Toxic (A Denazen Novel) [Paperback]

Jus Accardo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2012 | Series: A Denazen Novel

When a Six saved Kale's life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she'd lose the one thing she'd give anything to keep... And as if it's not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems.

After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice--surrender to Denazen for the cure...or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn't involve being bagged and tagged--or losing someone she loves--Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there's a traitor among them. Jade.

Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there's any hope of proving Jade's guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a writer, Ms. Accardo demonstrates an exceptional ability to make readers "see" everything that is happening. Her prose is fast paced, her detail is meticulous, her characters are believable, and her storyline is packed with tension and sprinkled with humor." ~ Rita Lorraine Hubbard, New York Journal of Books

About Touch

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 Six saved Kale's life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she'd lose the one thing she'd give anything to keep... And as if it's not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems.

After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice--surrender to Denazen for the cure...or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn't involve being bagged and tagged--or losing someone she loves--Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there's a traitor among them. Jade.

Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there's any hope of proving Jade's guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Entangled Teen (October 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1620610167
• ISBN-13: 978-1620610169
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,458 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sooo frustrating but sooo good! October 14, 2012

By Nereyda @

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

***ARC provided by Entangled Teen for review purposes***

(Spoilers for Touch)
It's no secret that I LOVED Touch by Jus Accardo. How could I not? With a tough yet vulnerable MC like Dez and the super hot and deadly yet clueless Kale, I was immediately hooked! After eagerly anticipating Toxic and after a few release date set backs, I was ecstatic when I received my review copy.

After Dez makes a bargain to save Kale's life in Touch, she is warned that there will be consequences for it. But Dez doesn't care because nothing can be worse than losing Kale, right? Fast forward to the present and Dez discovers that she has lost her immunity to Kale's deadly touch. After being the only person that Kale was able to touch, this definitely puts a strain on their relationship. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Dez only has a few months left until she turns 18 and the Supremacy program kicks in and her dad has ordered two new powerful and deadly sixes after her. To make things worse, Ginger has brought in a new six to "help" Kale control his powers. Not only does Jade have very valuable power, she is also a man-stealing girl who is after Kale. (Excuse me while I do some breathing exercises to calm me down...OK, I think I'm good)

Jade is one of the most manipulative characters I have read about and I hate her so much with this fiery passion that consumes me and I wish she would die a horrible, slow and painful death. (Yeah, she's that bad!) There were many time when she would frustrate me so bad that I had to put the book down. Although Kale is a deadly assassin and can kill someone hundreds of different ways, being sheltered his whole life has him lacking some serious...common sense. Something Jade is not afraid to take full advantage of. Poor Kale doesn't know that he shouldn't let another girl hold your hand or take another girl to your date with Dez. And Dez, I know she is dealing with a LOT in life but the last thing you should be doing if another girl is after your guy is keeping secrets from him and pushing him away! ESPECIALLY if that girl is trying to convince your guy that you are still involved with your ex. Speaking of Alex, I always had a soft spot for him in Touch and it continues in Toxic. Not that I want him with Dez but I do want him to be happy. Please Jus, do not kill off Alex! (Please?)

As you can probably tell, Toxic was a very frustrating story for me but I absolutely LOVED it! Toxic takes us on one hell of an emotional roller coaster that will test your patience leave you feeling drained. But as soon as you finish reading the last page you will want more! And that ending? Evil! Although Dez makes a lot of stupid choices, she still manages to hold on to the snarky and tough personality that made me love her in the first book, even if she is barely hanging on by a thread. Kale continues to be awesome and we get to see more of Alex and the rest of the sixes, new and old characters. Actually, the scenes where Kale and Alex fight over Dez are some of my favorites. Even though I HATED Jade, kudos to you Jus for writing a character that can evoke so many strong emotions from me. Whether its love or hate, when I feel something this strong for a character, for me, that is what being a great author is all about. Can't freaking wait for the next book in the Denazen series: Tremble and the next novella: Faceless. Although I will always be Team Kale, I hope Faceless is told in Alex's POV.

Full of heart-pounding action, suspense and emotional turmoil, Toxic is a fantastic addition to the Denazen series that you will NOT want to miss!

5 out of 5 sparkly stars!

Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Toxic:
-When Kale finally spoke again, his voice sounded calm, but I knew better. If anything, it was laced with more hate than before. "You're correct. I can't touch her for the time being-but neither can you."
Alex's lip twitched. He folded his arms and puffed out his chest, standing a little straighter. I knew that stance. A challenge. "Wanna bet?"
"I do," Kale responded coolly. "Because if you try to do it again, I'll touch you. Then the only thing you'll be touching is the wind as you're scattered across this world."

-"I can't imagine what it must have been like to have no human interaction. How horrible."
He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "He had human interaction. He had me."
Jade flashed me a mock frown. "Had-past tense.

-"Are you serious? She's just waiting for a chance to jump you."
His eyes widened. Expression serious, he leaned forward. "That's what you're worried about?"
"Well, yeah. She can--"
He chuckled and scooted just a little closer. "That's ridiculous. She has no training."
Training? For crap's sake. Sometimes, I wanted to beat my head against the wall when talking to Kale.

-"Dude, we're the same kind."
Fist clenched, Kale leaned closer. "We are nothing alike."
Alex lost his grin. Jaw tight, he nodded in my direction. "We're exactly alike. We both hurt her."

-Expression sad, he said, "You can't touch me like you used to. But you can still talk to me." He took a step closer. "I need you to talk to me, Dez."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Hmm. October 6, 2012

By born to teach

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ehh. I liked Touch better.

Here's the deal with Toxic:

1) Dez is kind of naive-stupid. I really hate when authors make their characters naive-stupid, because you know what the character is doing wouldn't make sense to any rational being, but the character is acting in such a way because it furthers the ends of the book and/or makes the book long enough. Lately, I'm seeing that more and more lately YA books. Anyway, I found naive/stupid Dez really annoying, and it's just so hard to get into a book when you don't like the title character. And I did like her in Touch.

2) Opposite to the first reviewer, I kind of feel that much didn't happen in this book. Dez gets sick. That's pretty much the sum up of the whole book. The entire book could have been condensed by half, without really losing anything.

On the plus side:
1) Kale is still wonderful.
2) The last quarter of the book does get more interesting.

However, overall, the book kind of felt like merely an informational bridge between the 1st book and what I assume will be the 3rd (and final?) book where all the real action will happen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-stop Dez & Kale ride! October 2, 2012

By Carlee

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Enjoyed this new installment of Dez & Kale! But oh did Jade rub me the wrong way!!! I loved it, I hardly put it down and was able to sail through because it kept me wanting to know what would happen with Dez's situation she'd found herself in this time! Definitely a must read!