#031 Third Sentence Thursday featuring A Touch Morbid by Leah Clifford

Third Sentence Thursday is a nifty little weekly meme hosted by Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books.

1) Take the book you are reading now and post the third sentence
2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)
3) Post a link to your sentence here or if you don't have a blog, just post it in the comments!

A Touch Morbid
By Leah Clifford
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publish Date: February 28, 2012
Format: Hardback, pp 304
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

"The typical moment of confusion between sleep and consciousness, when she realized she wasn't in her own bed, never came. She knew exactly where she was. Truth be told, she felt better rested than she had in a month. Perhaps every second was no longer a battle to hold herself together, to pretend she was all right." (pp ;; 206)

Eden won the battle-she saved her true love from the darkest evil.

But the war has only just begun. With secrets swirling around her, powerful allies unraveling, and life-and death-as she knows it eroding, Eden and those she loves tread dangerous ground.

Can she trust anyone?

Will her unearthly powers be her salvation or her downfall?

A sweeping, dark, and sexy paranormal romance that will haunt readers with an inventive mythology and a cinematic New York City filled with shadows and longing.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVE this series so much. I splurged a little bit before Christmas on A Touch Mortal (see my review here) because I couldn't stand it any longer and had to read it and then I was lucky enough to be receive an ARC of A Touch Mortal which had me fangirling for days on end. I'm nearly finished with this book and I cannot wait to see how it ends. I absolutely love the dark gothic and unique twisted way in which Leah Clifford spins the story of fallen angels and demons, plus her quirky brilliant way of referring to Hell as "the basement" and Heaven as "upstairs" and those who committ suicide "Siders".

{Small Note: This book was received from Greenwillow Books which is an imprint of HarperCollins, in exchange for an honest review which I will provide in a timely manner. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain.

The review will be coming shortly, any quotes or references may be subject to change once the novel is finalized and released.}

Book Review: A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford

By Leah Clifford
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publish Date: February 22, 2011
Format: Hardback, pp 432
Age Demographic: Young Adult
b&n // amazon

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.

*Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

A Touch Mortal is a wonderfully written, heart pounding, well established novel that will leave reader's yearning for the next book to come in the series. Clifford's writing is beautifully poetic and hauntingly moving, it lends itself well to giving wonderful background knowledge and multi-layered depth to certain character's.

The cast of character's is vast, yet they are given strong multi-flavored personality characteristics that make them both likeable and relatable at best, in an attempt at giving the story strong purpose. Eden, the novel's main protagonist, is a strong-willed, intelligent, fiercely independent individual with quite a bit of spunk. She is easily likeable and reader's can and will find her character to be a bit sympathetic. Az and Gabe, are both interesting as well, and they come with their own set of choices, shouldered responsibility, and interesting plot twists that will leave reader's questioning them a bit, but still sympathetic to their own plight.

One of the best things about this book and this cast of wonderful character's, is that none of them are black and white. While some may appear to be good on the outside, are in truth dark and sinister on the inside, as well as mysteriously intriguing. Clifford does a lovely job at focusing not only on developing the plot and moving it along at a rapid pace, but also in taking great care where her character's are concerned and making sure there is constant focus on them. They simply do not fade into the background, while taking a backseat to the plot. They stay, pretty much in the forefront of the book and where they belong. It's their story, really. She just gets to tell it.

There are deeper meanings and moments, that are sprinkled through-out the book, that reader's will find engaging, captivating, and moving at best. Along with many suspenseful twists and turns in plot and dynamic, that will keep reader's gasping for more. The ending, is something that they will absolutely not see coming, yet they will be left wanting more.

The world-building of this novel, is absolutely thrilling and fantastic. It is richly dark and compelling. Mysteriously filled with a gritty look at the underbelly of being touched mortal. The Sider's are an interesting aspect, interwoven in the plot and the references to both Heaven and Hell as Upstairs and The Basement are unique and fun in a darker sense of meaning. Clifford has this way of setting this dark eerie tone and blending it in so well that the atmosphere of her book is a bit chill-inducing. This isn't your typical novel involving angels swooping in to save the day. It's a much darker, grittier, bit of gory take on the other side. I'd say that I found it to be quite refreshing, that this novel was so uniquely and cleverly written, with brilliant character's and a wonderful suspenseful plot that was able to twist my stomach into knots with every twist and turn.

