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. -Goodreads

Review: My first Spencer Hill Press title (of many, I’m sure) and I’m in love. Unfortunately, while I was away I tried to reschedule this post using my iPod and ended up losing my original review so I hope you’ll forgive me if all of the details aren’t super fresh for me. All I know for sure is I really enjoyed Cursed and will be reading more JLA books in the near future.

Cursed follows a storyline quite a few of us have probably seen before, that of the ‘not quite humans’, people who develop special abilities and must figure out how to adjust to life with super powers (more or less). So yes, not an entirely original plot but one I always manage to enjoy. It was also combo’d with the ‘orphan collector’ which made for a really great dynamic between the characters.

The characters themselves were a mixed bag, all with their own back stories and issues and not everyone loves the main character, Ember is always the odd one out no matter who she’s with. It’s interesting to see a POV character that people tend to dislike rather than flock towards. Her younger sister Olivia does seem to have more charisma than she’ll ever need but it worked for the story and Olivia was adorable.

The setup for the array of special abilities was well thought out and not too farfetched. This universe allows for duplicate abilities and has a history of powers going back at least a few generations. As Ember learns this history the reader gains a more believable setting to dive into.

I’m a little sad that this ended up being a standalone story but not to worry, you will still finish the book with a perfect sense of closure. You’l know how the story ends but can leave it up to your own imagination to decide what you think happens next. Highly recommended.

Look for Cursed on September 18th!

Buy the book @Amazon (US) @Amazon (CAN)

Rating:

Second Opinions:
@Simply Infatuated
@This Blonde Reads
@Midnight Book Girl