Becca Campbell has outdone herself with the fabulous Flawed Series and Outsider, Book II, just keeps me craving more. If you love to get lost in magical realism, where the characters tug at your heartstrings and you feel their pain, you will want these books on your reading list.

All his life, Josh felt like an Outsider.

Why were Josh’s family and friends empowered with supernatural abilities and not him? As many supernatural books as I have read, I think he is being saved for something special. Am I right? I shall have to read on to find out and so will you.

Alex came into his life. Her mom was too busy for her, her friends…out of sight, out of mind, so it’s time to make new ones. She’s not a plain Jane, she just doesn’t feel the need for makeup and likes her casual clothes. Alex gets along well with men and has few women friends. That makes it easy for me to relate to her, because I am the same way.

When Nic met Alex, it wasn’t what he anticipated and I love it. His power of captivation didn’t work this time. LOL When he poured water over his eyes, I laughed even louder.

Ah…young love and longing.

We have college teenagers, hanging out, some of them in a band, some of them with superpowers. It starts out with teenage angst and doesn’t take long for some action and danger to rear its ugly head..

Alex had no idea she had made an enemy and I see big trouble on the horizon.

OH MAN Becca! WTF are you doing? How could you? And, as if it wasn’t already bad enough…THE DOOR!

The blend of reality and fantasy, with engrossing characters who are growing and developing, becoming more complex as the story unfolds, ramps up to a white knuckle ending and I must have more. ( )

Outsider (Flawed, #2) by Becca J. Campbell

All of Josh's friends and family have super powers, he feels less than perfect. When a psychopath tries to kill Josh's friends he wants to help in some way. Then he meets Alex, she is grateful for the new friends she has met, especially Josh.

Soon Nic, a young man with amazing abilities who is used to always getting what he wants has an encounter with Alex. But Alex gets in his way, and he loses his superpowers. He wants revenge against her for "disabling" him. With the help of his friend Ethan, they set out to find Alex and punish her , as he feels fit. Will Josh be able to "save the day"?

A page-turning thrilling read. Josh is very likable, he just wants to be like everyone else. Alex is likable as well, she wants to fit in , and have new friends. The plot is intense , with dramatic moments, suspense, thrills , friendship and amazing people with super powers. I highly recommend Outsider to all. ( )

I really enjoyed, Empath, the first book in this series, and Pulled, the shorter story about a side character, so I knew I’d enjoy Outsider.

Josh feels like an outsider. His friends and sibling have special abilities, but so far, he has none.

Hiding behind his shyness and low self-confidence, he just knows he’s meant to be special, but nothing has changed. Now out of college, he waits, hoping his ability will appear, hoping to be special like all the others.

Things do change when Alex moves in with his sister. He really likes her. Figures she has a special ability too. Now he really feels left out.

What does the future have in store for Josh? Will he ever gain a special ability? Will he ever get the girl? Will he ever be special?

I felt for Josh. I could see where his low self-esteem came from. It seems everyone around him has a special ability and he’s just plain old Josh. As the story develops and a very nasty villain sets his eye on Alex, he really came into his own. The author let him grow, mature, become self-confident and brave, even without any abilities.

And Alex was a pleasure to meet. She had some spunk, but missed her friends back home. Moving away from home was never a question, but she was unsure if she’d fit in with this new place and new friends.

There was a sweet romance brewing too. Josh was crushing on Alex. Alex was crushing on Josh. Neither knew how the other felt. Neither felt confident enough to act on it. Made from some tender and funny moments.

And the villain is truly despicable. Ethan can hypnotize with his eyes. He uses it to con people out of their money and possessions, with them never remembering him. How low is that?

A botched attempt on Alex leaves him furious and bent on revenge. He’s planning something terrible and getting closer.

While you could read this before reading the first book, I’d recommend you read Empath first so you would be familiar with the plot and characters. There are some old ones and new ones in this story.

The ending was heart pounding and very satisfying, but it wasn’t the end. There were questions to be answered and a lead on where the story was going next. I felt there were dangerous times ahead for these characters and will be waiting to see what happens. ( )