Monday, August 10, 2015

Review: Stone Cold Touch

STONE COLD TOUCH
The Dark Elements #2
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Paranormal Young Adult
464 pages
HarlequinTEEN
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…


MY THOUGHTS
Stone Cold Touch follows a fairly standard second book formula in terms of the romance, the fragile relationship established in book one falling apart in this sequel as a second love interest steps up and tosses his hat in the ring. While those who abhor love triangles regardless of whether or not they’re well done will likely want nothing to do with Layla, Zayne and Roth, Ms. Armentrout does know how to create a believable romantic tension between three people that leaves us torn as to which pairing we want to see get their happily ever after in the end.

Layla is one of the main reasons this triangle is more successful than most, her longtime love for Zayne and her realistic understanding that said love will forever be one-sided making her reaction to the sudden shift in Zayne’s interest feel genuine rather than forced. When everything she’s ever wanted but thought she could never have is suddenly within her reach, it’s hard to blame her for wanting to reach out and grab it with both hands despite her lingering feelings for Roth. Layla isn’t the waffling type though, nor does she play games and lead one party on before moving on to the next and repeating the action, instead she takes things slowly across the board, questioning Zayne’s newfound interest and calling Roth out on his sudden rejection of everything she thought they were working toward.

The guys, while throwing a well-aimed verbal punch at one another on occasion, don’t cause us to roll our eyes in frustration as they prepare to do battle for Layla, choosing instead to thoroughly confuse our feelings for them by proving themselves both worthy of her affection. Stone Cold Touch isn’t all romance however, and Ms. Armentrout gives us plenty of substance in this second installment rather than stringing us along until everything inevitably comes to a head in the third book. Overall, while the love triangle will likely be a deterrent for many a reader, it is well executed and much more than Layla’s heart is on the line by the time we reach the final page, leaving us anxious to buckle ourselves in for the Every Last Breath ride.

Rating: 4/5
 

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This book was  sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

23 comments:

  1. I'm not a hater of love-triangles, I know they happen. So that certainly doesn't turn me off to this series. I still haven't read any JLA's books yet, but I swear, I'm getting there!

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    1. I really enjoy this series Christy, it's definitely my favorite of hers:)

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  2. A love triangle that works, well I should not be surprised, I have seen like 2 before so ;) They can work..but rarely

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    1. Yes, they can be tricky for sure. This one was believable for me:)

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  3. I'm not a fan of love triangles but like you, this one was well done and it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would! Now to read Every Last Breath!

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    1. Yes! I can't wait to see how everything wraps up Pili!

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  4. I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book and I hated how the author went about with choosing who the end game was with the whole voting thing, but I'm very happy you enjoyed the characters and the story, Jenny. I hope the next installment will conclude with a bang for you, Jenny! Wonderful review! :)

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    1. Yes, I don't love that the romantic decision was left up to fans either, I like to think there was a plan from the beginning, but I'm definitely enjoying this series overall:)

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  5. Ehgad. Why do relationships falter in the second book? Why???

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    1. I don't know, but it causes me stress. STRESS!

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  6. I had no idea you were reading this series Jenny! I'm so excited because as much as I hate to admit it, I love this series! I have had the third book since it released and for some reason can't bring myself to read it. I think mostly, I just don't want it to be over! Lovely review! I hope we both like book three!

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    1. YES ALI!!! It took me a while to get to this one because I didn't want to wait as long for the 3rd and final book:) Can't wait!

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  7. Not my type of book but I do have teens who love this series and can't wait for the next book.

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  8. Yup, the love triangle is definitely a deterrent for me. :/ I'm glad to see it's done well, though, so perhaps when I'm in the mood for a love triangle romance that isn't angst-ridden I'll pick this one up. Thanks for such a helpful and honest review, Jenny! :)

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    1. The romantic drama is relatively low in this one Keertana, and I could definitely understand why she was torn, so it worked well for me:)

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  9. The love triangle is a huge turn off for me, and is the reason I've been avoiding this series. I might just push through and try it, though!

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    1. Give it a whirl! The first book was a huge win for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one overall:)

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  10. I think that the love triangle, which is done really well, is one of the rare cases that I really liked both guys. The story really had a few surprises as well. I can't wait to see how it all ends :)

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    1. Me too Kim! I was fully in Roth's camp in book one, but Jennifer did a standout job of confusing me in this one with Zayne. I really like him too...

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  11. I'm not sure about the love triangle but sometimes they work okay so I suppose I shouldn't let that prejudice me against the series.

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  12. Oh sounds great. I don't love triangles but on occasion can deal with them. A couple of times they are actually done well. I am so behind on all her books and with the rate she puts them out, I'll never catch up. #FirstWorldProblems I'm not sure if that is a bad or good thing. LOL

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  13. Glad to see you are enjoying this series, and sometimes triangles happen, so I am glad it worked.

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