Book Review: Touch if you Dare by Stephanie Rowe

Touch If You Dare
Author: Stephanie Rowe
Series: Soulfire, book 2
Available: July 1, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN-10: 1402241968
ISBN-13: 978-1402241963
Buy it here:
Amazon
Book Depository

For more visit Stephanie Rowe's website



Jarvis has finally escaped the clutches of an evil witch after 150 years of torture to find he doesn't have much time left. He must locate his brother before the hate inside him seeps out and destroys the world. In order to do this Jarvis will need to partner with Reina, who also has a major sibling dilemma, in order to deceive Death. When everything is one the line, Jarvis will either succumb to his fate or fight it with everything he has in order to save the woman who's touch fights back the darkness inside him.


Jarvis has spent over a century being repeatedly tortured and humiliated while being held against his will at the Den of Womanly Pursuits. Angelica, the witch who kidnapped him as a child and operated the Den, and her female underlings used cruel techniques (from poisoning and painful experiments to making the men take up hobbies like painting and knitting) to make men into what she believed was the perfect gentlemen. Because of this Jarvis doesn't have the most flattering opinion about women and at first plans to use Reina in any way that will help him get to his brother. As you can guess the more time Jarvis spends with Reina, the more he sees how loving she is and the unbreakable devotion to her sister.

Their relationship is predictable from the start so I never really got invested into it and I found their individual characters to be more interesting than them as a pair. Jarvis harbors hate inside him that sets him apart from his fellow warriors and if it gets out it will be very deadly. As dire as his situation is, he still worries about his injured friends and helping a young vampire who is dying of a broken heart. He's loyal and true to his word. Also, he's great with hair. How many alphas can you say that about? Reina isn't quite as intriguing but the lengths she's will to go through to help her sister and Jarvis are just a few things that make her a very sweet character.

There are a lot of side characters in this book and while they did have a part in Reina and Jarvis' journey to find, and in Reina's case, help their siblings there were just too many. Each had their own problems they were bringing into the story and it kept taking the focus away from Reina and Jarvis. Humorous paranormal romance is probably one of my favorite types of books to read but there can be too much of a good thing. On every page, in every scene, it felt as if the author was trying to get a laugh and it had me actually wishing something tragic would happen so there was a change in the story.

Touch if you Dare had a decent story and a few good characters. I wouldn't say I hated the book but I definitely didn't love it. You could correctly guess what will happen next in Jarvis and Reina's relationship and there were more supporting characters than needed. One did stand out though. I really liked everything about Death. He's arrogant and a womanizer but he has a weakness for love. His character was a constant surprise and he was the highlight of this book. It's hard to say any one who loves PNR will enjoy this book but I think fans of the first installment will find this to their liking.
My Rating: