Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: 18th September 2012
By: Spencer Hill Press

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cursed is my first book by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I've been told that this isn't one of her best, and yet I'm impressed. So I really look forward to picking up books in her other series.

Ember was killed in a car crash, which also killed her dad. But her younger sister Olivia, who has a very special gift, brought her back to life. Now, Ember's touch is toxic, a touch of her skin can kill any human, animal, plant almost instantly. So she makes sure she's always covered up, wearing gloves and long sleeves, which also hide the scars on her arms. At school, she's now known as a freak, with Adam, being her only friend.

Ever since the accident, her mother has been practically catatonic and Ember has had to take over the care of Olivia, and look after the home and finances.

Soon after meeting the mysterious Hayden at the library, she's attacked in her home and wakes up in a strange house. Olivia and her mother are also there. And so is Hayden. Him, and all the other residents of the house are also gifted.

Like I said earlier, this is my first JLA book, but it definitely won't be my last. Curse had perfect pace, fantastic characters, a brilliant storyline and an appealing writing style.

Ember was lovely. She did a really great job of taking care of her sister and herself for the last couple of years and she was so devoted to Olivia. And yet, she thought that she was bad and evil and had no soul. I enjoyed the relationship she had with Hayden and I thought some of their earlier "moments" together were really sweet. There was an insta love kind of feeling from Hayden but I felt it played out well, as he'd been watching Ember for a long time and felt like he knew her.

The rest of the gifteds in the house don't like Ember, and think Jonathan Cromwell, the head of the house, and Mayor of the town, should send her away before she kills someone and exposes them. I felt that Ember dealt with it all admirably considering the state of mind she was already in, having woken up in a strange house with her old life completely gone, showing her strength of character.

Unfortunately, I did find Cursed quite predictable as I managed to work out the bad guy, his gift and his methods almost immediately.

Cursed ended nicely, with no cliffhanger, thank goodness. I'm not sure if there's going to be a sequel, but if there is, I'll definitely be picking it up.

Thanks to Spencer Hill Press for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

Buy the book: Amazon/The Book Depository