REVIEW ~ GLASS HEART (COLD KISS #2) by AMY GARVERY

Series: Cold Kiss #2
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Format: ARC
Pages: 320
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Wren can do things that other people can only dream of. Make it snow on a clear, crisp day. Fly through an abandoned tunnel. Bring a paper bird to life.

Wren knows her abilities are tinged with danger—knows how easy it is to lose control—but she can't resist the intoxicating rush. And now that she has Gabriel by her side, someone who knows what she can do—what she has done—she finally feels free to be herself.

But as Wren explores the possibilities of her simmering powers, Gabriel starts pushing her away. Telling her to be careful. Telling her to stop. The more he cautions her, the more determined Wren becomes to prove that she can handle things on her own. And by the time she realizes that Gabriel may be right, it could be too late to bring him back to her side.
 

When I finished Cold Kiss, and wiped all my tears away, I imagined that Wren and Gabriel had a sweet "happily ever after". But considering that Wren is a witch with unharnessed powers and Gabriel is psychic, I suppose I should have known better. Wren is happy with Gabriel, slowly and surely falling in love with the boy who supported her when she needed to save herself. But the pull of her magic is strong. Wren has the ability that few witches her age have experienced. Wren's power worries Gabriel. That and his hesitation to reveal pieces of  his past has Wren frustrated and more than happy to find friends who share her power. But magic demands a price, and Gabe may be the one to pay up.

Amy Garvey has the most masterful way with words. Her words flow in such a lyrical, striking, poetic manner that they feel like a punch in the soul. I believe that she could make even the most mundane of stories sound whimsical and gripping. I'm just simply in awe of her style.

Cold Kiss is one of my favorite books. So I should say that I had (maybe unreasonably) high expectations for Glass Heart. I did enjoy the story. It was very nicely written, but there just wasn't a hook that I felt pulled me inside the story. The bulk of Glass Heart is the forging of a solid, enduring relationship for Wren and Gabriel, which gives natural drama, but it wasn't all that exciting. There was a lot of back and forth between the two, fighting and making up. I enjoyed it, because I love the writing and I love the characters, but I could see how other readers might feel a bit frustrated.

Glass Heart is by turns charming and whimsical, yet dark and twisty. And though it doesn't share the same desperate intensity, it's a book Cold Kiss fans will enjoy.

Favorite Quote:

"Being with Gabriel isn't like that at all. It's a taste of the cleanest, sweetest water you can imagine, cool and pure and addictive, rushing in to fill every crack, soothe every smarting, rough place inside, but it never fills me up. Even now, I always want more." (pg 4)

"When Gabriel takes my hand, pressing our palms together and twining our fingers, our heartbeats are right there, suddenly one, a sure, steady pulse echoing through our skin. It's hypnotic, perfect, seeping into every cell as if we're fused, and all the ways I can think to describe it are too much and too little. It's like a candy buzz, or the first dizzying swoop of beer in your stomach, the sensation of floating right before you fall asleep, the needling heat of a foot gone to sleep. All of it and none of it, but good. So good...." (pg 46)


You can purchase Glass Heart at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

 

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Wren can do things that other people can only dream of. Make it snow on a clear, crisp day. Fly through an abandoned tunnel. Bring a paper bird to life.

Wren knows her abilities are tinged with danger—knows how easy it is to lose control—but she can't resist the intoxicating rush. And now that she has Gabriel by her side, someone who knows what she can do—what she has done—she finally feels free to be herself. But as Wren explores the possibilities of her simmering powers, Gabriel starts pushing her away. Telling her to be careful. Telling her to stop. The more he cautions her, the more determined Wren becomes to prove that she can handle things on her own. And by the time she realizes that Gabriel may be right, it could be too late to bring him back to her side.

Why I'm Waiting ~ I thought Cold Kiss was so beautiful and heartbreaking. I actually have an ARC of Glass Heart, but am making myself wait until closer to release. I'm expecting another gorgeous story from author Amy Garvey.

Expected publication: September 18th 2012 by HarperTeen

You can preorder Glass Heart at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

Review of Cold Kiss, by Amy Garvey

“It seemed so right. Danny was mine, I was his, and that wasn’t going to work if he was dead. So I would make him not dead, not anymore. I didn’t think any further than what it would feel like to kiss him again, to wrap my arms around him and bury my head against his shoulder.
That was my first mistake. It also turned out to be the biggest.”


When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.

Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and somehow, inexplicably, he can sense her secret. Wren finds herself drawn to Gabriel, who is so much more alive than the ghost of the boy she loved. But Wren can’t turn her back on Danny or the choice she made for him—and she realizes she must find a way to make things right, even if it means breaking her own heart.

Amy Garvey’s transcendent teen debut is perfect for fans of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures. Wren’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned. (From GoodReads)

My Review

How do you write a review for a book you barely have words for? For a story that has me choked up just considering the emotional depths it plundered? No matter how emphatically I proclaim the beauty of Cold Kiss, I won’t be able to do the book justice.

Cold Kiss is the story of a beautiful life cut short and a love gone tragically too soon.  The lengths Wren is willing to go to in order to fill the hole left after her Danny has died. And sadly, what happens when you don’t stop to consider what comes after.

