Author: Lindsay Delagair
Series: Untouchable #1
Release Date: July 30, 2011
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Picking a boyfriend can be murder, but for Annalisa Winslett, it might end up being the literal death of her.
No one at Pensacola High School suspects the girl they know as Annalisa McKinnis to be a wealthy heiress in hiding, but things begin to unravel when two new guys enroll. Both guys are gorgeous, and both are trying to win her over. The only problem is that one of them has a million dollar contract to put a bullet in her.
This book is the beginning of a wild ride in a trilogy that will make you wonder if the power of love can truly conquer all.
When her pure and innocent heart is offered to him, will this cold and empty hitman fall, or will he remain untouchable?
DISCLAIMER: This review may or may not contain spoilers... alright fine it contains spoilers.
I have this odd love-hate relationship about this book. I'm not gonna lie. To begin with I was fooled into thinking there was some steamy, touchy-feely thing that was going to happen because duh abs on the cover. But no. I was kind of surprised by how disappointed I was when Evan stopped Leese when she finally jumped him. It's not like I don't enjoy clean reads. It's just... the cover! And I thought it was heading there anyway! But setting aside my minor disappointment, I did enjoy this book. In a weird way. Up to now I still can't put a finger on it.
I didn't like the religious undertone in this book. I'm just getting this out there early on. I can say I'm a pretty religious person but I don't like reading books with religious undertones unless it really is meant to convey that message and the only way to go about it is by inserting God-lines. But in this case? I think the story would've progressed just the same without the whole Church idea. I get that it's supposed to create this stark contrast between Evan and Leese but it was a bit in-your-face at times.
Oh and I didn't mean to spoil it for you but it was quite obvious right from the beginning - Evan's the hitman. I was kind of wishing it was the other dude so there'll be a twist to it. That's just the thing about this book... there aren't much surprises but I surprised myself when I felt so drawn to the story. Seriously what is it about this book! (I am honestly asking that now as I write this review)
I liked how odd this story is - and no I don't mean that in a bad way. For one, Leese found out about the truth very early in the story. What I expected was she'd found out around 70% of the book and then she'd be all, "Oh my gosh I trusted you" but then he'd go, "No, please, it's not like that anymore!" then they'd kiss and makeup and they'd beat the odds and they'd run into the sunset falalala - THE END.
But no. It wasn't like that. In fact, the idea of Evan killing Leese became something they discussed openly and casually and I was just... whuuuuut? I don't normally use .gifs for my reviews, and I try not to if I can help it, but I really really need to use this one because I'm pretty sure that's how I looked when I went deeper into the story:
It was so odd and different that I liked it! I liked it, okay? Don't judge me. Now I'm seeing that I think it was how different it was than what I expected that made me enjoy the story. To some extent, it followed the story line I was bracing myself for but the fact that Leese knew about Evan's deadline and she wasn't very melodramatic about it was refreshing for me. Call me crazy but I liked how er, masochistic, they were. It wasn't annoying for me unlike some books (*coughs* insert popular book title here *coughs*) because all the weirdness was laced with tender moments between Evan and Leese and that just made my heart go squeee~ I totally get how they could feel messed up about the whole situation. They knew the impending doom but whenever they had alone time (not what you think, believe me), their feelings for each other would grow and everything just gets twice as confusing.
I liked Leese for the most part. The only thing that I didn't like about her was how frequently she cried. I mean, seriously, pull yourself together lady! Her being a badass didn't exactly jive with how much of a crybaby she was. But overall, I liked her kickass (minus the crying) personality. She's one heck of a driver and she has a blackbelt in karate. Karate. See now her crying problem does quite fit in? She wasn't difficult to like, really. She's light and fun. Just... stop crying.
And then we have Evan. Honestly, he may be the biggest reason why I like this book. Heh. Totally swoon-worthy! He has two sides to him that he shows to Leese and both are just equally awesome if you ask me. Is that bad? Anyway, he's one very complex character... duh of course he is. He's a freaking hitman. There was just something about him that didn't make the whole idea of him being a hitman and wanting his target sound so creepy. Like I said, everything just seemed casual and normal for them that Evan appeared normal to me as well and I couldn't help but like their love story all the more.
I liked the secondary characters as well because their personalities were so easy to like. I liked Ryan, Jewels, Kimmy, even Evan's family. They were just a whole cool bunch and I gotta give the author props for also considering the secondary characters of the story. They weren't invisible to the point of being forgettable.
One last rant/question though and this is totally irrelevant to me not liking parts of the story - where was Ryan in all of this? He's the other boy who enrolled along with Evan. I seriously thought he'd have a bigger role in this but apparently not. Kind of a let down, if you ask me. I was so waiting for some weird twist that involves him but sadly there was none. Boo! I did enjoy his moments with Leese though, so I guess it still works out for me.
Overall, I liked Untouchable. I liked how everything happened as a whole that the tiny details that I didn't like didn't ruin my enjoyment. I didn't want to stop reading it, that's for sure. I just wish there'd be more twists, you know? I think it'll only make the whole mob/hitman thing more thrilling if there were twists sprinkled throughout the story. But I liked the book nonetheless. In fact I liked it enough to want to read the next book because I just have to know more! If a book was able to get me this interested then it's definitely a good read. :)
My Rating
(Refer to rating system)
***I received an e-copy of this book for review.***
This review is based solely on my opinion.
Other books in the series
(click the covers to view the Goodreads page)
About the author
Lindsay Delagair
Lindsay lives in Florida on the west coast. She is married and has three children. Although she holds a degree in technology, writing full-time (someday) is her dream job. She enjoys different genres, but always comes back to writing romance.
Heart of the Diamond (published)
Untouchable Trilogy:
Untouchable - Book 1
Unforgiveable - Book 2
Untraceable - Book 3
Kingdom Hill
The Substitute (novelette)
CONTACT INFORMATION
I am so late, I just read this now.
ReplyDeleteWhen the truth was revealed earlier than I expected, I started to expect more, thinking that maybe there's a big bang at the end for the climax. Evan's change of heart, although sweet and touching, was plain for me.
I was rooting for Ryan and Leese, para maiba lang. For the sake of surprise. Haha!