Where I share my love of books with reviews, features, giveaways and memes. Family and needlepoint are thrown in from time to time.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Book Review: At First Touch by Mattie Dunman





Virtual Blog Tour of At First Touch by Maddie Dunman is being hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.


Virtual Book Tour February 25 - March 15

February 25 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet
February 26 - Cozie Corner - Review
February 27 - The Writing Junkie - Review/Guest Post
February 28 - Taking it One Page at a Time - Review/Guest Post
March 1 - Must Read Faster - Review/Guest Post
March 2 - In This World of Books - Review
March 2 - Tana Rae Reads - Review/Guest Post
March 3 - Books and Needlepoint - Review
March 4 - Getting Your Read On - Review
March 5 -
March 6 - Owlnestly Book Reviews- Review
March 7 - Inside BJ's Head - Review
March 7 - Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books -Review/Guest Post



Title: At First Touch
Author: Mattie Dunman
Young Adult Paranormal

About the book: Liz Hannigan has been on the run since she was twelve years old.

 Her mother is dead. Her father has lost his job. And thanks to an experimental procedure, Liz is now able to ‘download’ the contents of every brain around her with a simple touch. Forced to hide from both the federal government and a darkling group of morally deficient scientists known as the Coalition determined to exploit her abilities, she moves with her father to the bucolic coal town of Pound, West Virginia. 

But the hunt for Liz and her abilities hasn’t ended, and her hopes for peace are shattered when she inadvertently downloads the enigmatic Carey Drake, whose unusual good looks and charm conceal a secret as shocking as her own. Stunned by the knowledge that she has found someone else who has extraordinary abilities, Liz finds herself drawn to Carey, discovering a deep attraction, and dares to hope for the first time she might find love. 

But when an agent of the Coalition begins stalking her, Liz must find a way to work with the government agency she most mistrusts as she strives to build a longed-for normal life and take down the agent who has tracked her down. Caught up in a struggle to save herself and those she loves, the girl who sees all is blind to true danger until it is too late. 

Tori's Thoughts: I can't pick out anything specific about this book that I enjoyed, because I enjoyed the whole thing!  It kept me turning <virtual> pages when I was supposed to be otherwise engaged.  I liked the gradual build up of chemistry between Liz and Carey and really wanted them to have a happy ending. 

The story was told in the present, but you learn important details and events through flashbacks.  I found this very engaging and it worked well with the storyline. Even though Liz has special abilities, she longs for and strives to live a normal life. She is mature beyond her years as her mother died before her teens. 

Upon arriving in Pound, West Virginia, Liz and her father are able to relax for the first time in many years - until a member of the Coalition come across her by accident.  Her first reaction is to wipe his memory to keep her and her father safe.  Unfortunately this leads the FBI to Pound as they had this man under surveillance, not knowing he was a member of the Coalition (As a group, the FBI do not know the Coalition exists).  One of the FBI agents - Agent Carson, is also a member of the Coalition.  He is the very same man who kidnapped Liz years prior, and has been hunting for her ever since.  

Even though Liz has never trusted the FBI, she must trust Agent Carson's partner or her life will never be normal.

I am so excited to learn that Mattie Dunman is working on a second book.  It was the first question I asked my mom when I finished reading this one!  I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance with a psychological twist! 


REVIEW BY TORI


BUY LINKS:

~I received a complimentary E-copy of At First Touch from Reading Addiction Blog Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Excerpt from At First Touch:

I was out on the main road and about twenty minutes into my run when I heard the sound of a motor gunning and the beep of a horn. I slowed my pace and turned around to see Preston’s truck chugging along about two hundred yards behind me. His head was out of the window and he was screaming at me; I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but I felt pretty confident that it wasn’t complimentary.

I came to a stop, wondering if I should do something. I wasn’t really concerned; it wasn’t as though he would run me over or anything, but the blind hatred on his face made me a little nervous. Finally, I decided to ignore him and let him get his fill of throwing abuse my way and then drive on past. Picking up the pace again, I resolutely faced forward, pretending that the continued screeching behind me was a trick of the wind.

Suddenly the engine gave an almighty roar and I heard the unwelcome sound of squealing tires. With only a second to register that I had vastly underestimated Preston’s anger and mental instability, I swirled around in time to see the grille of the truck just a few feet from my face. I made to jump out of the way, but all my knowledge and stolen tricks didn’t make me fly, or move faster, or be any less breakable than any other human being. I knew in that moment how useless my ability really was. In the face of the giant metal monster brimming with torque, my mind was of no matter, it just screamed out with the desire to live, to keep going.

There was a blow like a train hitting me, but strangely there was no pain, and I was moving faster than I could have imagined away from the truck and into the field next to the road. I was sure that the truck had hit me and I was just flying through the air to my death, by some fortunate stroke lucky enough to be spared the pain of impact. In another instant the movement had stopped and I realized I was being held in a pair of strong arms against a rock-hard chest.

Carey looked down at me, his eyes frantic. “Are you alright? He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“N-no,” I stuttered. Having downloaded Carey I was aware of his incredible speed, but there’s something very different about knowing something theoretically and experiencing it firsthand.

He put me down gently in the grass and I just sat there, too dumbfounded to speak. Even as he anxiously surveyed me for damage, we heard the rending scream of out of control tires and the heavy metal sound of Preston’s truck crashing into something.

“I’ll be right back,” Carey said and then I blinked and he was gone. 



About the author: Mattie Dunman is a lifelong resident of "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia, and has dreamed of being a writer since she first held a pen in hand.

Mattie has pursued several useless degrees to support this dream, and presently enjoys teaching (or tormenting, as the case may be) college students the dying art of public speaking. She spends most of her free time writing, but also indulges in reading and traveling.

She is the proud owner of an adorably insane American Eskimo named Finn, and a tyrant cat named Bella, who take up more of her attention than they probably should.

Mattie is currently working on the second book in the First Touch series, and is ecstatic about her new release, At First Touch.

~WEBSITE~                            ~GOODREADS~




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