A Touch Mortal {early ARC review} * * * *

A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

* Feb 22, 2011 *

- paranormal, YA -

reviewed by Tara SG

received for review via Book It Forwards Tours

Book Order (??)

1. A Touch Mortal (Feb 22, 2011) * * * *
2. Untitled
3. Untitled

Links

Author’s Website : www.leahclifford.com

Author’s Twitter : @leahclifford

Amazon : pre-order hardcover /pre-order eBook

Add To Your GoodReads TBR List (47 ratings : 4.06 avg)

In Six Words

depressingly tough characters with intriguing mythology

Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?

Another find via the tour site, I read the summary for this and thought it sounded really good. I was not disappointed. This is what I wanted Darkness Becomes Her to be. The characters were tough and had to be in order to survive. The mythology was well built and well explained (although it got some complaints that I’ll address later). The action was beautifully balanced with romance and character development. This book was insanely depressing. Not a light read at all.From the summary it comes across as more of a romance (which it included), but there is a lot more to the main character than her love of Az. I will say that in the beginning I thought things were moving super fast, however, after getting past the first half I understood why some things were rushed. Looking back I wouldn’t have wanted it more fleshed out.

Cliffhanger Alert : I’ll be picking up the next book not just because I really enjoyed this one, but I have to know what happens next. It was a throw your book at the wall kind of ending.

Brief Summary

Eden didn’t expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else’s game. Her heart is her own.

And that’s only the beginning of the end.

- via GoodReads.com

Plot/Pacing/Writing Style

I wasn’t sure that I’d be interested in another angel book. There are sooo many out right now. However, I love how this one was done. There were a few complaints I came across about people feeling confused with all the terms (Upstairs, Downstairs, Bound, Siders…). I personally thought it was pretty simple (as long as you knew it was an angel book I guess). The only term I don’t understand is “Sider” and that’s the whole point. We aren’t supposed to know what they are, what they can do, and why they exist.

I complained ealier about a book using too much cussing in a YA that didn’t fit the characters or the situation. This book has quite a bit of strong language, however, it felt real and inhanced the feel of the book and characters.

I’m a little torn about how suicide played a major role in the story. I’ll probably save this for the Going Deeper section so I can include a few slight spoilers.

Like I mentioned above, at first I thought the book was rushing things. After getting into the “main” story, I realized that it would have dragged too much to have included more of Az and Eden falling for each other.

Characters

Aside from another corny name for an angel book, I really loved Eden. I feel terrible for this poor girl. We meet Eden at the lowest point of her life and then after her death it just gets worse. She struggles throughout the whole book. She isn’t only a new being that no one really understands, but she’s a freak among them. She gets addicted to helping the others and stealing their power. She has to avoid the man she thought she loved who betrayed her trust. It seems like they will address more of some of these in the next book.

Az isn’t much less depressing. After being kicked out of Upstairs for falling in love for a mortal, he is constantly fighting the urge to become one of the Fallen. The fact that the Fallen hunt down and torture anyone he cares about doesn’t help. I really liked him and found his struggle to be heartbreaking. He truly cares about Eden.

There are some other great side characters like Gabe and the other Siders that are well-rounded and a huge part of the story.

Recommendations

If you like darker YA with a paranormal element then this is for you. If you liked Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton, but wouldn’t mind the extra harsh language and darker story then you should check this out.

Going Deeper (slight spoilers)

The one thing we do know about Siders is that they start to disappear from the minds of those around them during their human life until they become so depressed they kill themselves. However, instead of getting the release of death, they awake as a new paranormal being that takes away a human’s sense of right and wrong with mearly a touch. While suicide is obviously mentioned in the book, it really isn’t “talked about”. Eden’s ability to kill Siders allows her to grant the wish that most of them wanted in the first place, but it almost seems encouraged instead of finding some kind of peace in their new lives. I’m really not sure how I feel about this.