Sunday 4 November 2012

CURSED BY JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT

ISBN: 9780983157274
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 288
Formats Available: Hardback, Paperback,Kindle

BLURB from Goodreads
Dying sucks-- and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. 

However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.


MY REVIEW
I was lucky enough to receive a beautiful paperback ARC of this book from the generous people at Spencer Hill Press, so a big thank you to them!
The cover is attractive enough and the fact the image of the girl, presumably Ember being upside down does draw your eye to it when on a shelf. I think the reason it is upside down is a subliminal pointer towards the fact that the car accident Ember and her family were in "turn her life upside down".
So my daughter had read this one before me and she had neither hated nor loved it, so I decided I must read it as soon as I could to see what I thought. I must say I really enjoyed it. It has mystery, danger, conspiracy along with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
So basically Ember, younger sister Olivia and mum and dad are in the car, there's an accident and the dad and Ember are killed. However Olivia is an incredibly gifted child in that she can make dead things live again just by touching them, so of course faced with losing her much loved older sister Olivia touches Ember and brings her back to life. Ember, Olivia and their mother plod on with life after the death of "dad". But things of changed as now ember has a "Gift" or "Curse" as now everything that she touches or touches her bare skin dies. As you can imagine this leads ember to live a rather odd existence f never bing able to have skin to skin contact with anyone. Even when taking her younger sister to school, Ember has to wear gloves to be able to hold Olivia's hand. Since the accident Ember and Olivia's mum had kind of stepped back out of living and Ember is the one left to run the house and be mother to Olivia. 
They are "taken in" by a man named Cromwell who Ember doesn't trust. Ember does feel some sort of connection for Cromwell's son Hayden. 
Ember faces a lot of questions, such as is her "touch of death" a "gift" or a "curse"? Will she ever be able to control it? Why is Cromwell so interested in her and Olivia? What is the Facility? And the really big question is was the accident a real accident or had someone planned it?
I really loved this book, I read it at quite a fast pace, and basically had I not been tired could have sat and read it in one sitting! I do like how Jennifer L. Armentrout writes. You immediately become attached to the characters and want to learn more about them. I consider her books to be well written which in turn makes them so easy to read. They flow really well.
So did I enjoy this book? Yes, loved the characters. Would I read a Bk#2? YES please!
Would I read more by Jennifer L. Armentrout? I have and will continue to do so! Would I recommend? Yes.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

1 comment:

  1. I have not read the book, it seems an attempt to improve an opinion on current issues such as driving and crashing, slipping in a shopping mall and endless accidents.

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