Monday, February 16, 2015

TOUR STOP: Cut Here

ASIN: B00SGWE708
Pages: 376
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Appearance:
24501210

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Lena Martin's idyllic world shatters the night her mother dies due to a hit and run accident. Two years later, her dad relocates her from Italy to Los Angeles to help her put behind the time spent in a psychiatric ward following her mother's death. But the move only proves to be a fatal mistake. Shortly after her arrival, the classmates of her new private school begin to commit suicide under mysterious circumstances after reading a cult book called Cut Here.
Determined to unravel the mystery behind the suicides, she bands together with loner Jonathan Russe and outcast Hope Peters to figure out exactly what is happening, not realizing that this places them under a dangerous radar. During this same time, Lena falls for a mysterious and attractive guy named Michael, who is as equally disarming as he's dangerous.
As her attraction grows, so does the body count at St. Lucy Academy. Soon, Lena needs to decide whether to stay away from the guy she's falling for, or to trust him. Is Michael behind the suicides, or is he the key that can unlock the mystery that can stop the bloodshed? Deceptions run high and Lena soon learns that nothing is what it seems.
 
Hello everyone! Welcome to my tour stop for Cut Here by Azzura Nox! Can we please just take a moment to appreciate that gorgeous cover? Alright, now that we've taken a minute, as always be sure to check out the other amazing tour stops by clicking the banner up above and let's get into the review!!

Cut Here follows Lena Martin, a newbie at St. Lucy Academy with a tragic past. Her mother's death shatters her perfect world and her father hopes that the move will put some distance between her and the tragedy, but it seems as if death has followed them from Italy to California. Before Lena's arrival, life at St. Lucy Academy was typical to any other school, but once Lena arrives, the perfect students start committing suicide one by one. The only connection between the deaths is the popular murder novel called Cut Here. It's also the book Lena bought moments before her mother was killed. Convinced that something is wrong and the deaths are linked to the novel, Lena sets out to solve the mystery behind the deaths with the help of a couple of her new friends, but she might be prepared for the evil that awaits her.

I just finished the book and my brain is still spinning from what just happened. Essentially, there's this book where a demonic killer goes out and murders broken souls, disguising the murders to look like suicides. After our MC moves into town, her classmates start dying off, one by one and someone makes the connection that the deaths mirror the ones in the book. Are you creeped out yet? To further amp up the creepy factor, the killer isn't exactly human. In fact, the killer from the book is real and the book is a reflection of what will happen. There's a lot of tension and mystery that surrounds the story and the characters as well as a lot of unexpected twists that take you by surprise. In short, this story is seriously messed up. 

The characters are just an extension of that statement. Let's start off with Lena Martin. I'll be completely honest and say that I didn't like her a ton. She's first portrayed as this beautiful and enchanting creature that completely captures the attention of Jonathan Russe. At first, I didn't have a lot of problems with that, but then the whole Jon & Lena & Amelia (Jon's girlfriend) thing went down. Okay, I'll admit, I thought Amelia was overreacting, but my dislike started when she didn't do much to heal the broken relationship. Then comes Michael in all his mysteriousness and macho-ness. That's when I started having some problems. Lena goes from standing on her two feet to wavering between two guys. She tells Jon she misses him while crying and begging Michael to not leave because she loves him. While she does manage to come to her own conclusions, it takes a long time for that happen and by the end I was a bit done with her character.

That goes on to say that the guys in the love triangle didn't catch my attention either. Jonathan takes messed up and traumatized to a whole new level. After losing his twin brother when he was younger, he has never been the same and that reflects in his character. On one end, he's wonderfully crafted with his mood changes and his dual-like personality. But on the other hand, he's creepy. I will admit I thought more than once that he was the one behind everything, but he isn't (oops spoiler). Then you have Michael who I kind of just automatically disliked. If you haven't caught my gist already, there's a ton of insta-love in this book. He saves Lena from the killer once and she's basically heads over heels. While he tries to be all good about his mission, he's pretty moody and mysterious and basically made me feel really unsettled.

Okay, enough of that. I want to talk about characters that I did like! First off, I really liked Sydney. She's the daughter of a sex icon of the time, but was born with a bunch of dark birthmarks that marred her beauty. In that sense, it made her less perfect and more real. She had more depth than a lot of the characters and maintained her personality throughout the book. After the three involved in the romance triangle, I had enough with mood swings so reading scenes with her was definitely relaxing. There's also Amelia who I felt really really bad for. She was such a nice and cheerful girl with dreams of a happily ever after. While I did think she overreacted when Jon and Lena kissed at the move theater, she definitely didn't deserve to be completely ripped apart for it. A couple of other characters were Dior who I hated but then wanted to give a big hug, Hope who I really want to give a big hug because she needs it more than anyway, Bethany who I'm still confused over, and Connor who was basically an innocent hero.

Wow this review is getting long, but I just wanted to say a couple more things. I'm almost done I promise! The storyline is creepy, but enticing and just makes you wonder what is wrong with your head. The plot however isn't as completely fleshed out as the characters whom you get pretty descriptive histories. That doesn't go to say that it isn't well written. The author definitely knows how to get her point across incorporating enough scare factor and character development to keep you hooked. 

GIVEAWAY
To be added

About the Author
Born in Catania, Sicily, she has led a nomadic life since birth. She has lived in various European cities and Cuba, and currently resides in the Los Angeles area. Always an avid reader and writer from a young age, she loved entertaining her friends with ghost stories. She loves horror movies, cats, and a good rock show. She dislikes Mondays and chick-flicks. CUT HERE, her debut paranormal urban fantasy was inspired by a nightmare the writer had a few years ago. Some of her favourite authors include Anne Rice, Oscar Wilde, Chuck Palahniuk, and Isabella Santacroce.

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3 out of 5 stars
 

Foreverly Obsessed,

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