Book Review- A Touch Mortal

By Leah Clifford

Published By GreenWillow Books

Released on February 22nd, 2011

Source- ARC from publisher for review

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 (quoted from Goodreads).

A Touch Mortal has been on my radar for some time now and I was thrilled to have the chance to review it, as the premise alone was so intriguing to me. I couldn't wait to devour the book. I started out loving the instant connection between Eden and Az. I knew there was something different about Az, and it wasn't hard to feel sorry for Eden and what she was feeling when the books starts. The whole beach scene between the two of them and Gabe totally grabbed my attention and I was anxious to watch their relationship grow. I was a little bummed when the story jumps ahead at the next chapter, leaving out the romantic development. I really wanted to see their relationship develop, versus being told. Not that it's bad being told, I just wanted a little something more.

I really enjoyed Leah's fascinating mythology. I felt she had a great cast of characters who have some pretty unique paranormal powers, but I felt I didn't get to really know her characters like I wanted to. I wanted to feel like I was apart of their world and I didn't walk away feeling that. I think A Touch Mortal had a great plot, but felt the story skipped around too much that it took too much away from the story for me, and at times I felt a little lost with trying to figure out what some of the terminology meant the first time it's mentioned.

While I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did, I know there are other readers who have enjoyed it. I think that if you're pondering on whether or not to get it, I would borrow the book first to see if it's right for you. I do want to caution that there are a lot of mentions of suicide through out the story. This is a very sensitive subject for many people and it's not something to take lightly. Though Leah writes it in a way that's not graphic, it's a big theme in the book. There is also a lot of language in this book that often times I felt was out of place. Really I can handle some language, but I get turned off from a book when there's a lot of f-words, and I felt it was out of character for an angel to use that word. Due to the sensitive topics and language I would recommend this book for more mature YA readers.