Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Hardcover: 288 pages

• Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (18 Sep 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0983157278
• ISBN-13: 978-0983157274
• Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows. 
  Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? 
  But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.
• Cover:  As you guys probably know by now, green is my favourite colour, so I freaking love this one!  It's much more vibrant in person, and has a lot of relevance.  My only issue is the girl on the cover has dead straight hair, in the book the author goes to great lengths to establish that Ember has curly hair.

I loved this book!  The best way I can think of to describe it, is that it's like Twilight meets  The X-Men.

I devoured this book, reading it in just 24 hours.  It's so fast paced and packed full of suspense, romance and mystery.  I just couldn't put it down.

This is my first Jennifer L. Armentrout book, but it won't be my last.  I have the first three books in her Lux series sitting on my shelf and have heard nothing but rave things about them, but I decided to read this first as it's a stand-alone novel.

There are a few editing errors but I could totally look past them as I was just so engrossed in the story- was the car crash that killer Ember and her an accident or something more sinister?  Do the strangers want to help Ember and her sister or do they want them for something else?

Is Hayden as perfect as he seems?

I loved the romance between Hayden and Ember.  The instant attraction, but their actual relationship built throughout the book.

There's also a lot of humour that made me smile while reading.

I definitely recommend this book.  It's rare to actually find a YA stand alone these days, and this is one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

4.5/5 stars.