The only drawback or reservation that I personally have with this book, is what appears to be insta-love that happens quite quickly between Az and Eden. As lovely as they were to read, more and more I feel as if insta-love is being used a little too frequently for my tastes. I would much prefer a strong slow-buring build-up to a romanctic relationship between two cleverly written character's, than for any would-be relationship to appear to be this easy. I guess, I just don't personally understand the mechanics of insta-love or the appeal for it. Love isn't love in just a matter of seconds or a twenty-four hour timespan. It happens over a period of time, as one character gets to know another one, and proceeds to fall in love with them and then they go through a series of moments before they realize just how much the other character means in their life. I just wish it wouldn't have been so easy between Az and Eden in the beginning.

I found myself feeling a bit sorry for Adam, as he was falling love with Eden all the while she could never fully let him in or feel for him, what he felt for her because Az took up a great deal of her heart. That was a love triangle, that I found quite enjoyable, even though I was a touch more inclined to be sympathetic moreso to Adam than in Az's behalf. Though I never saw the plot twist coming as far as Adam or Libby were concerned, which plucky and genius Clifford gets definite bonus points for that.

A Touch Mortal is an action-packed, highly emotionally charged, thrilling, intensely amazing gothic novel that will take reader's breath away. I would recommend this book to fans of Lauren Kate's Fallen series or Kelly Creagh's Nevermore. They will love this series.

Guest Post: YA Author's Appreciation Featuring Sonny of Literary Junkies and Cassandra Clare

❝YA AUTHOR'S APPRECIATION FEATURING❞
CASSANDRA CLARE

SONNY @ LITERARY JUNKIES

I grew up with three sisters, with me being the quiet, observant one.  I stayed quietly curled on the couch, with our dog Pepper in her dog bed, or in a willow tree for many of my childhood years. One of my best friends was my cousin. We would do so many things together; run in the cow pasture, walk in the crick, play on the fallen, moss covered trees that we deemed “the rain forest”. And every day of the summer that we were not dancing under willow branches or playing mermaids at the local beach, we rode our bikes to the library. Now, this was not your everyday, two block bike ride to get to our destination. This was a bike ride though the country, hill after gigantic hill, three mile ride, twice a day. But we did keep up with some pretty spectacular tans.

The library for me was a place that I was able to travel to new worlds and other lives that made my heart flutter. I spent so many days skimming my fingers across the spines and smelling the ink on the well-worn pages. The library was a gift, especially for a little girl who owned almost no books of her own.

As a teenager, I fell out of books and worlds of wonder for quite a few years. Having an after school job and a long-term boyfriend, I didn’t have much time to stuff my nose in a book. What I did try to read were adult books; my attempt to be an adult.

Some years later, after I married my now hubby, my aunt started me on the Twilight series. This was my first step into YA novels. But, it wasn’t until 2009 that I really fell into reading again. I had a job as a housekeeper at a nursing home and worked with some truly terrible people. Things in my life were not going as planned, and mine and my hubby’s year was just not turning out to be a good one.

During a trip to Walmart, I happened upon The City of Bone by Cassandra Clare. The cover jumped and yelled at me “Pick me up!”. So I did. And I never looked back.

I read the first three books in a matter of days. I tripped into these books head first, danced in the pages as the words of Cassie trickled into my mind. I dreamt about the world of Shadowhunters for days. I think it is safe to say I fell in love, and never came out.

In a way, Cassandra Clare helped me get back to my “dance with my imagination” mind set. I was always a bit of a dreamer. The characters in The Mortal Instrument books really struck a chord with me. Jace was funny, charming, and incredibly frustrating. I had never read about such a boy before, and knew that was the type of love interest my mind loved to read about. Her other characters are intriguing, well written, and incredibly rounded. Cassie’s writing is also a huge part that reached into my chest and swelled my heart. With heart stopping lines like, “There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there's a life after that, I'll love you then." And also fun ones like, “I don’t want to grow up, I want to be an angst ridden teenager who can’t confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead" (Jace) Cassandra Clare never fails to write fabulous words that make my heart fly.

I now always try to find books that have romances that could be similar to the one in TMI with Clary and Jace. Romance in YA has to be my most sought after and beloved books in the YA genre. But almost nothing can hold up to the romance in TMI.

