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A Touch Mortal Hardcover – Bargain Price, February 22, 2011

by Leah Clifford (Author)

68 ratings

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Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Greenwillow Books
Publication date

February 22, 2011
Reading age

13 years and up
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.33 x 8.25 inches
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leah Clifford has been an extreme cave tour guide, a camp counselor, a flight attendant, a pizza delivery girl, a waitress, and a grocery store clerk. Now she adds author to that list. She lives outside Cleveland, Ohio. This is her first book.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A1ABGCA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenwillow Books (February 22, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.33 x 8.25 inches

Customer Reviews:
68 ratings

About the author

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Leah Clifford

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Leah Clifford has been an extreme cave tour guide, a camp counselor, a flight attendant, a pizza delivery girl, a waitress, and a grocery store clerk. Now she adds author to that list. She lives outside Cleveland, Ohio.

Website: http://www.LeahClifford.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LeahClifford

Customer reviews

5 star		60%
4 star		26%
3 star		9%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Bookaholics Anonymous

A touch of something...

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

This review is from notes I had.
Going into this book I had high hopes that it was going to be awesome. Why would I do that when it might just break my heart? Have you read the synopsis? It was a different take on angels and sometimes subjects need to have a new or fresh perspective in order to keep a readers attention (or is that just my attention).
So where am I going with this and what's my point. My point is that while at first I was confused with what was happening and the mix of all the characters just kind of popping up. I thought this is going to be hard for me to follow and I'll lose interest and that is when all my excitement for the book was lost. I didn't want it to be because it had potential. I'm not a DNF, quick to give up type reader. It's really hard for me to give on a book because I feel if I start it I should give the author a chance to wow me. (I mean sometimes the best parts are at the end.) So I figured maybe it was just my mood. So I put the book down for a few days.
After coming back to the story I can say I began to like it, I didn't love it, but it's better than just hating it. As the story unfolded I began to see the characters more clearly. I don't remember being to thrilled with Eden as a character.

Review of A Touch Mortal

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2012

Verified Purchase

I'm going to be right up front, there are probably going to be spoilers in this review, because I'm fairly sure I can't say a thing about this book without giving something away. Just an FYI.

In a couple of weeks, Leah Clifford will be hosting her InsaniTEA Party at my local bookstore for the release of the second book in her A Touch Mortal series, A Touch Morbid, so I thought I should probably get around to reading the first book. I picked up A Touch Mortal last year when Leah was at Schuler Books promoting the book. I had had every intention of reading it then, but for those following along, a lot happened between then and now, and I didn't, plain and simple. So I picked it up the other night and pretty much read it in two sittings.

It's a fairly quick read, which honestly surprised me. It was also easy to get into. I find that I have a hard time getting into the flow of a story with some books, but Leah seemed to make hers relatively easy, and I found myself reading along, enjoying where the story was going, even when it was becoming apparent what was going to be happening to out heroine, Eden. I feel like I should be up front with about what happens, because if someone is reading this who might have a problem with the subject, maybe this will give them fair warning. Eden commits suicide. She does this fairly early on in the book, after she met the love of her life, Az, an almost Fallen angel. Az is afraid that the Fallen are going to find out about Eden, and torture her to try to get Az to complete his Fall, so he plays a hand in her committing suicide, to protect her. This is where some will need to have a little suspension of disbelief, because that doesn't really sound like a win/win situation for Eden, does it?

Anyway, I was going with the flow of the story up to the point. Eden becomes a Sider. She is more or less alive again, but her entire mortal existence has been erased from the memories of everyone she knew. She'll live forever; and she now has Touch. What is Touch, exactly? I have no idea. I don't know if the characters know what it is. I don't even know if Leah Clifford knows what it is. This is where I started to dislike the book. A lot. This key element, Touch, is never really explained, unless I missed a big chuck of the story. Eden is told she has Touch, needs to pass off Touch to mortals so that it doesn't build up in her system, and she just accepts it and carries on. No explanation. No questioning what it it. She just accepts it at face value, and the readers are forced to accept it at face value because there is never an explanation. By the time I realized how much I was frustrated by this one lacking key explanation to a key plot point, I was well over half way through the book, so I figured at this point, it was a quick read, so maybe Clifford explained it by the end. Just for those keeping track, she doesn't.