Author Amy Garvey perfectly set the tone of the book in the prologue. The opening of the book is beautiful, wistful and drew me in completely. When I read it, I thought “Oh. Cold Kiss is going to be that book.” The kind book that leaves you undone, emotionally spent. But in the most cathartic sense. 
I know I’m not dealing out a spoiler when I say that Wren brings Danny back from the dead. And while that’s the impetus for the story, it is not the main idea. Cold Kiss is Wren coming to terms with Danny’s death. After Danny dies, Wren’s spirit is broken, her desperation overwhelming. The author did an exemplary job conveying the emotional havoc Wren experienced. She gives pieces of Danny and Wren’s time together. Enough so that you understand the “big-ness” of their love.  It is a love so consuming, she is left gaping when it is gone. And while what Wren did sounds unbelievably stupid, you get why she tried. Because who amongst us hasn’t bargained and pleaded to bring back someone they’ve loved and lost. If I lost the man I love, I would be willing to do anything to bring him back me.

The characters of Cold Kiss are written to brilliant perfection. Wren is a ball of pent-up energy. As she continues to deal with the consequences of bringing Danny back, she slowly unravels emotionally. And you can’t help but wonder, when is she going to blow wide open? Wren continually expounds on the selfishness, the rashness of what she did. You have to respect her as a character, because she takes ownership of her actions and what it will take to fix it. When Wren meets Gabriel, he immediately senses what she’s done and questions her about it. I loved that the author gave Wren that outlet, someone to share her secret with.  Gabriel is exactly the person Wren needs at this time. He doesn’t judge her harshly. He isn’t jealous the love she feels for Danny, he doesn’t belittle it. And while Wren and Gabriel have an instant bond, it doesn’t feel forced. It’s quiet and peaceful. Even though Wren feels attraction to Gabriel, she never loses focus of Danny, of righting her wrong. And she knows it’s a journey she’ll have to take on her own. The Danny that Wren brings back isn’t quite a character. He is a sad, confused shell of the boy she loved. Who you can’t help but mourn for when Garvey takes you back to the boy Wren fell in love with.

Looking at this review, I get that I might seem overdramatic. But it’s this book! Cold Kiss hit me in such a visceral way, when I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t to be sucker punched in the gut with raw emotion.  It hit a deep part of me that I don’t stay in too close contact with because I’m afraid to feel emotional pain. My eyes are welling up at just thinking how hard I cried during the last few chapters of the book. I try to avoid “the ugly cry” at all costs. Cold Kiss got me there. It was a beautiful, tragic, and ultimately cathartic story that I am so happy I read. I expect Cold Kiss to stay with me for a long, long time.


Favorite Quotes:

“But love like that can be too big, too. It can be something you shouldn’t be trusted to hold when you’re the kind of person who drops the eggs and breaks the remote control.”

“What I wanted was to blow a hole in the sky, explode a star, let the burning embers scorch me and everything they touched.”

“Love doesn’t break easily, I found. But people do.”

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: September 20th 2011 by HarperTeen
 
You can find Cold Kiss at:
GoodReads  |  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble |  Book Depository
 
You can find Amy Garvey at her blog.

* I received Cold Kiss from Harper Teen, in exchange for an honest review. *

In My Mailbox #3

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is a great way to put a spotlight on books received during the past week.

Here are the synopses and links to the books mentioned.

Malini Gupta thought Jacob Lau was her destiny, that they were meant to be together. But after months of failing to decipher how she fits into the Soulkeepers, frustration threatens to tear their relationship apart. As does a new Soulkeeper named Mara who is ready to stop time itself to earn Jacob's love.
When Malini faces her worst fears and even death, she learns a funny thing about destiny; nobody said hers couldn't change. The future is a tapestry of choices, and she's about to weave hers . (From GoodReads)   
Published 2011 by DarkSide Publishing     Find Weaving Destiny at GoodReads.

Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological . . . well, which answer would let you sleep at night? (From GoodReads)

Hardcover, 400 pages
Expected publication: September 13th 2011 by Balzer & Bray    Find Frost at GoodReads.
 

“It seemed so right. Danny was mine, I was his, and that wasn’t going to work if he was dead. So I would make him not dead, not anymore. I didn’t think any further than what it would feel like to kiss him again, to wrap my arms around him and bury my head against his shoulder.
That was my first mistake. It also turned out to be the biggest.”
When her boyfriend, Danny, is killed in a car accident, Wren can’t imagine living without him. Wild with grief, she uses the untamed powers she’s inherited to bring him back. But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy she once loved.
Wren has spent four months keeping Danny hidden, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school and somehow, inexplicably, he can sense her secret. Wren finds herself drawn to Gabriel, who is so much more alive than the ghost of the boy she loved. But Wren can’t turn her back on Danny or the choice she made for him—and she realizes she must find a way to make things right, even if it means breaking her own heart.
Amy Garvey’s transcendent teen debut is perfect for fans of Shiver and Beautiful Creatures. Wren’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned. (From GoodReads)
Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: September 20th 2011 by HarperTeen       Find Cold Kiss at GoodReads.

Be sure and leave a link so I can check out your mailbox. Have a great week!