Me on A Touch Morbid

Title: A Touch Morbid
Author: Leah Clifford
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HC imprint)

Eden won the battle, but the war is just beginning and everything is coming apart. She's suffering, keeping it a secret from Az. Kristen's mind is crumbling, and she doesn't know who to trust. Gabe and Az are battling their own demons. And the Siders have attracted the interest of the Bound.

So much of this book is life and death, love, purpose, choices. It goes up and down, touches angels and devils and the Siders in between. There's darkness and destruction. No one knows what's true and what's a lie. There's loving and wanting and craving. Things are falling apart, and everyone is at risk. There are so many twists and turns that it's hard to know who to trust, what to believe.

I felt something when reading this, but I was never sure what it was until the end. It was because I never knew where everything was going until the end, that I never knew who to trust and what the consequences were. This book was dark and twisted, always exploring the shadow-drenched side of life and death and choices.

A Touch Morbid is more multiple stories all woven together than another book all about Eden. There's Eden and Az and what's happening to the both of them. There's Gabe, who's lost and confused, his memories spotty at best. There's Kristen, lost without Gabe to anchor her, slowly losing her mind and her strength until she turns to Luke. There's Jarrod and a newcomer, and their connection is dangerous. Plus there's Madeline with her own motives different from the others, she has plans of her own but doesn't always see the need to share.

Then there's the Bound, the angels, and their interest in the Siders. There's Eden, unsure of whether or not hers go Upstairs or Downstairs.

It's difficult to talk about this book without spoiling any of it, but I will say that the reader puts a lot of trust in the author for most of it. You have to believe that Leah Clifford will bring everything together, that it's all connected when it doesn't look it, and that the ending will leave you breathless.

Honestly, the ending leaves you hanging off the edge of a roof. Metaphorically, of course. The despiration to find out what happens next is so great. And the title is so true. The first book was a touch mortal, and this, a touch morbid.

(I received an advance copy from another blogger.)