kills him when he starts looking for Gwyneth.
• while it never states it, i believe this story takes place in the future. when (and once Ryan kills Walter, his sister & 2 kids) Ryan finally knows where to find her (in Walter's home because of the little girl) he is in horrible state. apparently he had traveled to South (or North) Korea and there was a wide spread disease. a fatal one. there is no cure and it has spread so everyone is dying, so when Gwyneth is trying to take the girl, he really cant put up a fight and ends up dying. (as i type this it makes a lot of sense as to why a lot of people were saying that there was no point in him causing all this. everyone knew they were going to die....yet some still tried to run away. i love how stuff clicks after its time.) 
• Tauge H., Gwyneth's guardian (her fathers best friend and the only person he truly trusted) was the man that gave Father the key to the food bank and good will store that Addison & Father would "shop" at. he is also aware of the death coming upon them (hey!!!! i believe in the story Addison hears something about South (or North) Korea and some sort of disease....see what i mean! :D) which is why he chooses not to leave with them when they offer. 
• ENDING SPOILER!!!!!: i know I've spoiled some of it but this is the end. as in how the books ends so if that's something you don't wanna know then STOP NOW!!!! Addison , Gwyneth, Moriah (the young girl that she saved) and 3 more children (that are just like Addison, Gwyneth & Moriah) survive basically the end of the world. for fear of something happening, Gwyneth's father set up an estate out in the forest for her to retreat too. supplied with 3 years worth of food and a bunch of other stuff. which turns out that its okay if they run out. there's a source that provides for them. and all the dogs!!! (where did they come from!? haha read the book sucka!) being such a dog lover, I'm glad the puppies survive! :D 

spoilers ooova!

aaaahhh!!!!
trust me,if you read it all i know you're thinking "gee les, you spoiled it all for us!" well 
a) i did warn you but 
b) believe me i didn't. there's still much i haven't said. still to this very word that I'm typing I'm thinking of things that i missed!!!

I'm not sure why it took me so long to finish this book but i can say that whole "Addison being ----" twist really sucked me in!
i love Dean Koontz and this book is one of those that show why he is my favorite. 
his story lines just take a turn and twist that you did not expect!

this book was great! i cant wait to read it again a few years down the line!
if you happen to read this, let me know what you think!
i just went to barnes & noble and got me some new books so i cant wait to start those!!
thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post! (: