Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

   

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Series: Cold Kiss #1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Release: September 20, 2011

Hardcover: 292 Pages

Publisher: HarperTeen

My Copy: Publisher

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:
It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants--what she "must" do--is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her--and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought--even if it means breaking her heart all over again. (Courtesy of the Publisher)

 
Shannon's Thoughts:

Cold Kiss is a melancholic look at the loss of one's first love and the death of a loved one.  Wren is a sad, lost and lonely girl.  Danny was her first love and when he died in a car accident, she was overwhelmed with grief.  To the point where she uses her powers to bring him back from the dead.  Only Danny isn't the same as he was.  He is just a shell of his former self.  Now Wren is stuck between letting Danny go forever or living with how Danny is now.  Enter Gabriel, who has his own special abilities and all of her secrets come out.

On one hand, I loved Garvey's writing.  I really felt Wren's indecision and melancholy.  I just wanted to give the girl a hug.  But on the other hand, I almost felt like the inclusion of the paranormal elements got in the way of the story.  I felt like the main idea of the story - of letting go and moving on - could have been done just as easily without giving Wren powers.  The other thing I thought was odd was the book seemed like it was gearing up for something major at the end, but ultimately the ending was anticlimatic.  Everything ends so...simply.  But I did enjoy the book.  It was a quick read and I was able to finish it in about a day.
 
Books in the series in the order they should be read:
1. Cold Kiss
2. Glass Heart