Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

ARC, 446 pages
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Published by: Harlequin Teen
The Dark Elements, #2
Source: ATWT
For fans of: Paranormal, Hot Literary Guys, Shape-Shifters, YA


Every touch has its price
     Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.
     But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

*MY THOUGHTS*

     As this book showed up, there was no surprise I wanted to read it. After the ending in White Hot Kiss, I NEEDED to see where things went after that.  
"Time truly is of the essence."
(ARC)
     Of course JLA did not disappoint. She brought the same collection of my favorite characters back (we all know which one I was DYING to see!) and she even introduced some other characters that I'm sure will pop up in the last book! As for the older characters, I wasn't really impressed with them. How they could do something like that I'm not sure, but it really doesn't seem right. Anyways, I really love the way JLA keeps incorporating so many paranormal figures into this world. It makes it exciting and keeps it fresh. The same old paranormal creatures aren't around doing the same old thing they always do all the time. 
"Love was a strange creature one thinks they have a grasp and understanding of, only to discover later that they'd had only a taste of the real thing. And there were so many different kinds of love- that much I knew...."
(ARC)
     Now let's talk about the obvious love triangle. We all know I'm not a huge fan of them, but when you have two amazing guys like Roth and Zayne, sometimes a girl needs help. And this is the reason why I love this one. Not because Roth is a super hot demon, or because Zayne is a sweet talking Warden, but because this love triangle actually is there for a reason. The news was announced that JLA will let her fans decide who Layla ends up with. This gives us a chance to actually have some kind of say in it and it means that in the end, there will be a clear boy she chooses! No trying to decipher on our own! I thought this was pretty cool. It really shows that JLA can really write anything. The person who wins may not be the direction she originally wanted the story to go in, but she promised she would give the fans what we wanted. Well done JLA, well done.
"When he laughed I knew there was no chance I was going to kill him and stash his body behind the bleachers."
(ARC)
     This wouldn't be a JLA book without all the twists and turns. And this one had many of them. Let me just say everyone in this one seems to be cray cray. The end was the biggest twist. In true JA fashion she leaves you wanting more. It's not a cliff hanger, but it does make you want the next book NOW. I really was blown away. I really didn't want that to be the answer, but when i finally sat and thought abut it, it finally made sense. Waiting on the next book now will be torture. 
"Seeing death was never easy, no matter the relation of lack thereof to someone."
(ARC)
     I don't want to say too much about the book for fear of spoilers, but I really enjoyed this one. Not more than the first, but it was a good one.In the meantime, be on the lookout for when I start my Vote ROTH campaign. Because I will be president of that fan club any day! 
Overall, I give this

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