(ARC Review) Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

COLD KISS
Author: Amy Garvey
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (September 20, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 006199622X
ISBN-13: 978-0061996221

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. 

I am not usually a big fan of zombie themed books.  With the exception of a select few,  I never understood the appeal to either cold, dead bodies for romance or brain eating shells of humans for entertainment.  That could be why I was a little hesitant on reading Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey.  After reading the first chapter though,  I just knew I was going to like this book though.


When Wren is devastated after losing her boyfriend Danny in a car accident, she does the unimaginable and brings him back from the dead.  Not an easy task to do, especially when your Mother refuses to tell you much about the family magic that is inside her.  Even though Wren does bring him back from the dead, she quickly realizes that Danny is not the same as he was before.  At first she keeps him locked in a neighbors garage while she attends school and such. While she is away, Danny feels confused and can’t stop thinking about Wren.  When she does see him after school and at night, he is cold to the touch and trying to remember things.  The only things he seems to remember though are events including Wren.  


She desperately wants to fix her mistake and give Danny peace finally, but she doesn’t know how to do it or if she is ready to let him go.  When Gabrielle, the new boy in school tells Wren that he knows about her powers, she is afraid of what he will do.  Instead of calling her a freak, he falls for Wren and tells her that he has certain powers as well.  Together they try to figure out a way to deal with Danny being undead and how to give him the peace he needs.  When Danny starts to remember the accident though, he escapes the garage and everything starts to fall into place in his mind.  


I loved Gabrielle as the third character in the book.  He was patient, kind and supportive without being too pushy or jealous.  Wren was okay, but I wished we could have seen more of her with Danny before the accident so I could have connected better with their relationship.  I understand that it hurts to lose someone that you love, but at times I wished we could have had more glimpse’s into their relationship before Wren brought him back.  I enjoyed the friends Wren had in the book and wished we could have seen more of them.  They were hurt the Wren had strayed from them since the funeral, but they could only be pushed so far before walking away from Wren.  I felt bad for them and wanted Wren to open up to them more. 


Overall this book has made the zombie romance a little more tolerable for me.  It made me stop thinking of zombies as brain eaters and started to enjoy them as a storyline that can be sweet and tortured in a good way.  I can also say that Amy Garvey is going to only get better with each book she writes.  Her storyline and pacing is perfect and she does great with details without going overboard.  I personally can’t wait to see what she will bring us next!