Stitch by Samantha Durante
Series: Stitch Trilogy #1
My rating: 4 Stars
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian, Romance, Science Fiction
Publisher: Samantha Durante(self-published)
Release Date: August 1st 2012
Synopsis: Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body screams at her to run… but yet she’s powerless to move.
Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.
Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface…
The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.
My thoughts: I was really surprised with Stitch. At first, I really couldn’t get into it. I found it to be slow. But at some point something clicked. Reading Stitch started to get more enjoyable. The book started to get more exciting. There was suspense. I was getting pulled in and after a while I was glued to my seat. I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
The story flowed through different genres. It went from being a paranormal story to a science fiction story to a dystopian story. So, I guess, you could say that the changing of genres made the story a little more than unpredictable. I am not saying that the constant changing of genres was a bad thing. In fact, Durante was able to pull it off well. She was able to make the different genres flow together very nicely.
I loved how Durante was able to make the world she created not what it seemed. Behind the peaceful college life Alessa has been living is something really frightening and sinister. I couldn’t get enough of the world the author created. It was very different from many things I have read before.
The characters were all likeable. The interactions they had with each other felt real. The same goes for the relationships. Whether it be love, friendship, or admiration, the dynamics between the characters were interesting to read about.
The writing in Stitch was easy to read. Durante’s prose was well in control. Not to flowery but still able to help the reader visualize the characters and their surroundings. The narrative was also good as well.
Do I have any quibbles? Of course I do. As I have said in the beginning of this review, I thought that the beginning was a bit slow. There are also some time jumps throughout the book that confused me at first. And then there was one scene that just annoyed me.
Have you ever read a book in which a couple was being chased down and they just decide to kiss, wasting crucial seconds that could have made a difference in their survival? Well, this is what happens in Stitch. I was internally screaming at the two characters to stop kissing and start running. It was only one brief scene but it annoyed me, nonetheless.
Despite the flaws that Stitch has I would recommend this book. It is exciting and very readable. There is a lot to love about this book and I have no doubt that this will appeal to lovers of sci-fi and dystopia. The book ends with a cliffhanger and I can not wait to get my hands on the next book 🙂
*An advanced copy was given to me by the publisher in order to review it for this blog tour.
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