Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Summary from GoodReads:

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Review:

Every time I sit down to write this review, I do so with the full intention of gushing with praise over it.  Then I remember – it basically deals with a ZOMBIE.  Granted, not the flesh-dripping, brain-eating type of zombie… but honestly, who among you out there would willingly kiss a guy who doesn’t have a heartbeat, is cold.. and is not Edward Cullen.

That said.. once you get past the whole kissing a dead guy thing, the story is actually pretty good.  Wren makes some very adult decisions, and deals with the adult consequences of the same. She has an interesting family dynamic happening, an established history (no three-minute falling in love here), and real issues with grief that she has to overcome in order to get on with her life.

As far as paranormal teenage stories go, this one is on the better end of the spectrum.  I was impressed not only with Wren, but also with Gabriel.  He wasn’t creepy, didn’t stalk on her, made good choices, was responsible, and most of all.. he wasn’t dead.  Hurray!

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