Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Caster Chronicles #1)

Title: Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)

Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Synopsis/Summary: There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. -Taken from Goodreads

Find the book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

     This is a good book. It has a enticing storyline, detailed world-building and such, but this book is no light read, literally, I must say it was kind of exhausting adding the extra weight of this book in my bag all the time for the past few days.  :P

    I was a little annoyed going into the book at first because I felt like the writing for the first few chapters were really confusing. I don't know if it was just me, but I definitely didn't find myself being sucked in after the first few pages. Loving this book is a growing process, the deeper the story went, the more I saw its depth, its resourcefulness, plus the writing improved a lot in the later part of the book. So, if you were like me, Finding that the book wasn't really that great at first, just push through it, I am sure you will be enjoying the story by the middle of it, tops.

    This one is really a love story of some sort, with paranormals and other tragic things thrown into it, making it a tragic love story. Frankly, that was the part I least enjoyed. I liked almost all the plots, the one about facing fate (which was a big one, BTW), the one about Lena facing her school life (she was an outcast, you know, the whole new-girl-in-small-town setting, but it was kind of enjoyable) and also about Ethan finally letting go of mourning over her mom, about his emotional growth. Those were really good storylines, with depths and many questions of beliefs left for pondering, but somehow, in all of the lovable storylines, the romance failed to capture me. Not that I didn't like the whole we-can't-be-together thing, it's just that I found it a little cliche, and the romance actually took up too much place in the characters' heart. I know, they love each other, but I couldn't believe how they behaved, they were really stupid with the things that did for love. Well, I guess love is blind, I just couldn't take it, but I am sure many would devour this up, so, good ahead ;)

    I love the plot twists in this story. It was genuinely surprising at times, though after the reveal I could see the foreshadowings. The whole book had a lot of climaxes, and I enjoyed most of them. However, I don't know if it was because the book was too long or I was accustomed to the story being slow-flowing, I wasn't gripping the book and racing through the pages when the climax hits. It was still good though :)

    The ending was kind of bittersweet but generally it could be count as a good ending, not happy though. Also, there was no cliff-hanger here, there were some unanswered questions, but assuming from the size of the sequel, Beautiful Darkness, I am sure those would be answered in no time. I found the ending a little rushed. Yes, a book with 563 pages had a rushed ending. But really, things just happened so fast by the end I wasn't sure how it happened, and how it ended. But hey, you can't reveal all your secrets in one book, right? ;)

    There are things that I don't like in the plot, like how long the book is. Some chapters are kind of meaningless, they have little significance to the story. And, again, I must say I hated the beginning. I flat-out hated Ethan's voice at first, by after awhile I got used to it and the book (not the character) started to grow on me.

    I love the world-building of this book! I mean the whole thing is really unique. You have people that acts like witches but not really witches, but Casters, and you have Casters with different talents, they are called unique names too! The history of the Ravenwoods' curse is a pretty good addition too, not the most original though. :P I would like to know histories of Casters families though.

    I absolutely hate the small town settings though. I've read a lot of stories set in small towns, and this town isn't all that different anyway. Everything that happens spread through the whole town by dinner, everyone shuns the new kids, your cliques are determined in your childhood, there's nothing special about all of that. Well, except for the fact that this is a historic town.

    I don't really think the characters are all that lovable. They are not irritating, I just don't practically like them. Who knows why? They are not exciting or interesting, well, all except for Ridley.

    For example, Ethan, our protagonist, wanted change. Changes from life in the small historic town.
You know, I am sure many teenagers want changes too, so it's not an unique thing. That's fine. But how he reacts, his personalities, weren't all that special and distinguishing from other secondary characters either. The only thing that made him our protagonist was his connection with Lena. And as you all know, that's not a romance I swooned over. So no, I didn't connect with him and didn't find him all that special.

    As for Lena, I kind of find her annoying. She's whiny, while I admire her not backing away from things that are unfair and don't-take-shit-from-anyone (excuse the language, it's kind of an expression :P) attitude, I don't like her. She's not bad or anything, but I couldn't connect with her either and I couldn't take love-sick-puppy talk near the end of the book...

    You know, I don't really understand why I hated the romance... Maybe because I just didn't like the two characters, so I didn't like them together. Or because they so clearly belonged to each other that I couldn't really find myself excited when they were actually together, even though they had to climb through many obstacles to finally get there, but to be exact they haven't actually solved all problems yet, so we will see more of how they could finally be together in the next book, woohoo...

    Of course, all the above ranting and complaining actually were just my opinions, I am sure some of you will fall in love with Ethan and Lena and their love story, and if you do, let me know. I would definitely want to hear both sides' opinions ;)

    In short, this is a pretty epic book with lots of exciting plots, an uneasy romance and characters that were willing to embrace changes. I couldn't say I really liked it, because from my complain on the romance, the small-town setting to the characters, you know that I really have some negative thoughts about this book. But I really really liked the whole Caster idea and the plot, so I will give it a 3 star. It has its merits and flaws, but is a worthwhile read. I would recommend this to YA paranormal romance readers. I think they will enjoy the unique world-building of the paranormals in this book. Have fun reading! :)

Rating: 3 stars!

What elements do you like to have in your romance stories? The whole Romeo-and-Juliet kind? The good-natured bickering? Steamy kissing scenes? What kind of powers would you want to have as a Caster? Do you like the book? I think this is a pretty thought-provoking book, there was bullying, there were arguments on fate, like, can you control it and how would face it if your fate is already written and you can't change no matter what, etc. Those were good things to think about, it made us understand life better. So, any other thought-provoking book that you want to recommend to me? I am always up for reading more books that keep me thinking! Leave a comment and discuss! :)

Review: Forever and Beyond by Jayde Scott (Ancient Legends #5)

Title: Forever and Beyond (Ancient Legend #5)

Author: Jayde Scott

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Mystery, Fantasy

Publisher: Scotland (self-published)

Synopsis/Summary: Hidden from mortal eyes and divided into three factions are the creatures of darkness that coexist with mortals.

In the witches’ town Morganefaire, an ancient legend tells the story of a mirror that was once shattered into four fragments, each able to entrap a powerful soul.

Eighteen-year-old Amber is a struggling necromancer on a mission: help vampire Aidan stop the Prophecy of Morganefaire and protect the innocents from the inevitable fate that will befall them should the wrong faction win. When bodies begin to pile up, Amber realizes she has no choice than to work together with the fashion-savvy yet irritating ghost of a young witch to solve the mystery and protect the one she loves.

In a world of forbidden love, of ancient enemies and bonds spun by fate, nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. Amber’s life will never be the same again unless she finds out who the murderer is, and quick, before everything she ever loved is taken from her forever…

Find the book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

      Wow, a cliff-hanger, that's rare in this series! I know from the Feature & Follow post this week that many actually hated cliff-hangers, but I actually really liked them ;) I don't mind waiting, but if the book comes out 2 years later than the previous book, I would be really pissed. I guess it all depends on how the cliff-hanger was set up and how long 'til the next of the series was out. In Forever and Beyond's case, I love the cliff-hanger! Although, to be fair, Shadow Blood, the sixth in the series is already out, so I didn't really care about the cliff-hanger ending ;P

    There is another thing that I love about this book, it's the mystery. This time, the book features a murder mystery instead of the whole secretive boyfriend thing, and I must say I love murder mysteries much much more! The mystery was set up pretty good, we have Amber, still our protagonist, arrived in Morganefaire, an ancient witch/warlock town that no one knows existed and where it was located, and also immediately a dead girl turned up. The people wanted to blame it on Amber, since she was a new comer and a vampire (Aidan and Kieran had been there before), and Amber must solve the mystery about the murder before she was killed herself... As much as I love the whole mystery thing, I must say this book still didn't provide much in terms of answers to the mystery. Actually, it wasn't solved at all. There was a link somewhere between different events, but the book ended we can see how Amber links all things together. 

