Friday, January 11, 2013

Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

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Source:  Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and hones review.

From Goodreads:

Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.


My Thoughts:




3 stars:  Has a strong start that drew me in quickly

I really enjoyed how this book starts.  The mythology, the idea of the 13th sign, and the lore of necromancers really made this one promising.  As I raced through the pages, I suddenly realized that I was reading an all out zombie book.  And while I get that with the necromancer lore and all, zombie are not really my thing.  AND there is a lot of dying and zombie making in this one. 

As for the characters, Jodi was okay.  She seemed a little dense to me as strange life/death events happened repeatedly around her and she didn't really catch on very quickly.  Then later, she just seems to "know" what to do to use her power.  Not really buying those two points together though.  I think she may be a stronger character at the end of the book and ready for the challenges of book two.

As for Alex, the stalker turned love interest, I actually liked him.  See, I got Alex.  I saw what was happening clearly and knew where he was coming from.  His macaroni and cheese eating ways were pretty darn clear.  So I was cheering that boy on through all the drama his "family" caused.

As for the rest of the Ophi?  Well, I'm not a fan.  At least the ones in this book.  Seems like they're a pretty jerky lot if you ask me with one or two exceptions.  Abby was an interesting case.  She's that love to hate her witchy one and she played her role WELL.  

I wasn't surprised much in this book.  Really I saw it coming but it was interesting to see it unfold. 

If you like mythology books with a heavy dose of zombies, this may be one you should add to your TBR pile.


About the author:

I write for children of all ages from picture books up to young adult. I am proudly represented by Lauren Hammond of ADA Management. My debut YA, TOUCH OF DEATH, releases January 15, 2013 through Spencer Hill Press. Also look for my other upcoming YA novels: STALKED BY DEATH (Spencer Hill Press, July 23, 2013), THE MONSTER WITHIN (Spencer Hill Press, April 2014), THE DARKNESS WITHIN (Spencer Hill Press, TBA), and INTO THE FIRE (Month9Books, spring 2014). My debut MG series CURSE OF THE GRANVILLE FORTUNE releases in 2016 through Month9Books. 



6 comments:

  1. The macaroni and cheese!! Yes, I totally wanted to hug him, even though he still creeped me out a little. I do understand that he had issues, but he's got a lot of work to do to win me over. Jodi reminded me of myself a bit with how accident prone she is, though I would have suspected something if animals were dropping dead and coming back to life after I was bleeding lol!! I enjoyed this one though and I can't wait to see where the story goes. Jodi and Alex both grew a lot by the end of the book and I liked that. Great review hon!

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  2. So....I like this cover, but I'm not sure I would like the book. Maybe someday.

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  3. I totally wanted mac and cheese when I was reading this book. I loved the idea of this book. Necromancers (I wish there were more books on this), mythology and zombies!
    Wasn’t a big fan of Jodi, especially all the times she conveniently cut herself but now that she knows what is going on, I might like her more. I liked Alex too.

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  4. Haha - I'm totally curious about Alex now.

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  5. I've been seeing some reviews on both ends of the spectrum for ToD. I'm glad you liked it, despite not falling totally in love. Great review!

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