A Touch Mortal

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.
from amazon.com

Beth says 2.5 Stars…

I just couldn’t get into this one. I’d read raves about it and was super excited since it seemed different enough to hold my interest. The premise did hold true to the promise of something a bit off the beaten path, but it never managed to capture my attention. I didn’t find the actual plot highly compelling or particularly well-paced. The book could have used some trimming as far as length, as I found large portions that didn’t move anything forward. It’s not like there was a desperate need for a few more pages because the book’s fairly substantial (over 400 pages). I also believe that the way Clifford disseminated information to readers could use some work. It took me forever to gain my bearings at the beginning of the novel, which then allowed me to get confused later on. I found that quite a few of the details were either unnecessary or never became fully explained. The plot never formed into a cohesive whole that I could lose myself in.

Honestly, the biggest problem I had was with the characters. First of all, I really didn’t like Eden. I know I’ve mentioned my hatred of angst before, which put me at odds with Eden from the beginning of the book. I found the way she handled her relationships with everyone, not just romantic partners, and her trust issues grating. I found the idea of a gay angel delightful and will say that I’m very glad that was a fixture in the story. The other rather large bone I have to pick with the story is the language used. In the dialogue the characters swore… a lot. I’m not morally opposed to cursing in the slightest, but what I do find terrible is using foul language just to do so. It didn’t feel organic to the characters and instead seemed contrived. It was almost as if it were there simply to be there or for shock value. I feel like that cheapens the writing and characters.

I really think this book belongs in the skip-worthy pile. I know that some people adore it, and I can’t argue with them. I just think that the plot lacked anything to compel me, which disappointed the promise shown in the original idea. The gratuitous swearing and less than amazing characters did the book no favors either. All in all, this isn’t a series I’ll be following and I don’t suggest it for you either.