    Another complain I have on this book is how bad it handled all the unsolved mystery from the last book. At the start of the book, we had Amber do a brief recap on the events that happened in the last few books, since that happens in a lot of series books, I don't really mind. What really annoyed me is that the unanswered questions were kind of just glossed over and were just briefly explained within one paragraph or so. It was like Scott wanted to just throw away all the remaining loose ends immediately so she can start new ones. I like a good ending to each and every plot lines, so this whole explained-within-a-sentence thing really pissed me off.

    Also, the love triangle from the last book was kind of just brushed off the second Amber knew who was haunting her in the last book. She blamed the whole showing-affection-to-Devon thing as the ghost's fault, which I totally disagreed. She was the one who called him when she needed someone to talk to, and all the moments they shared together didn't seem forced. Deep down I know Amber actually had a thing for Devon, but for whatever reason, it was brushed off in this book. It was really unfair to this still-blooming love triangle, not to mention it was totally unsatisfying. It was actually a continuation of the whole throwing-away-all-loose-ends thing that I commented above.

    In this book we were introduced to Morganefaire, an ancient witch/warlock town which location was unknown. I liked the setting of Morganefaire, it was kind of original, a paradise (or at least, a safe place) for witches and warlocks to live in, so they won't be threatened by mortals. Good thinking, which definitely added some brownie points for my rating on this books.

 

     Sigh, still no Clare... I really want to read about Clare, it was mentioned that she lost her mate and I really wanted to know the story. Come on, Amber, give the mic to Clare already! Anyway, we did have some new characters in this book, the first one that I thought of is Julie, the ghost of the girl whose body was found shortly after Amber's arrival.

    I don't really like Julie all that much. She had many mood-swings, which Amber attributed to being a ghost. But I still hated it, she was mean to Amber and only wanted her to solve the mystery of her death and she didn't ask nicely either. She seemed spoiled to me, and I don't do spoiled characters. She did kind of bonded a friendship with Amber later in the book though, despite how treated Amber at times. I thought it was kind of annoying that she pushed Amber around, like she was the boss of her. Like I said, spoiled. I did like the mystery surrounding her murder, but other than that, I like nothing to do with this character :P

    This book was an acceptable addition to the Ancient Legends, and it definitely had its moments, but I really didn't think it was all that great, so I would give it a 3 stars. The book would be better suited for fans of the series, it was a good continuation on Amber's story. But if you're looking to butt into the series halfway, I don't suggest you to read this book first, as it was kind of a disappointment, at least to me, instead start with Doomed, the second book, which I gave a glowing five star review, I genuinely liked it! (Review here)

 

 

 

 

Rating: 3 stars!

How do you like cliff-hangers? What about a perfect way to tie up loose ends? What do you think a witch town should look like? And the most important thing of all, do you like this book? Personally I think the cover has some major problem, what's with the misshaped photo? :P Comment below, I would love to discuss ;)

Review: Dead and Beyond by Jayde Scott (Ancient Legends #4)

Title: Dead and Beyond (Ancient Legend #4)

Author: Jayde Scott

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Mystery, Fantasy

Publisher: Scotland (self-published)

Synopsis/Summary:Amber Reed is a dead girl walking.

Having just been turned by her gorgeous vampire boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Amber Reed is bestowed with the ability to see ghosts. Between trying to figure out how to control her bloodlust and solving the mysterious disappearance of a friend, Amber realizes someone wants to step into her shoes so badly, they’ll do anything to take her place.

When one secret after another pops up, the only person who believes her is her enemy, Devon. Amber can’t figure out if he’s here to help or save his own immortal race from losing the ancient war against the vampires. What she does know, however, is that she can’t resist his good looks just as much as she can’t help becoming someone else…

In a world of dark magic and ancient enemies, three powerful courts fight for supremacy, and Amber might just be the pawn in winning this war forever. But how’s a girl to survive when everyone wants her dead?

