Book Review: Touch by Jus Accardo

Touch by Jus Accardo
(Denazen, #1)
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Entangled; 251 pages

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there's something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she'll turn to dust if he touches her.

It's not until Dez's father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there's more to this boy, and her father's "law firm," than she realized. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation -- an organization devoted to collecting "special" kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons -- his entire life.

And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills.

The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they're caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

I’m so glad I listened to my friend’s constant praise on this book & bought it for myself. I was anxious waiting for the paperback copy (And these are times I wished I owned a Kindle) but it was completely worth the wait. But first, before I even opened it, I admired the cover for a little while. Admired is putting it nicely. More like drooling – that guy is HOT! So after wiping up my drool I finally opened the book up and what was in between the covers was just as drool worthy as the cover model. The one thing that made me nervous about this book is I was afraid it would be too much like SHATTER ME, which happens to be one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. Both books have to do with their touches being deadly – but after getting into this book; it’s not like SHATTER ME. Sure – they have similarities but the feel of the books are completely different. Honestly – TOUCH seems like it could attract a wider audience; it’s a book I could see guys enjoying to read.

Deznee Cross has become one of my favorite female characters. She’s so real. She’s rebellious, fearless all mixed with a bit of crazy. Yep. She sounds like a teenager. But it’s more than that. She’s broken. And all I wanted to do was fix her. She lost her mother before she even got the chance to know her. Her father is not what you would really call a father – they have absolutely no relationship. She lives to piss him off (and she enjoys doing so). She has an ex-boyfriend who completely tore out her heart, shattered it and shoved it back into her chest completely destroyed. But what amazes me is how she holds her head up high and keeps on trucking. Her cousin, Brandt, is her best friend and I have to say I’m kind of jealous. I’m close with my cousins but not like Dez is with Brandt.

Then we meet Kale, the dark hair blue eyed hottie. His touch is deadly. If he makes skin-to-skin contact, you will basically shrivel up and cease to exist. This company, Denazen, collects and uses these people with special abilities; people who have been given the nickname “Six”. Denazen uses these sixes for their own benefit – most cases to kill people. Kale is one of Denazen’s biggest weapons and he breaks free of them. Only one other person has ever broken free of Denazen and his nickname is the Reaper. Kale innocence is precious. Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen since he was born; he’s never seen the outside world except when he was sent on a mission to kill a target. His lack of knowledge is amazing and makes him the most enjoyable character. I can’t even describe how happy this character makes me – I am smiling while writing this. He brought many smiles to my face and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so.

Alex Mojourn, who is the ex-boyfriend who completely destroyed Dez heart, plays a big part in this story. I’m not sure how I feel about him still…I’m torn. But regardless of how I feel he plays a big part in this story. There’s a bit of a love triangle BUT its not like normal, YA love triangles. Dez knows what/who she wants but Alex was her first love. When the going to gets tough, she succumbs to those feelings she once had for Alex. Most people will never forget their first love and when you’re that young, there are usually lingering feelings.

This story has an X-Men feel to it. Oddly enough, it was mentioned in the book. I rolled my eyes. “I get that it’s a party, you idiot. What I don’t get is why it’s Sixes only? And while we’re at it—why are they called Sixes?”
“Because Stan Lee already has the patent on mutants?” Alex snickered, leaning back. “There’s a genetic abnormality that shows up in the sixth chromosome. Not incredibly original, but appropriate.”

Kudos to the author, Jus Accardo, you made this reader cry. I know authors get giddy when they can turn the water works on with their readers, so I thought you might be interested to know this. Heartbreaking. *highlight to view spoiler* When you “killed” off Brandt, argh – I died a little with him. That was when I though he was actually dead. Kudos to you. Emotional roller coaster that was. Brandt was so likeable – definitely one of my favorite characters. I really hope to see more of him, or rather, Sheltie, in the next book and beyond? *spoiler*

I hate Marshall Cross. I think you’ll agree with me. Let me know if you disagree with me once you’ve read the book. I’d love to meet someone who actually liked him…

I highly recommend this book. Like highly recommend this book. The writing is amazing, the characters are spectacular, the story is unique and the relationships are so addicting. Not to mention Kale is hot as hell (and adorable in so many ways). If you LOVE paranormal romance you’ll love this. If you’re looking for something different, you want to look into TOUCH.