ARC Review: Cold Kiss

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey, September 20, 2011. 304 pages. Published by HarperTeen. Source: Publisher for review.

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.  

First  Sentence (ARC Edition):

I wasn't thinking of falling in love the day I met Danny Greer.

I almost marked Cold Kiss as a fail, and it was about ten pages (90 pages in) away from being DNF'd when I finally got in the story that Ms. Garvey had laid out in it and ended up unable to put it down.

I'm thinking that this will be an interesting review since I went from not really liking it at all, to unable to put it down. Well stay tuned and I'll fill you on how exactly that happened.

The main reason I kept reading, even when I thought I wasn't going to finish it, was that I was really enjoying Ms. Garvey's writing. Even though it took me what felt like ages to get into Cold Kiss I'm glad that I didn't give up on it because the writing is what will definitely have me checking out whatever Ms. Garvey pens next.

For most of the book I didn't care for the MC, Wren. I know she was going through a very tough time having lost her boyfriend, but she annoyed me because she was just so selfish. I know that's how she was supposed to come across, because let's face it she did the unthinkable by using her power to bring someone back from the dead and while that made for an interesting plot point, it also made it hard for me to like her. But I will say that she annoyed me less when she finally started down the path to setting things right.

The part of the book where I really began to get into the story, just so happens to be my favorite part of the book as well was when Wren finally began to admit to herself that the Danny she brought back was in no way the one that she knew. I liked this part the most because Ms. Garvey did an excellent job of portraying the roller coaster of emotions that Wren went through, and it just made for some great reading.

What very nearly turned me off on finishing Cold Kiss was that it took forever to get going, like, 100 pages forever. But once you hit the hundred page marker things begin to really pick up and get interesting, especially since that's about when things begin to truly unravel for Wren. So worst thing about this book is the slow start, but after that it’s a really good read.

I also have very mixed feelings about how Cold Kiss ended. I felt that one aspect of the story was just left too open ended and that all of the questions that were posed throughout the book were not answered, like, where and why did Wren's father leave, and why did her mother suddenly turn against the power that they have. I would have liked to have seen a little more of a definite end to that part of the story line.

Content (will contain spoilers, highlight to read): Let's see, underage drinking (done by Danny and one of his friends, which was also the cause of the crash the killed him). It's hinted at throughout the whole book that Wren and Danny slept together, but isn't actually mentioned until the near the end of the book. There is also some swearing.

Final Verdict: Cold Kiss a fairly powerful read about loss, grief, and how what we want isn't necessarily what we really need.

Cold Kiss earns 4 out of pineapples.