Find the book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

     After my slight break from the series, I am reading on again. The fourth book in the Ancient Legends Series took us back to Amber, where she decided to plunge headfirst into a mystery that might threaten her life...

    I must say I am not very satisfied with the book. It's still interesting, but I felt like everything that just kept happening. There was no twist at all, and basically no climax, there were mysteries but that was about it. However, I did find that the pages seep by without my knowing, and then the book ended. It wasn't a cliffhanger, but I felt the book really lacked climax. There was a big plot there, and would be stretched to the next book, and it was actually interesting. But the problem was that the reveal came too late, most, and when I say most I meant about 90%, of the book was spent spinning the mysteries for this plot, and that was it, no answers, and the book just ended. There was a vague paragraph about our protagonist processing what really happened and connected the dots, but she didn't elaborate and I didn't really want to think about it. Basically that means the book paved way for an interesting and exciting storyline but things stretched on for too long, and the whole book actually just felt like half the book, with all questions and no answers. That said, there were a few elements that I enjoyed in this book.

    First, I liked the love triangle. I know most of you groaned just reading or seeing that word, but the love triangle in this book was actually quite good. I mean, both sides were nice and I couldn't decide which team I'm in, like what happened when I read The Nine Lives of Chloe King Trilogy (review here!). In my opinion, that was a successful love triangle. I mean, what was the point of a love triangle if everyone knew from the start who the protagonist would end up with anyway? But of course, the love triangle in this book wasn't one sided, and I liked it :)

    Second, I love how smooth the plot went. Granted, there was only one POV(Amber) this time around, so there wouldn't be situations where readers confused from the switch of POVs and decided to take a break from the book (I did that!). The plot really kept moving and I just kept reading. But like I said from the beginning, the book lacked tension, drama and climax, even if it was able to lure me in and kept me reading, I wasn't really gushing about it. So actually this part was fifty-fifty. I liked that the plot went on without bumps, but I hated that there were no climax at all.

    It seemed that there were more paranormal creatures getting thrown into the mix this time. We had a werewolf, and a new demigod. These two characters didn't appear very often or hadn't appear until the very end of the book, so I really couldn't judge their powers and whether they made sense or not...

    The story was set back to Scotland in Aidan's mansion again. And the infamous shed made an appearance too. What I didn't understand was where did all the people go. The last time I checked, Henry and the house-keeper (the former one, I can't remember her name) should still be living in the garden shed, working for Aidan and Claire were still living in the house. But this time neither of them showed up which left a really big plot hole here. And I must admit I was upset because I was really looking forward to read about Claire's story, and now she didn't have an appearance at all, just some name-drop and it was like she moved to another planet or something. No one talked about her, which definitely didn't make sense.

    So, like I said, Amber was back for this book, and so was Aidan and some other characters that took a back seat during the whole Cass-losing-her-soul-mate debacle. (They did appear in that 2 book, and played a part too, but not an important one.) There was really no way to talk about the new characters because first of all, their parts were really small in this book, like a random name-drop here and the story just went on and second, there was really no way to introduce them without spoiling. So I will just talk about Devon, the guy that seemed interested in Amber in the first book, and was a recurring character in book 2 and 3.

    Devon was kind of like a two-sided guy. He could be really cold, like, no expression from his face or voice at all, or he could be quite cute, when he was flirting with Amber. I found that I have fallen in love with this character because his conversations with Amber were so funny, I didn't really have a LMHO moment, but it was good humored and I could feel that their flirting came rather natural, which spiked a hope in me despite Aidan being her bonded mate. I wouldn't tell you how that went but I think you will like Devon a lot more after you read this book ;)

    Blogger just started acting wonky when I finished the character part so I will be blunt and end this review. I have no desire to fight with blogger about the htmls in my blog.

