Cursed by Jennifer L. ArmentroutMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
EEP!!! I won a contest to get a book of my choice and guess what I picked!!! YUP! This will be at my house next week!!!! ACK!!!!!
HOLY COW! JLA has done it AGAIN!!!! Review to come...
Ok, so I gave it 5 stars, I just had to. I had some issues with it, but I really liked it overall and I sped through it, so that must be saying something, yes??? There were a few grammatical/editing errors that I thought should not have been there considering this book was written a while ago. That was a bit disappointing, but it didn't stop me from loving it.
A little background to the story. Ember is not your typical teen, she died. And not only has she been dead, she's been brought back to life by her little sister and now she has a "gift": whatever she touches dies. She's an outcast at school and even her mom ignores her. Then she sees Hayden, and suddenly her world is turned upside-down. She and her family are taken to Johnathan Cromwell's house where she is anything but different. There she meets a bunch of teens who are much like her, gifted. But they don't think she's gifted, they think she's cursed, as her "gift" didn't come around until after she was brought back to life. She would do anything to touch others again, to have that contact...and she does....
Story-line: I really liked the plot of this book. Probably because it was so similar to another book that I absolutely love: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. So I was swept right into this book. And, of course, Jennifer knows how to write, so that just held my interest right there. She sets the background for a contemporary paranormal novel. The scenery is described so well, I felt like I was in Allentown...and then in West Virginia. Of course there is the "insta-love" factor in this book, would it be YA without that? But it didn't bother me, because if it did then certainly I would not like YA to begin with! The story-line has that Xmen feel to it, which I love.
The characters: Welll, really, what is there not to like about JLA's characters. She develops them so well, you really do feel what they are going through. And they are always likable, even the evil ones!
Ember McWilliams is strong and independent. She takes care of her family, because she doesn't have a choice. She forgoes friends and anything else, because she's an outcast and doesn't have a choice. She's a completely tortured soul, and you can feel it oozing right out of her from the very start. Of course, she has the obligatory geeky best male friend, Adam, but JLA never takes it any further than the friendship.
Then there's Hayden Cromwell. Well, he's hot: RAWR! Not Daemon Alien hot, but not too far behind. JLA really knows how to write a lead male character that you want to be with, and I mean that in every sense of the word! He's sweet and caring and protective beyond belief. But he's also secretive and standoffish at times. And he has his own gift, one that allows him to get closer to Ember than anyone else. And the steaminess between him and Ember, with her not being able to touch him and all, WOW! My heart was pounding when they were near each other, and they weren't even doing anything! The tension really just caused my heart to constrict and my ears to smoke!
The supportive characters are also well laid out. Olivia, Ember's little sister, is a typical little 6 year old girl. She's bratty and annoying but has unconditional love for her sister. Phoebe and Parker, the twins, who have their own abilities, don't make it a secret that they are not happy about Embers presence. Neither does Gabe, who doesn't like Ember from the very start and has no qualms about showing it. Hayden's father, Johnathan, is a hard one to read. You're not sure if he's good or bad or what his intentions are. But I'm sure that's what JLA intended...had to keep us guessing the whole time. And Ember's teacher, Mr. Theo, who connects with her immediately and shows that he is someone she can come to in her time of need.
The writing: Well, I love Jennifer's writing. She is truly talented. This book has an easy flow. She could write a manual on how to raise chickens and I would buy it, because she just knows how to write. That's a talent right there. The pacing was dead on with this book. There was no slowness to it at all. It had me turning pages so fast, I thought my head would spin.
My assessment: I really loved this book. I flew right through it, as I've done with all of JLA's books that I have read. I did figure things out about 1/2 way through the story, or even earlier, but I wasn't 100% sure until then. There were hints dropped here and there and it just seemed logical to come to the conclusion of where the story was going. Although, I didn't know why it was going there until the end. I can see how this could possibly be turned into a series, and of course I'd love to see where that would go. I really didn't want this book to end! I wanted it to go on and on so I could keep finding out more and more about Ember and Hayden. And also so I could watch their relationship grow. Anyone who likes JLA's books is going to devour this one. It not like her other books, but then again, her other books are not like each other.
So, did I like it, heck yeah!
Do I think you should go read it? WHY ARE YOU STILL READING MY REVIEW! GET TO THE STORE AND BUY THIS BOOK! I assure you, you will not be disappointed!
5 shining stars from me.
This review also posted to the following sites:
Barnes and Noble: bhwrn1
Amazon: bhwrn1
Library Thing: Brooke DelVecchio
Books a Million: bhwrn1
No comments:
Post a Comment