4/5 stars. Better than I expected.

Plot: 3.5/5
Oh, no! I’ve begun using decimals.
So, for the first half of this book, I was uncomfortable with the mythology, and rightly so. One of my friends, reading the back, was outraged at the whole ‘thirteenth sign of the zodiac’. I don’t mind that. I understand existing reality must be tweaked for story purposes. But, until they explained it, the mythology seemed unsustainable. But then the explained it.
And then the ending, or rather, two chapters preceding the LAST couple of chapters… in those two chapters, some things happened that seemed very…abrupt. There was no lead-up to those events, or there a very little.
I feel that the part after the middle of this book and before those couple chapters was the best, plot-wise.

Characters: 3.5/5
Matt: reminded me SOOO much of Matt from TVD
Jodi: Hey, she agrees with me about Mac-and-Cheese (it’s gross), so, points for her!
Alex: his Mac-and-Cheese obsession, aww. His cuteness, aww. And, WTF??? (those last-ish two chapters)
Victoria and Troy: I liked neither of Alex’s parents. Troy, though he only spoke, like, three times, was undeniably mean and Victoria was very slimy.
Medusa: Medusa is cool. Me likey.
Abby: insecure-bitchy-mean-girl? I think.

Romance: 5/5
Concerning Jodi and Alex, not Jodi and Matt:
Although, yes, there was a bad case of intsalurve here, I found most f their exchanges to be natural, no cheesy. While I have said that, for the most part, I don’t mind cheesy, it was nice to not say “Cheesy” every couple of pages.
“Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, but the last thing a girl wants to see when she opens her eyes is a knife in the hand of the guy she—” I caught myself in time.
Alex cocked his head to the side and smirked. “Go on. The guy she…”
“She’s training with.”
Nice save, Jodi.
(The whole knife part of that exchange makes more sense in context)

Overall grade: 12/15
Not outstanding, but decent.


( )

"Touch of Death" is a fast paced, entertaining read about Jodi, a teenager who discovers that she has the power to kill and the power to revive the dead. I have no idea how true the mythology that is woven into the plot is, but it was enough to keep me intrigued and riveted. The story itself is essentially divided into two parts, even though it's not officially broken up as such. Thankfully it didn't take much mental effort to shift from part 1 to part 2. There were a few plot points that seemed a bit contrived (for instance, much of the initial interaction between Jodi and Alex seemed a bit implausible), but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. Definitely going to be looking out for the sequel! ( )

Touch of Death is an okay read for me. There were a few things that I had an issue with, like the timing of everything. Everything just seemed to happen so fast, timeline wise. There isn’t a ton of action in this book, which I would have expected considering it’s necromancers, and bad guys. I did like how the necromancers are tied in with mythology. I’m a sucker for anything that has to do with Greek mythology, so I thought this would be right up my alley.

I didn’t care for any of the characters. Jodi’s mom is way too overprotective. Jodi annoyed the hell out of me. She lacked common sense. There were so many times, I wanted to ask her “you really didn’t see that coming???” I do like how toward the end she kind of finds herself. She’s comfortable with who she is now, and hopes to do better.

I will read the next book just to see where this story leads. ( )

I loved the concept - a teen girl discovers she's inherited the touch of death - and life - through her ancestress, Medusa. The 13th zodiac sign. Zombie deer. Zombie squirrel. Zombie zombies. If you like zombies, this may be your book.

The writing is good - the dialogue is mixed well with narrative, the heroine "spoke" with a teen voice, and certainly had the boy-obsession down. At the same time, I did not like Jodi or find her admirable. Yes, she had the super-duper blood, but that's not anything SHE did, said or choose. I wanted to see some seeds planted in the beginning of the leadership and courage she magically showed at the end; she seemed very passive and reactive.

I also felt Jodi gave up her relationship with her mother way too easy. She should have fought for some way for them to stay in touch - emails, letters (just don't lick the envelope!), something, this was the only parent she knew for her entire life and they were tremendously close. To me, the only character who demonstrated real depth, internal conflicts and genuine likability was Jodi's mother, but she was gone by the middle of the book. Likewise Jodi's (former) best friend, simply GONE - Jodi doesn't give her a second thought once she's in her necromancer training school.

It is a very fast read, and there were some interesting plot twists. ( )

Minor confession time: zombies freak the H out of me. I don't know why, because, honestly, I've seen more dead bodies than I care to admit. But dead bodies walking around? Definitely scares the bejeezus out of me. Anyhow, that being said, if you dig the zombie genre (as in, love the Walking Dead and such) more power to ya, and grab this book!! Despite my silly fears, this was a really fun read. The world of the Ophi was intriguing and I loved the details Hashway worked in. Plus, I'm always a fan of anything with Greek gods, especially Medusa. So, no doubt I had fun reading this. Add in the awesome Alex, and I can't wait for the sequel! ( )