    I would give this book 3 stars. It was a pretty good read if you were already a fan of the series and love Amber right from the start, but I am pretty sure just this book along won't be able to attract many readers to keep on reading. Because, let's face it, this book lacked the climax that I so needed in my stories. Since it failed to impress me but still managed to keep me interested throughout the whole book, I would give it an average 3 stars. I would recommend this to readers of light YA paranormal, as in the storyline won't too heavy, good for readers that didn't like reading a book that got all depressed and grim and stuff. Happy reading!

Ratings: 3 stars!

It was quite a light paranormal read I just had there, though it lacked some much needed tension to create a climax. So, tell me, what book you have read that had the most awesome climax? What do you think was needed to create a proper climax? And finally, the question that matters the most, what do you think of the book, or the series in general? Do you agree with me that this one was kind of a downer with the book 2 and 3 being so awesome? (Okay, technically, that was more than one question, but it's always good to have options ;) )

BTW: Anyone who uses blogger suffered the same formatting problem as me? You know, things shifting when you point your wicked little mouse at it? I must say, I am really annoyed. And that problem had been going on for weeks!

Review: Deadly Little Games (Touch Series#3) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Title: Deadly Little Games (Touch#3)

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal

Publisher: Hyperion

Synopsis/Summary: High school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend.

Before either one has a chance to fully grasp their abilities, a new danger surfaces, but this time, Camelia is not the target. Adam, a familiar face from Ben's past, is drawn into a puzzle he can't solve...and his life is on the line. As the clues pile up, Camelia must decide whether to help him and risk losing Ben or do nothing and suffer the consequences. But in these games, who can be trusted?

Find the book on: Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

      Okay, so this time the book is another stalker story with Adam as the stalkee. This series is basically all stalker stories, and since this time there was no major flash-back moments, I don't have anything to complain about. The story is still in the same format, but the stalker notes have improved, adding in more variations, not just "You're dead" and repeat and repeat. While these notes don't seem tailored to especially one subject, like the A notes from PLL (I can't help but think of it whenever the word "stalker" comes up), they are better.

     I also like the crossword puzzles clues a lot. However, I couldn't really get all of the answers right away...Does this means I am stupid? Anyway, LOVE it. It's a refreshing way to send threats and it's cryptic too. It helps add to the spook factor of the story (though there is actually not much spook in the book).

    However, there is one thing that dragged the book: the romance, again. I seriously hate Camelia and Ben's relationship, I can't stress that enough. And this time they went through more drama and it basically ended with another break between them. I feel that this couple can't ever settle down, it has been THREE books already, and they still haven't worked out all the trust issues!? I think that's a major sign that their relationship is not healthy (no, not that meaning), and I still think they should break up. Well , anyway, I am pretty sure they'd break up and then get together again, that's the basic cycle of their relationship. *sigh*

     Since Adam is a big deal in this book, we got to know some of his friends. There's Piper, Tray, Melissa and Janet. However, most of his friends didn't have much dialogue, so I don't really know much about them except some of their hobbies. Well, the book is short, so you can only have so many sentences about new characters, I understand.

 

      I think characters is actually a very big problem for this series. Since each book is very short (less than 300 pages), we never really got to hear the inner struggles of any characters. I have never really connected with Camelia and this time I think she irritated me even more. She was persistent on helping Adam, and that caused her to say things, not exactly harsh, but more bossy. And I HATED it. As little as I know about Camelia, I still know that she was not someone who would be bossy, she's nicknamed Chameleon for a reason, and I am sure it's not just because of her name. So what she did was a little out of character.

     There's really no characters that I can connect to and that's a major problem in this series, Adam has definitely grown on me with his wit, and he talks a lot, like me, so I actually like him, can't connect to him though. Why wouldn't he call the police when received stalker notes? *another sigh*

Conclusion:

     Deadly Little Games is a fast-paced book, a good follow-up on the first two of the series. It was definitely better than the previous two, as the plot is not so similar to other famous YA books, also the plot twist, as usual, is a surprising one, it's a good trait to carry on. However, this book doesn't really strike me as a must read, it's good for passing time so if you have time for a quick read, you can consider it, but I am sure there are other better fast-paced books. All in all, I would give this a three star as it's very average.