The Steampunk series by Cassie, Infernal Devices, also has equally witty, fantastic, and frustrating characters that have found a place in my heart.

The Mortal Instruments helped really pushed me into the reading habits that I have now. After reading TMI, I began other YA books that grabbed ahold of my interest. Some of the first ones included Hush, Hush; Fallen; The Hunger Games. At first, I was a little nervous because I am an adult reading YA books. But, I realized that YA is not about your age. A good book is a good book, no matter what age it is “intended” to be for. YA books are pretty much my everything, outside of my hubby, work, and my family. Because of my love for YA books and Cassandra Clare’s brilliant writing, I found my way to the YA book blogging world via a post by Anna @ Anna Reads (Love Anna!). Here is her Cassandra Clare post that made my tummy tickle: *click me* I thought, “Hmm. I never knew this place existed. I wonder…”. And I took a chance. I started my own YA book blog; this was a huge leap for me. I do not leap often. But, I found this amazing world full of fantastic people who love the same things that I do. I am eternally grateful for my hobby, my followers and new blogging friends, and all the amazing authors that I have met along the way. I have had the chance to read some truly fabulous books and befriend some wonderful people.

And I have mostly Cassandra Clare to thank for this! Thank you Cassie for letting the world in to your wonderful words and your brilliant mind.

Guest Post: YA Author's Appreciation featuring Amanda of The Vintage Bookworm and Richelle Mead

❝YA AUTHOR'S APPRECIATION FEATURING❞ RICHELLE MEAD © AMANDA @ THE VINTAGE BOOKWORM

Hello all, and welcome to the YA Author Appreciation Event, hosted by the lovely Susan of A Soul Unsung. Which, of course, you should already know since you are currently on her blog. Anyway, I'd like to thank her for asking me to participate in this. It's a great honor! =) Thanks Susan!

Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Amanda. I own the book review blog The Vintage Bookworm, which was created in December of 2010. Though I've been blogging on and off since 2006. I started a book review blog back in 2006 to meet other people who loved books just as much as I do and to get my opinion out on certain books.

 I am a young mother and wife who has loved reading even before really learning how to. Not only do I love reading, but I'm an aspiring YA author. My dream is to see a book with my name on it among other books that I love. I'm going to talk about one of the authors that inspires me the most. She inspires me to keep writing and to set high goals for myself, and she also inspires me to read. I can always rely on her to create an amazing book. If it has her name on it, I'll definitely be adding it to my overgrowing to-be read pile.

Who is this awesome person you may ask? None other than the amazing, and very, very talented Richelle Mead.

Richelle's Website
Richelle's Blog
Richelle's Twitter
Richelle's Facebook
Richelle's Goodreads

Bio, as taken from Goodreads:

Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy. 

A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous. 

To be honest, I haven't read ALL of her books. Yet. I do plan on it, though. They all sound amazing. I've only read all six of the Vampire Academy series, plus the first book in the spin-off series Bloodlines. Which means I've read 7 out of the 16 that is currently out. I really need to catch up! I haven't read any of her adult books, which is included  in those 16. But they all sound amazing. Her adult series are: Georgina Kincaid and Dark Swan.


When you open a book by Richelle Mead, you can trust that you won't be disappointed. I've never been. I could go out and buy every book she's published, plus the anthologies she's in, and I won't regret it. (Though I do own the Vampire Academy series, plus the first Bloodlines book.) Richelle's writing reaches out and grabs you and doesn't let you off the amazing ride until the last page of the book. And then you're like, "Really? Did this just end? I want to know more!"

Her writing flows very well and she's just an amazing writer overall. I don't even know what else to say other than that. She makes you care for her characters; whether they are good or bad. You care! I can't tell you how many times I've cried over the Vampire Academy series. How many times I've cried and thrown stuff across the room, and wanted to literally jump into the book and smack someone or kiss someone. (Okay, seriously, do I really have to say whom I'd love to kiss? I think Dimitri is in every woman's dream. Well, okay, Adrian too.)

Her characters are so real to me and I can honestly say she is one of the top names on my list of writing idols. If I could even write a quarter as good as she does, I would be a happy woman. She inspires me to keep writing and to keep getting better at the craft.

She has changed reading and writing for me forever. She definitely has the best young adult vampire series out there. =) She's a great writer with unique story lines, plots, and characters. And that makes her one of my all time favorite authors.

