Book Review: Cursed by Jennifer Armentrout

Synopsis: 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. 

REVIEW:

This is my third time around with Jennifer Armentrout, and let me just say, she doesn't disappoint. If you do know what I'm talking about, then high five. If you don't, run to your closest bookstore and purchase her two highly addictive works, The Lux Series and The Covenant Series. I mean it.

Right away this book has a very X-Men feel to it and that's not to say the plot is been-there-done-that, but fresh in it's own way. As with all of Jennifer's books, it pulls you in right away with a fast moving plot and a relatable, consistent voice so fitting to the Young Adult genre. Each page constantly demands the reader to crave what happens next, and crave I did. Once I lent my full, undivided attention to Cursed, I couldn't get it back until it was finished.

There was so much about this book that I liked, but it didn't always conceal it's flaws well. While this is not the only stand alone book Armentrout has, she seemed to struggle with the transition from writing a series to a book that stands on it's own. By the end of Cursed, I felt the story was finished, but that it'd been smushed and condensed to fit from something that could easily go on to one or two more books. Many plot elements could have and maybe should have been expanded, minor characters especially. The other gifted kids who Ember encounters have bits of their personalities shown, but not much for the reader to hold onto or care about. They are mentioned frequently, but rarely interacted with. It makes their presence and the plot points within them seem like pawns to move the story along. In a larger work like a series, I think the minor characters would give the plot more shape and strength. The reason why the interactions with the other characters are so few and far between is because the bulk of the story focuses on  Ember's romance with Hayden. Now it's not a terrible thing, having  about 250 pages worth of Hayden scenes in this book of 304. The presence of such a strong character like Hayden balances out the absence of the others.

While at times lacking and maybe even a bit predictable, I'd still say you'd be doing yourself a favor by going out and buying this book. If you're looking for a fun, quick read with a hot splash of romance, you can't go wrong.

3.5 Stars