Release Day Blitz, Dual-Review & Giveaway: Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cursed
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Paranormal YA
September 18, 2012
Spencer Hill Press
312 pages


It's finally here! The official release day for Jennifer L. Armentrout's
newest YA novel, Cursed!  Not only are we excited to be participating in the release day blitz tour for this awesome book, but it holds a special place in our hearts as our first jacket blurb! I don't SQUEE much, but I think this is definitely a SQUEE-worthy event! To celebrate, we are giving one lucky follower their very own copy! Just fill out the rafflecopter at the end of this post to enter - open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.

Synopsis (from the publisher):

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. 

Jennifer signed ARCs of Cursed at this year's BEA!

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 have 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.

Laura's Review of Cursed: 

My favorite part of romance novels is the tension and build-up, and Jennifer L. Armentrout writes it like no one else. In my opinion, she is the queen of romantic paranormal YA fiction. 

In a few short months, I have devoured every one of her books, starting with Obsidian and the Covenant series -- and now with Cursed, she has hooked me again. She just loves to frustrate us readers by erecting barriers - whether society rules and taboos, or in this case, physical issues - which keep young lovers apart. But, that frustration only fuels the fire of romance and keeps us reading to find out how it will all work out (and we know it has to, because YA/paranormal or not, they are all still romance novels at heart!).

Our first official blurb! 

Cursed brings us into the world of Ember McWilliams, a high school senior who was killed in a car accident two years ago, and then miraculously brought back to life by the special touch of her younger sister, Olivia. But, that event apparently awakened her own "gift" -- killing anything living she touches. What she thinks of as a curse, has made her an outsider with very few friends and an obvious lack of a love life. Enter Hayden Cromwell. A mysterious boy with a "gift" of his own who promises refuge and help controlling her gift. He gives her hope that maybe she doesn't have to be quite so alone in this world...but only if she can trust him. Which means trusting his family, who may or may not have had a role in the accident that caused her father's death and brought upon her curse.
     The beginning of Cursed starts out a bit slow, even though there are some fairly interesting events that occur right away, I found it a bit difficult to get into because Ember's world just seemed so bleak, and it just kept getting bleaker. Ember herself describes it accurately as "desolation". There didn't seem to be a bright spot or silver lining to be found in the first 100 pages or so, and that desolation was palpable, even a bit hard to read. But, as Ember and Hayden get closer, and more is revealed about the true nature as to why they are all where they are and how they got to be there, some of that darkness starts to lighten. I flew through the last 100 pages felt a little sad it had to end just as things were really getting good. Not sure if this is one in a series as a lot of her other YA books are, but I, for one, would love to read more. While this was not my favorite of her books, I still enjoyed it a lot. For fans of Obsidian and Half-Blood, Cursed is a must read -- you will not be disappointed!

Cursed: 4/5
Cover: 4/5

Tanya's Review:
         
Another book by Jennifer that I read in a day. Apparently when I start her books I need to clear my day of anything else because I know once I start I will not be able to put it down. This book had me crying in the first 70 pages, I felt Ember's pain and desolation. When Hayden comes into the picture her world becomes a tiny bit brighter. However along with Hayden comes his "family", and not all of them are happy she is around. Throughout the book I was unsure of who to trust, I kept bouncing back and forth about who I thought was the "bad guy" and exactly what Hayden's family, particularly his dad, was up to. For fans of Jennifer Armentrout this is another great book that you can add to your keep shelf.

Cursed:       4/5 stars

 Cover:        3/5 stars      

*Note: We were given ARCs of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

GIVEAWAY TIME! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway