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Fri, August 3, 2012

Touched by Cyn Balog Review

Touched
By Cyn Balog
Publication date: Aug. 14, 2012
Delacorte Press, 320 pages
Source: Publisher, via NetGalley

Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn’t? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn’t work.

But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something’s about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there’s no way to stop things from happening. Or is there?

In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he’s about to discover–or the choice he will be forced to make.

— Goodreads.com description

I was pretty pumped about the premise of Touched by Cyn Balog, explaining to a friend that it was unlike anything I’d ever heard of before. Then she goes, “Oh, you mean the main character’s like Alice Cullen?” Okay, dang, yeah sort of. Touché.

But Nick is different – he’s the only person who has the power to change the future he sees ahead. That means any little change he makes means – poof – that future is gone, immediately replaced by a new one. He never lives a moment of his life in spontaneity…and if he dares to, well, then he’s constantly mourning the would-be future he has to give up as a result.

It’s a sad and unique story, and you’ll want to read through till the end in the faint hope that somehow Nick will have a happy ending.

But, for me, there wasn’t much else keeping me engaged. I truly enjoyed the concept but never fully connected to Nick on an emotional level. For a late teen, he seemed too immature and distant. Perhaps he’s spent so much time trapped in his own mind that he’s not a super developed person, but it just left me wanting. And, yes, I know, who am I right now, but it was a little too focused on the romance! Sorry, but it’s true! It was instalove – and while that makes sense for this story, I just wanted it to be more about the mystery.

A good read, but not a favorite.