Review ~ TOUCH (DENAZEN, #1) by Jus Accardo

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.(From GoodReads)

In One Word ~ Bold

Bold is the best description I have for TOUCH, the debut novel from Jus Accardo. From the opening scene, featuring a daredevil stunt from main character, Dez, to the very last scene in the book, TOUCH manages to keep pace as an thrilling, funny, and daring book.

The concept behind TOUCH isn't completely new, but the author manages to add enough clever twists to the notion to make it refreshing and fun. I thought Dez and Kale were a treat to read. I enjoyed Dez's bold personality and experiencing the world for the first time through Kale's eyes. And, there was another character, someone I really shouldn't like, but I couldn't help getting excited during his scenes. I love when a secondary character surprises me in that way. The special abilites some of the characters had felt well-developed and the author managed to make use out of all them. Sometimes those abilites led to complicated, awkward and funny situations.

I have to admit, my favorite part of the book is the deepening of the relationship between Dez and Kale. I'm a sucker for a love story. Kale and Dez both come from troubling, complicated situations. The both are trying to navigate their feelings, all of the revelations about their lives and just normal teenage feelings and physical reactions.

TOUCH ends with not exactly a cliffhanger, but a very, very cool revelation. I can't wait to see what the next book in the series will bring for these characters!

Favorite  Quote ~

" 'This can't be real,' he hissed. 'I don't deserve-'
  'You do,' I insisted. Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as I silenced further protests with a
   fierce kiss.' "

Paperback, 251 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Entangled Publishing

You can find Touch at:

Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

* I received a copy of TOUCH from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.*