Touch (A Denazen Novel) [Paperback]

Jus Accardo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2012 | Series: A Denazen Novel

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Accardo's writing is fresh, crisp, and tugs at every emotion there is. Chapter one drew me in with a vengeance, and the characters are so alive and captivating, they have a gravitational pull all their own. I will be recommending TOUCH to everyone I know! EVERYONE! - Darynda Jones US Today and NYT Bestselling author of FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT

4 ½ stars, RT Top Pick. “Accardo’s debut, first in the Denazen series, is infused with pulse-pounding action, attitude, charm, romance, suspense and enough witty dialogue to crown it one of the best YA novels of the year.” — Diane Morasco, RT Book Reviews

“Memorable characters, heart pounding action, sizzling hot romance — Touch has it all! Definitely fresh and new. You need to read this book like yesterday.” — Jennifer L. Armentrout, author of Half-Blood and Obsidian

 

“Raw and emotional; just like its heroine, Touch packs a mean right hook. Jus Accardo’s action-packed debut is sure to win her a legion of fans.” — Inara Scott, award-winning author of The Candidates and The Marked

From the Back Cover

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Entangled Teen; Reprint edition (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1620610132
• ISBN-13: 978-1620610138
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather's footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing.

Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and is currently working on the first book in a paranormal new adult series due out summer 2013. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book EVER! October 25, 2011

By Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Touch is one of my favorite books of 2011. There I said it. So don't be surprised in December when Touch shows up on those lists! I have pre-ordered a paperback copy and I bought it for my Kindle. CRAZY!

I'm writing this review with my heart beating out of my chest and my hands shaking. I have plans to re-read all of this awesomeness again as soon as I'm finished writing this gushing review!

After the above paragraph, you are probably wondering what all the fuss is about. From the first chapter, we are sent on a roller coaster into what I could only describe as a young adult novel with characters who have superhero type powers, but at the same time...entirely different. This seems to be the most fitting way for me to put into words the general theme of this book. Anything I say after the first chapter or so could contain TONS of spoilers, so I'm leaving anything related to this aspect of the story hush, hush.

Our main character Dez is totally bad a*#!!! I'm in love with every single thing about her! She is what a young adult female character should be! She's rebellious and stands up for what she knows is right.

This book has more layers than a seven-layer dip! Seriously! Once I thought my brain had finally wrapped itself around what was happening, something new was in my face! I had no time to guess any major or even minor plot points! So many twists! The plot was face paced! I can't believe the author shoved that much action and plot into only 2xx pages! Tons of action! I was wanting to devour every single word. Some action scenes can put me to sleep, not these!

ROMANCE! Dez & Kale! I won't be able to say enough about these two, but it is one of the best romances in a book I've personally read about and enjoyed. Kale is sweet, cute, but more! You just need to read about him for yourself, I'm serious!

The ending was pretty freaking EPIC! Everything came together perfectly, so many different ties that we needed information about. No cliffhanger! That is a total plus, I was reading expecting to throw my e-reader out the window, but Jus Accardo saved us from having to endure torture waiting for book number two. She set the story up brilliantly for another book by adding new elements at the end...she's just brilliant! Many first books in a series, I can easily pass up reading the subsequent books, but not with the Denazen series!

I will close this review saying I was left with a book high (yep HIGH as a kite!) once I finished that final sentence. If only every book left me and everyone with that same feeling...more people would be avid readers! If the summary didn't convince you to pick up this book, hopefully my review has done it for you!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Okay beginning, then just gets ridiculous February 5, 2012

By Roonil Wazlib

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed the start of this book, but it slowly turned into an irritating story that just got more and more annoying.

The spelling errors and other editing mistakes were very hard to ignore. I mean, on the first page of the book, she spells adrenaline wrong twice! Then later temperature is spelled 'temperture'. (There are many more errors like this.) There are also sentences that just don't make sense. At the beginning of one chapter, she writes "Kale was fascinated with TV - mostly the commercials. He'd seen a little while at Denazen, but nothing extensive." Um, what?

The way the author tries to throw in brand names and weird slang to make Dez sound cool is just annoying. Like she talks about her Mudd boots at one point, and refers to food as "noms". Ugh!

The whole premise about people having different powers was okay at the beginning because they were just kind of vague but believable, like telepathy or telekinesis. But by the end of the book there were so many ridiculous powers that I felt like I was reading a bad rip-off of X-men. One guy turns himself into a panda bear. One girl liquifies herself, and another guy basically inhales a bunch of fire and then burps out smoke and grins. Really?

The ending of the book left me rolling my eyes; it just wasn't believable.

This book wasn't totally awful, there were some things I enjoyed, like the characters of Kale and especially Alex were interesting. I give it 2 and a half stars.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best YA paranormal books out! November 15, 2011

By Jamie Manning

Format:Paperback

This book Rocks! Ahem, excuse me. Just had to get that out. Okay, TOUCH is the story of Dez, a strong, opinionated, no-holds-barred girl raised by a non-existent single father who happens upon a mysterious, hot guy in the woods. His name is Kale (well, sort of) and Dez is instantly drawn to him. And things only get better from there.

Kale is one of the best leading guys in YA . He's hot, and strong, and hot, and mysterious, and hot. Um, yeah, sorry again. But seriously, Kale is great. He has been basically locked away his entire life, so once he's out, everything is new and foreign to him, and Dez has to help him learn his way. While doing so, they both fall hard for each other, and the moments they share are enough to keep this book going by themselves, without any of the awesome action.

And speaking of action, TOUCH is loaded with it! Dez's father works for a company called Denazen, that has more secrets than the White House staff. Denazen is up to no good, and Kale and Dez get caught in the middle of a supernatural tug-of-war that leads to an intense, edge-of-your seat ending that admittedly had me biting my nails through every page. This story flows very well, leading you along as Dez and Kale try to figure out exactly what's going on while trying to stay alive.

Filled with secrets and surprises, plus some kick-butt supernaturals, TOUCH is an exciting, pulse-pounding read that I didn't want to put down.

I am happy to give TOUCH 5 stars, and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel, which I know will be as good (or better) than the first. Hurry, run out and get a copy now!