CursedPublisher: Spencer Hill Press, 2012Genre: YA ParanormalDying 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.
Ember and Olivia McWilliams are very special girls. Olivia has the power to heal, and after she brought Ember back from death, Em’s touch can kill anything. It’s been two years since the last time Ember touched another human being, and she has no hopes of ever getting rid of her curse. But then a strange boy appears claiming her power is actually a gift, and he can help her control it. After that Ember’s life takes another drastic turn when Hayden’s father relocates her and her family to his house. A house where other teens with extraordinary powers live. Ember doesn’t trust Mr. Cromwell and, after a series of attacks on her, she’s convinced he had something to do with the accident that killed her.
Cursed is another exciting read by Jennifer L. Armentrout. If you know about her novels then you know the awesomesauce that awaits you, and if you don’t know then what are you waiting for!?
Typical of Armentrout’s heroines, Ember is a strong young woman who’s gone through some pretty rough times. The girl died fer crissakes! Then her sister brought her back. A pretty traumatic experience that has left Ember with some deep issues. Also, the accident that killed her also killed her father, and her mother checked out after that, so Ember’s been taking care of Olivia all by herself. The accident left her with some serious scars on her body, so she’s also dealt with bullying in school. Even after all that she fights on for her little sister. I liked that a pretty face like Hayden didn’t sway her so easily. She was and stayed suspicious of him and his father for the most part. After being relocated to West Virginia (when they mention Seneca Rocks my only thought was Daemon! LOL), she’s effectively isolated from everything and everyone she knew, but Ember sticks to her guns trying to find out the truth. Even if it means she could lose the only person who might be able to touch her.
The swoon was good. Really. J.L. Armentrout writes some awesome swoon, and I fell for Hayden from the beginning. But Hayden’s obsession was a bit creepy at times, and the whole thing with watching her sleep rang to much like Edward ‘the creep’ Cullen. There were also many things that kept me worried, like who was the shadow, and who really orchestrated the whole thing, and what terrible past Hayden had, that I could never trust him completely. Not trusting the swoon is like no swoon at all. I felt exactly like Ember, not knowing if I should give my heart out to this amazing guy.
Ember’s struggles, suspicious, and issues kept me turning the pages as fast as I could, but once the ‘bad guys reveal time’ came I was kind of disappointed. One I saw coming a mile away, and the other just made me roll my eyes. As in “Seriously!? And yall gonna do nothing?” Le sigh. I’m a series or trilogy kind of girl. It doesn’t mean I hate one-shots but, in this case, I did hate it. Mostly because I was left with so many questions. I mean, what happened to the Mom? Olivia and her powers? The other kids and their powers? What about Squeaky the resurrected hamster? And the Facility and their interest in Project E? Gah!
Favorite Quotes:
~A guy who can quote~
“Uh…I’ve seen you around here a couple of times,” he tried again, staring at the book I held. “‘I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.’”
I stared. “What?”
His lopsided grin spread into a full one, and it felt like someone had socked me in the chest. “It’s a quote from Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray. It’s one of my favorite books.”
Hot and smart.
~Couldn’t stay way~
“Why didn’t you talk to me before the day in the library? Then this wouldn’t be so…messed up.”
His dark gaze settled on my face. “I couldn’t, Ember. I…wasn’t supposed to keep going back, but…”
“But what?”
A door opened somewhere in the house, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Hayden reached out and brushed a curl of my cheek. My heart stopped. His hand hovered there. “Don’t roam off too far.” Then he walked off, leaving me standing in the open door.
In a daze, I stepped outside.
~Our form of kissing~
“Hayden?” I whispered.
“Yes?” He shifted closer, his warm breath brushing the skin of my neck like the night in the cabin. This was our form of kissing—our soft, feathery-light kisses that never made contact.
My hand rose reflexively, wanting to touch him. I stopped myself a mere inch from his cheek. Helplessly, my fingers curled around thin air.
