Monday, September 3, 2012

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Spencer Hill Press
September 18, 2012
Reviewed by: AmyG (big sis)
Sister's Say:  Clever, Captivating and Contagious

Cursed
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've 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.


Are you ready for another kick-butt heroine, hunky boy, and action packed story from Jennifer L. Armentrout?  Well, here is another one!  JLA, once again, delivers her legendary snark, tension, and angst that accompanies all of her novels.

Ember has the touch of death.  Everything she touches withers and dies.  Teenage years are not fun anyway, but if you add in the fact that your touch brings death, then life just plain stinks.  Life doesn't get any better from there either. Ember is raising her much younger sister alone, since her father was killed in a car accident, and her mother has never been the same since.  Through it all though, Ember is strong.  She's amazing and still has an unbelievable capacity to love even after all life has thrown at her.  She is cut from the same stock as Katie and Alex.  Jennifer knows how to create heroines that readers love, cheer for, and dream about becoming!

JLA has already given us Aiden and Deamon and now meet, Hayden!  I think I will forever have a love of boys that end with N!  Hayden is protective, smoldering, and just pure sweetness!  There are some cabin scenes in there ladies, while he is training Ember, that will just make you melt into a big puddle of mushiness!  I must mention that he is lots of broken, and yes, he had me at broken.  He has a heartbreaking history and not to mention some crazy powers that when combined together lead to fireworks!  And of course, like all good heroines, Ember must step in to help him heal that brokenness.  And no one does broken boys and their girlfriends like JLA!

Cursed is also loaded with action, and it doesn't stop until the last page.  Between training to control Ember's powers, the other talented teens, and the evil forces at work you will not be left wanting for action.  The ending had me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails until I read the last sentence!  

I do have to mention, but only really quickly that some of my favorite YA books of all time are JLA's Covenant and Lux novels.  They are just some of the best books out there.  And, I do like them more than Cursed (for all those asking which I liked better), but JLA still delivers everything she does so well in this book also.  If you are tried and true fan of Jennifer, then you will not be disappointed!  I found myself saying several times through this novel, "This is why I love JLA so much!!!"  No one writes YA like she does!!!

Cursed has a great romance, and I would say that it's safe for the younger YA crowd.  Her other two series are definitely on the more mature side of YA, but parents looking for their younger teens are good to go with this one.  I would still of course always encourage parents to read these books first and decide for yourself what is appropriate for your teen.  Trust me though, you will like these books too!