Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Stone Cold Touch (Dark Elements #2)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: October 21, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

I don't really know that there's anything new about Jennifer L. Armentrout that I can say. With every book of her's that I read, it just confirms that she's one of my favourite authors. I was really excited about reading Stone Cold Touch when I got a copy at BEA and I'm surprised that I waited this long to finally read it. But I'm SO HAPPY to have finally read it. 

For the last few weeks, Layla has been trying to pick up the pieces of her heart. After everything that happened in the school's old gym, she isn't sure how to go on anymore. Roth was the only person Layla could truly be herself around. With him she could embrace her demon side without feeling ashamed. But now Roth is gone, burning in the fiery pits of Hell. The only person left on Layla's side is Zayne. Her completely off-limits best friend. The person who's always been there for her. But things seem to be changing with Zayne. All of a sudden, he seems to be seeing Layla as more than just a little sister. But that's not the only thing changing around Layla. Her powers are changing, the Wardens are convinced she might be becoming a threat. And when she least expects it, Roth returns.

So. Stone Cold Touch. What can I say, other than I loved it? I'll do my best to say a little more than that, because it's not entirely helpful. Here's the thing about me and series, I have trouble keeping up with them. No matter how much I love them, I can't bring myself to keep up with them. And then when it's the second book in a trilogy, I'm always afraid it's just going to act as filler to tide me over until the last book. But that was far from a problem with Stone Cold Touch. The story picks up shortly after the event of the first book, and as a reader, you're thrown right back into the middle of it. Much like in the first book, the nature of many of the characters made it difficult to know who I could trust, and who was actually telling the truth. Every so often I would think I had caught one of them in a lie, but then something new would be brought to light and I was back to being confused. But confused in a good way. And once again, the ending took me completely by surprise. I kinda figured something big was going to happen. Jennifer L. Armentrout had actually told me as much when I met her at BEA, but I didn't think that was going to be it. Needless to say, I'm excited to see where things are going to go in the final book.

After having read Stone Cold Touch, I still love Layla just as much, if not more, than I did after I finished reading White Hot Kiss. The world just seems to be against her no matter what she does, and I can't help but want better for her. I felt her pain at losing Roth. Hell, I was not a happy person when Roth ended up in the fiery pits in the first book. And I felt her struggle with her feelings for Zayne, wanting more, but always being afraid that it would result in her getting hurt. I just want GOOD stuff to happen to Layla, but at the rate things are going that might not happen for a while. And now here's the thing about Zayne and Roth. Once, again I kept going back and forth between the two. This time around, I definitely got to see a whole lot more of Zayne. Basically, I got to see a whole other side of him and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED it. Meanwhile, Roth was being kind of annoying but kept on doing these little things that made me love him. It's just hard to choose between the two. Which leads me to say that as much as I was doubtful of having readers pick who Layla ends up with in the final book (more info on that here), I can see how it might work because I honestly can't decide on who I want her with. Both boys have their flaws and their merits and I love them both for completely different reasons. And maybe we can just clone Layla so she can be with both boys and no one gets their heart broken. How does that sound?

So yeah, I loved Jennifer L. Armentrout's Stone Cold Touch. Is anyone who knows me actually surprised by that fact? I didn't think so. I was definitely not disappointed by this second installment of the Dark Elements trilogy, and I can't wait to see how it will all end in Every Last Breath.