Review: Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller

Hello everyone!

Inbetween (Kissed by Death #1)

by Tara A. Fuller

Published: August 28th 2012
by Entangled Teen
Format: e-Book,
Trade Paperback, 400 pages

Goodreads:

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky — and unending — lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

My thoughts:

I read a lot of Contemporary books in the past few months and I didn’t realize how much I missed my (dark) Paranormal Romances and Urban Fantasies until I read Inbetween. This was a fresh, thoughtful, haunting and sometimes humorous read and one of the most addictive YA Paranormal Romance books I read in a long time!

Inbetween wasn’t what I expected it to be. When you start a book that has Death in the title, a reaper as a main character and Edgar Allen Poe as inspiration, you expect something dark and creepy (well, it wouldn't be that creepy for me - I’ve always had a slight fascination with books with/about death, reapers, fallen angels and the like. Hey, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Remember Reyes? Or Tod?;)). But Inbetween wasn’t like that: it has some dark, somehow gothic and scary elements, but it’s also tender, beautiful and heartwarming. Mainly, it’s a story about love. Love that transcends time, space, life and, if you will, the laws of the universe and everything in between (no pun intended). It’s about believing in the impossible; about hope,  trust and rediscovering oneself;  about crossing the line, pushing the limits, facing deadly consequences and doing your best (or worst) to be with the person you love. It’s about loyalty, sacrifices, learning how to deal with raw emotions, pain and loss, to be stronger and to look forward to the future. It has so much depth, intensity and an all consuming romance that it will definitely make you your heart squeeze (and sometimes your toes curl too). And like that wasn’t enough, Tara Fuller also adds a tad of humor, mystery, tension, intrigue and an awesome cast of characters that will guarantee a captivating read! 

***

Emma is your usual high school girl – or is she, really? Her father’s accident (which happened two years ago) let her frail, broken and prone to all sorts of accidents. Since that accident, scary things happen around her and she has some weird dreams about a girl she never met ("ever since Dad died, I’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. That fate would get me, too."). Her only solace is hanging out with her best friend, Cash. He’s fun and he wants to help her have a normal life. He cares about her, he’s always there for her and even drags her with him at parties (even though he sometimes forgets about her after a few beers).  

This was why I loved Cash. Why he was the one stable thing in my life while the rest of the world spun out of control around me. He always knew what to say to ease the pressure, make me smile, make me forget why we were fighting in the first place.

He can’t be there all the time to save Emma from everything though. But Finn can – well, at least he can try, even when he’s not supposed to. When he finally steps into the picture, things get really interesting (not always in a good way): 

I felt lost in the impossible, in the way I was starting to feel about Finn. There was a silent tug-of-war ripping me apart inside. One side telling me to do what was sane, the other pulling me over the edge of reason where nothing made sense.

Finn's love for Emma is stronger than anything - stronger than time and all boundaries between their worlds, and he'll do whatever it takes to save her from the evil that stalks and hurts her, even if it means breaking all the rules and condemning himself to eternal hell. 

Finn is what I liked the most about this novel. He’s such a complex, layered character and it’s impossible not to love him! His immense love for Emma makes him go from selfishness and recklessness to selflessness, guilt, despair, devotion and an unbelievable strength when it comes to facing impossible situations! You can’t not feel for him and want things to work out for him and Emma already! Seriously, I just wanted to reach into the book and hug him. *sigh*

He had a sad look on his face. Not the kind that showed how he was feeling at that second, but the kind that’s branded there after seeing things that can never be unseen. His light-brown hair was cropped close around his scalp, the longer pieces on top stained gold from the sun. His jaw was strong, classic looking. He looked like he belonged somewhere else, a place where it was normal for boys to look like James Dean and rescue damsels in distress. 

***

Something else I really liked about Inbetween was the cast of supportive characters. They’re fun, smart and each one of them has a strong, well developed personality. They always come into the story in the right place at the right time, ready to lighten the mood or to help their best friends. Who thought reapers could be so much fun to be around?:D I love Easton (Finn’s best friend) – if there’s a fan club for him anywhere around the blogosphere, sign me in. I’ll make the T-shirts! And Cash – well, Cash. *dreamy sigh* He already has a special place in my heart and I can't wait to read more about him!

I laughed, wondering if there could possibly be someone else like Cash out there. I doubted it. Cash was sarcasm and seduction wrapped up with a gooey artistic center. He didn’t need a T-shirt to get any girl he wanted. All he had to do was look at them. The bad part was that he knew it. *swoon*

***

And the villain in this story? Wow, now that's something I felt torn about! I sympathized with her, but I also hated her for all the trouble and pain she caused. She created all sorts of twists, turns and tense situations that had me holding my breath and gripping the edges of my seat. 

Also, there's something special about Tara Fuller's writing. It's rich, imaginative and captivating. There are some small details (shimmering, glimmering, smoking, dissolving and stuff like that) that make for a great visual effect.

Finn finally turned around to face me, his outline shimmering with a silvery dust. It was like he was wrapped in the Milky Way, cloaked in a translucent blanket of stars. 

Finn kissed my wrist, his lips dissolving into a fine mist as they moved slowly down to my palm. My breath caught in my throat and my fingers curled around the shimmery particles.  

Seriously, how freaking awesome is that?!

***

Now, you might wonder why I didn't give this book 5 stars. Well, I had a tiny problem with Emma. While I felt bad for her and I really wanted her to be happy and all, I didn't connect with her as much as I would have liked to. She didn't really stand out to me - it felt like all we knew about her was actually through Finn's eyes and more about his feelings about her. And sometimes she was more selfish and needy than necessary, despite the circumstances. She gets herself into some dire situations - even if it was pretty obvious she would get herself into trouble, she went there headfirst anyway. It was kind of irritating, but thankfully, this happened just a couple of times or so, not enough to spoil my love for the book overall.

With that being said, I really recommend this book - it's a different and original kind of Paranormal Romance that I'm sure it will appeal to many reads. 

And now I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes (just in case you need more convincing):

“Before you, there was only dark.” He stopped, but his voice was still unsteady when he started again. “You lit up my whole world, like the sun bursting through the clouds on a stormy day. You made me remember what it was like to feel alive. You made me believe I was something more than death. You made me believe in something that I didn’t think existed anymore.” *faints*

*Review copy provided by the publisher Entangled Teen through NetGalley. Thank you!
**Quotes are from the digital ARC and they might be different in the final edition of the book. 

Purchase the book:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository 

Find Tara: Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

P.S. This book kind of reminded my of the first book in the Otherkin series by Eve Silver. That's an adult series, but the main characters are all reapers (gasp!) and the first book it's also a love story between a  reaper and the girl he saved from death years before, even though he shouldn't have. Don't worry, that's where the similarities end. It was a good read, though.

Have a great weekend!

xoxo