Rating: three stars!

So, have you guys seen any good stalker books lately? I would love to know ;)

Review: Deadly Little Sercret (Touch Series#1) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Title: Deadly Little Secret (Touch Series #1)

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publisher: Publisher: Hyperion

Synopsis/Summary:Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead she's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help – but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something...but he's not the only one with a secret. -Taken from Goodreads

Plot:

     I was going to read three books of the series before reviewing it, but since the plot is actually not that continuous with Book 2 (same characters, whole new story), I decided to review it separately.

    This is a fast-paced book, with only 252 pages, Laurie told a paranormal romance story. But beware, the paranormal aspect is actually quite minor, while it's somehow crucial to the plot, it's not what drives the plot to go forward. I was actually sad that there were so little paranormal, the idea was good, (I can't tell what the idea is, 'cause it would be a spoiler), but Laurie should use it more, making it a focus of the plot would be good.

    In between some chapters, there were some diary entries, these entries were actually written by the one who sent the gifts and notes to Camila. Whenever I read those entries, I would be "wow, psycho", yup, that's how crazy this person is, and the revelation of his identity is actually quite a plot twist, which I enjoyed.

    One thing I didn't like about the plot is the ending (yes, it's always the ending). While the ending of this book was not all bad, it answered all major plot questions in the story and the revelations of them were rushed, explaining them in a few sentences and then we have already moved on. The ending was a closure itself,  and I wondered how Laurie would go on with the second book. (Which means I will be reading it, yay.)

World-building:

    The story was set in a seaside town, I don't know the name, probably because that wasn't mentioned, or I just didn't remember. The settings were normal, there was a high school, restaurants, a shop for our protagonist to work at, etc. As for the paranormal aspect, it wasn't explained much, it didn't explain why someone would have the power, was it from his/her parents? Or was it acquired? We don't know, only that it was there, and it was somehow important to the plot.

Characters:

    I couldn't connect with the characters in this book. Nope, not even Camila.

    Camila was a normal high-school student, her life was organized, planned and somewhat perfect. Then she was almost killed, and saved by a handsome guy. And now she couldn't stop thinking about him. First of all, I was actually annoyed that Camila was so fixated on Ben (the one who saved her life), he was acting all cool and wouldn't even talk to her in the beginning, if I were Camila, I would take the hint and leave. But NO, she had to keep chasing him and ignoring her friends' advice to stay away from him. While Ben was not actually a bad guy, I didn't like him, nope, not one bit. So them as a couple? Please, I would rather do homework then read about them. I know that everyone had flaws, but some of the choices Camila made were so stupid that I wanted to smack her in the head and tell her to think again with her tiny bird brain. So, when things started happening to Camila, I didn't actually care, making the story all the less enjoyable. I told myself I should care, but really, I don't.

    As for Ben, well, he was the typical YA bad boy type. Mopey, doesn't talk much, but actually have a soft and caring side once you get to know him. Please, I don't care what happened to him in the past, I just know that the way he suddenly take interest in Camila was confusing. What made you change your mind? You were too cool to talk to her one day, and the next you were practically grabbing her (well, sort of)? I am sorry, but no amount of crappy past could make me understand and accept the sudden mood change.

    There was some good characters in this book though. Like Kimmie, Camila's best friend. She was supportive and loyal to Camila, even though she was acting all selfish and only cared about Ben. I liked her, but there was actually not much development on her, making her a loyal best-friend cardboard cutout. Same goes to the other characters, which was actually saddening because I like some of the characters a lot, but I couldn't connect with them either.

Conclusion:

    I would give this book 3 stars. It was an okay book, not too shocking, not too crappy either. The characters need more development. There were actually a lot of dialogue in this book, and apparently some of them were even attempting to be funny, I don't know if it was because of my sense of humor (or lack thereof), but I don't find it funny. I think it was annoying and was taking time from the plot. Overall, the first book of the Touch series failed to impress but I will keep reading and see if there are anything interesting.

Rating: 3 stars!