However, at some point through the last 1/3 of the book, I discovered that I was really enjoying the story, was engaged with the characters, wanted to see how things were going to end with this book, questions about Touch be damned. I had already figured out some of the twists of the story and was fairly sure I knew why things were happening the way they were. My reservations and questions about the purpose of Touch aside, I really ended up finding that I enjoyed A Touch Mortal. I'm just hoping that these questions are answered in the next book.

One person found this helpful

Not just another angel book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

Wow. I'm trying to think of how to write this review, and that is all that comes to my head, just wow! This book was so intense, so crazy, so exciting. I flew through this book in record time and it left me dying for more!

This is not just another angel book. This is a whole new paranormal type that is in a league of it's own. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't tell you what our new paranormal is, but I absolutely loved it. Eden is a great lead female. She was so strong, and so smart. There was a great tete a tete that went on between her and another character throughout where one would say a qoute from a poem, and the other would guess who wrote it. I loved trying to see if I could figure it out as well. (They are so much smarter than me....lol). Eden was deterinded and independent, but also knew when to lean on others to make herself stronger.

Our male leads in this book were great as well, although my favorite guy wasn't even the love interest! They were so smart and sexy. They were also completely mysterious and kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what had actually happened and what might happen next.

This book had a really dark feel to it, but it wasn't heavy or hard to read. I loved the dark and crazy feel. The ending was amazing! I loved that a lot of the threads were wrapped up, but I was left hanging on the edge of the cliff, dying for more. The ending was so shocking that I'm still reeling from it! This book releases tomorrow and I'm telling you all that you NEED to go and get a copy now!!! You won't regret it!

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Amazon Customer

Not morbid at all!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

I remember devouring A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford when HarperTeen posted multiple preview chapters online many eons ago now. Based on what I read, I bought the book as I was desperate to know what happened next but the publication date was so far away that when the book did eventually arrive on my doorstep, it ended up getting lost in the TBR pile. And dude, when I say pile, what I really mean is a couple of huge bookcases. Anyway, I've been craving an angel book recently and so I picked up A Touch Mortal and read from the beginning. Thankfully, it did not disappoint. A Touch Mortal smacks you over the head with its originality and edgy subject matter which I took pleasure in devouring all over again.

I have to say at this point that A Touch Mortal is aimed at older readers as it deals with mature themes and there are touches of hardcore swearing scattered throughout the book. Personally, I don't like the idea of YA books being virginal/Snow White like when characters don't swear or have sex or drink alcohol as to me it doesn't necessarily feel real. I'm not saying that all teenagers do this but some do and so I really enjoyed the harsh language (does that sound weird?) because it made it more realistic. I'm sure I'd drop a few F-bombs too if I found out the guy I'd been seeing was an angel, know what I mean? On that note, I have to say that Eden's reaction to that was SPOT ON. It was so natural and believable. In fact, the dialogue was REALLY strong in this book and that has to be commended as it makes all the difference.

A Touch Mortal was so different from all the other angel books I've read (and I've read A LOT). I really enjoyed the fact that it was darker, edgier and deals with suicide which is often perceived as a taboo subject. A story involving suicide is never going to be an easy ride but Leah Clifford makes it all sound quite plausible and interesting in her book as the "Siders" don't really die as such. With that in mind, let's talk about the characters. Eden is a troubled soul from the start and carries a lot of pain and loneliness inside her. Then she meets Az who seems to bring her back from the brink, if only for a little while before the inevitability train comes hurtling towards her and she commits suicide. Only, she's not really dead. Now she's a "Sider" and whilst their purpose is not really clear, it's the only reality she's gonna get so she might as well get with the program. Eden is forced to learn how to use her newfound ability as a Sider called "the touch" and embrace her new reality which includes an eccentric, off the wall woman called Kristen who lives in the creepy house of horrors. She's got a harsh yet witty tongue, obviously an intelligent lady and I think decadent is the right word to describe her. She has a history with Az, the rough and ready angel that falls in love with Eden and I loved Az for his sheer will not to give up on Eden, to protect her always and fight against "the fall".