I'm going to make it one of my new year's resolutions for 2012 to at least start on her adult series.

Guest Post: YA Author's Appreciation Featuring Teri of Dreaming Dreams No Mortal Ever Dared and Stephenie Meyer

❝YA AUTHOR'S APPRECIATION FEATURING❞

STEPHENIE MEYER

© TERI @ DREAMING DREAMS NO MORTAL EVER DARED

I am sure many people have chosen Stephanie Meyers for this event, but in all honesty she can be the only person I could possibly write about, as she literally changed the way I read. I hadn't read a YA novel, well since before I was in high school. I pretty much went from Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie to Steven King. My parents were not believers in book censorship, so I was aloud to read adult books growing up. They did however require lengthy discussions at the dinner table to make sure I understood what I was reading.

I spent 5 years of my life in a library cataloging books. I really didn't have a favorite genre at the time. It was hard to pin-point one with over 100 books a day landing on your desk. My reading was all over the place, but I never looked twice at a YA book, just did the work I needed to do on it and shoved it on my cart. My mentality was rather shallow, I wasn't going to read YA, it was for kids. I had graduated college...I was married...I had my own kids..why would I read YA?

I did however begin to notice this one series of books (this was about a month before the book release of Breaking Dawn). They were EVERYWHERE. I bet I cataloged 6 to 7 of these books a day. I worked in a library system that had 15 libraries and none of the could keep these books in. They were either being stolen or wearing out from constant check out. There was one other girl that cataloged with me and we had out won little " Book club" so to speak. We would pick a book once a month, assign pages to read and then discuss it over lunch. She mentioned to me one day that in every pile of books she was cataloging , there was one of those Twilight books. We talked about picking it up and reading it but laughed it off...it was a child's book after all (forgive he snobbish behavior, it was just how I saw things at the time).

It was summer, I believe Breaking Dawn was released in July or August? Our delivery man was on vacation and crates of books needed to be delivered to the libraries. As with any job, you will do anything to get out of the office, so the two of us volunteered to spend the day delivering the books. The 3rd library we walked into with the crates had the READ poster with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart hanging above the checkout desk. Of course we made a snarky comment about it and the librarian said.." Oh no girls you need to read these books, they are not childish at all."

Fast Forward 2 weeks before the release of Breaking Dawn. Two used copies of Twilight landed on my desk. I picked them up and walked into my friends office slamming one on her desk.." I cant take it any longer, we are going to read this book." She honestly looked up at me and pointed to her computer where she had an article pulled up about them making Twilight into a movie. The plan was as follows...go home, read 3 chapters that night and we would decide over lunch if we wanted to finish reading the book. The next day at lunch she asked me..." Did you get the 3 chapters read?" I nodded yes..." So did I, are we going to continue?"

I pushed the book across the table to her and answered..." No, I cant continue with this book..." She asked me if I didn't like what I had read, and I remember looking at her and smiling..." Well not exactly, you see, I did like it and I sorta read the entire book, it was like I couldn't stop..."

I knew I was in trouble for reading ahead. We had always promised never to do that so one of us wouldn't know more than the other when we discussed the books. She left the table, left the room and came back with a copy of New Moon and handed it to me..." Well we can start this one cause I finished Twilight too..."

And we did read it , followed by Eclipse and went to Walden books the day Breaking Dawn was released and bought it. We needed it...we had read the others so quickly, we even had to wait a few days for the release.

Rarely do I read an adult book now. I don't need to. YA gives me everything I need: Romance, Suspense, and problems people face everyday and they do it in a manner which I like. In so many adult books sex is written in where it just is not needed in the story (don't get me wrong, I have nothing against sex when it flows with the story. Trust me if ever I wanted sex it was with the Twilight series) I also blog, and through my blog I have met wonderful people, many who I claim as friends now, especially in the Twilight community. Will there ever be a fandom quite like the Twilight Fandom ever again? It is hard to imagine. Without Twilight, without Stephanie Meyer, I would still have my misconceived perceptions about YA books, and I shudder to think of all the great books I would have missed out on that I have read since then.

Oh yeah....remember that READ poster in the library? The one with Rob and Kristin holding the copy of Twilight? It now hangs proudly on my bedroom door reminding me where all of this started.

❝See The Trailer For Breaking Dawn❞