Young Adult Paranormal
Date Published: 5/28/12
Book Description:
Liz Hannigan has been on the run since she was twelve years old.
Her mother is dead. Her father has lost his job. And thanks to an experimental procedure, Liz is now able to ‘download’ the contents of every brain around her with a simple touch. Forced to hide from both the federal government and a darkling group of morally deficient scientists known as the Coalition determined to exploit her abilities, she moves with her father to the bucolic coal town of Pound, West Virginia.
But the hunt for Liz and her abilities hasn’t ended, and her hopes for peace are shattered when she inadvertently downloads the enigmatic Carey Drake, whose unusual good looks and charm conceal a secret as shocking as her own. Stunned by the knowledge that she has found someone else who has extraordinary abilities, Liz finds herself drawn to Carey, discovering a deep attraction, and dares to hope for the first time she might find love.
But when an agent of the Coalition begins stalking her, Liz must find a way to work with the government agency she most mistrusts as she strives to build a longed-for normal life and take down the agent who has tracked her down. Caught up in a struggle to save herself and those she loves, the girl who sees all is blind to true danger until it is too late.
My Review:
At First Touch by Mattie Dunman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
At First Touch written by Mattie Dunman is a well written novel, the plot and story line are a bit different from other paranormal romance books I’ve read recently. It was nice to read something different this time.
We first meet Liz and find out that she had been in a terrible car accident and lost her mother. When she awakes from a year long coma she finds out she has a very unique gift. Liz has the ability to read minds, and not only read them, but when a person touches her she sort of downloads all their memories and knowledge into her own brain. At first this is pretty scary for Liz but with time she learns to block the voices she hears in her head. When she touches people it opens up some sort of connection to them and it seems if she wants to connect with them later she could.
Liz and her father move around a lot due to the fear of scientist or government people wanting to get their hands on Liz to use her for their own purposes. Attending a new school in a new town Liz for the first time allows herself to make friends. When she meets Carey she finds out that he is different to and they form a friendship like Liz hasn’t’ had it a long time.
This story is very well written and easy to read; Mattie Dunman has written a wonderful story in the YA genre. It has some twist and turns, full of suspense and a touch of romance. What more could you ask for?
I would recommend At First Touch to anyone who enjoys YA Paranormal Romance to pick up this book. I really enjoyed the story and loved Liz and Carey. I really liked all the secondary characters throughout the story and hope we get to see them again in the future. The ending is great and I really hope we have a book two in this series. I loved that Liz and her father were close and she depended on him. Like most daughter should with their father. It was a fantastic read.
I have rated At First Touch a 4 star rating and I would definitely read anything Mattie Dunman writes. So go out and grab a copy for yourself.
Guest Post:
Hello all! This is Mattie Dunman, saying hey from the mountains of West Virginia. I am sitting down with Liz Hannigan, star of At First Touch, for a quick interview.
Liz takes a seat, watching me warily, her gloved hands in her lap. Leaning forward, she narrows her eyes and holds her body tense, as though she is about to leap from her seat at any moment.
MD: Liz, thanks for being here. I know you’re a...private person, so I appreciate you answering some of my questions.
Liz: What do you want to know?
MD: Well first, can you tell us a little bit about how your gift works?
Liz: (laughs mirthlessly) Gift. Right. Uh...sure. I touch you, skin to skin, and your entire mind downloads into my brain. Like hooking up to an external hard drive. I see your entire life in super-fast forward, like a movie speeding by too fast to makes sense of, and then everything just files itself away until I feel like looking at it. (shifts uncomfortably in her seat and looks down at her hands) Oh yeah, and then I can read your mind whenever I want.
MD: Well, that’s got to be...difficult. I know you lost your mother and had to leave your family and friends behind. How has that affected you?
Liz: (long silence) I guess...I always try to think of how she would handle things. Especially when it comes to Dad. Any time I get mad or irritated with him, I wonder what she would say or do and I try to make her proud. I think she would’ve wanted me to do more with my... ‘gift.’ It’s something I think about every day.
MD: Have you thought about how you might use your abilities to impact the world?
Liz: (sighs and looks out the window, looking suddenly tired) I used to. I mean, earlier on, before I got caught up with the Feds and the Coalition, I imagined being a cop or something. You know, sort of a super-interrogator, bane to all criminals. But then I saw the way my abilities were treated, how impossible it would be to have my own life if I made them public, and I got scared. I just want to get through the next day without disaster; it’s hard to think past that.
MD: Okay, so on a lighter note, you say you love to read. What are some of your favorite books?
Liz: Oh, well, I have a bunch of books my mom used to read. Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Gwen Bristow. Sort of romantic/adventure/suspense type stuff. I also really like the Twilight series. So sue me.
MD: You’ve said that you can play music in your head like a playlist. What do you listen to most often?
Liz: You know, I’m a big Beatles fan. Especially the Revolver album. So classic.
MD: One last question. You and Carey...is it the real thing?
Liz: (whispers, gaze fervent) God, I hope so.
Well, that’s it for now. This is Mattie Dunman saying thanks to Liz for sharing some of her thoughts and wishing her luck in her fight against the Coalition and her romance with the always-adorable Carey.
Author Bio:
Mattie Dunman is a lifelong resident of "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia, and has dreamed of being a writer since she first held a pen in hand.Mattie has pursued several useless degrees to support this dream, and presently enjoys teaching (or tormenting, as the case may be) college students the dying art of public speaking. She spends most of her free time writing, but also indulges in reading and traveling.
She is the proud owner of an adorably insane American Eskimo named Finn, and a tyrant cat named Bella, who take up more of her attention than they probably should.
Mattie is currently working on the second book in the First Touch series, and is ecstatic about her new release, At First Touch.
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