However, my favourite character in this book was somewhat surprisingly Az's best friend Gabe. I say "surprisingly" because I'm not sure I've ever read a book where my favourite character isn't one of the main characters caught up in a romance although he was sort of caught up in a BROmance with Az ;) Gabe reminded me so much of Elijah from The Vampire Diaries and although he might be a little older than the intended character, that's who I pictured at the time of reading. Gabe carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, figuratively speaking. He's sensible, responsible, protective, and fiercely loyal. Throw in the fact that Gabe is part of "the bound" and cannot tell a lie, you know this is going to get interesting.

A Touch Mortal is quite mysterious at times and you often find yourself wondering what the hell is going on but that drives you forward and ultimately makes the book unputdownable. Leah Clifford is a hugely imaginative and talented writer that I will be keeping my eye on in the future and I can't wait to read the sequel A Touch Morbid which is out now. No waiting for me then, YAY.

One person found this helpful

Tina T.

Torn

Reviewed in Germany on August 18, 2011

Verified Purchase

The idea - compelling. The story - luringly dark. The writing - deliciously snarky. Sound too good to be true, doesn't it?

I still can't put my finger on what exactly is to blame, but "A Touch Mortal" had me right from the start. From the first page it had me under its spell, and all I could do was to keep reading, even as the plot revealed one disappointment after another. By the time I read through half of it I was seething.

So, right in the beginning after that amazing first chapter of Eden's and Az' first meeting, what does the author do? Yes, she suddenly presents us the next chapter where they are long since a couple without even trying to elaborate how they fell in love, how they got together or anything at all about their relationship. I thought, what the hell?! The author had to be kidding me. Then I began convincing myself that Clifford would probably reveal the details a little at a time as the story progresses. Only we don't get as much as a glimpse. I'm still left wondering how come they so much for each other.

The next disappointment following up lasted 200 pages. Yes, it takes that long for Az to reappear after Eden has told him to leave her alone. Already gritting my teeth in frustration, because unfortunately, the events during that period weren't eventful enough to distract me, my growing urge to strangle Adam was added and along with it the wish for someone to please, please kill him. Let's just say at this point that I know very well why I avoid stories with love triangles and thank you very much I don't need a reminder. If someone had warned me I wouldn't have picked it up, but there wasn't a single mention of a love triangle in "A Touch Mortal" like, anywhere. I won't elaborate my problem with love traingles any further, I'll just leave it at that with noting that they make me want to (literary) murder at least two involved characters, if not all three of them. And Adam certainly wasn't such a likeable character to begin with, so that didn't help either. You can't possibly imagine my enormous relief when Az arrived on the scene again and took Eden's mind off of Adam. I think the kitched scene is my favorite in the whole book.

From that point I loved the book again and especially the intense, unforseen showdown. I was practically cheering at Adam's "disappearance" The ending itself was just the way I like it, wrapping the story up nicely while you're still left wondering what will happen next.

Overall, "A Touch Mortal" is very dialogue- and character-driven, whereas descriptions, monologues or action scenes hardly occur at all. I enjoyed Clifford's writing style from the start, for it's crisp and clear, sarcastic but still touching. And she's one of the rare authors who don't use an unnecessary amount of words for something that can be told in a single sentence. The only thing slightly disturbing me is that by writing that way she also fails to build a unique atmosphere, which runs like a golden thread through the book. The atmosphere is simply lacking.

What I'm torn mostly about are the characters. On one hand, there's that certain something that just makes me care for them, although on the other hand, I couldn't tell you one of Az' characteristics for he simply hasn't got any. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say they're shallow or depthless but to be honest they aren't very profound, like a piece of wood that was only carelessly and quickly carved, as though under time pressure. Still I identified with them, sympathized and cared what happend to them in the end. I was especially fond of Kristen, definitely my favorite character, fierce and tragic all at once.

So I guess by now I'v made it pretty obvious why I'm so torn. While I can't make up my mind what to think of the characters, I partly love and partly hate the plot and the writing is great and then again not. I don't like or not like this novel, all I can say that it hasn't left me untouched. I can't even decide whether to read the sequel or not. The only thing I can advise you to do is form your own opinion about this one.

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