Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Current Rating on Goodreads: 4.55 of 5 stars
Pages: 464
Synopsis (via Goodreads):

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… 

This is the second instalment of The Dark Elements trilogy. A representation of my emotions (hint: my emotions go by a new name called Loki) for your visual entertainment.....

Soooo.....I took over a month to write up my review. Again. I did this exact same thing with White Hot Kiss, weirdly enough. I think I've developed a new habit o.O

Amaazing. This book......kakdjlehkdkjdhsfkj!! *dies* I couldn't keep my face away from the pages to the point I skimmed out of pure guiltylicious excitement. And then I had to wait till the story wasn't fresh anymore to reread it so I wouldn't get all the bookish deets confused. And the second time around I did a total bookfaceplant. Again. Except this time I managed not to skim. Achievement! Do I get a chocolate reward? Pwease?

The plot twists in SCT just kept coming. JLA really pulled out all the stops, and my brain was just going round and round in circles trying to figure out what was happening, why it was happening, and what was the cause. Or causes. It was madness, and that end, oh man, that ending was meaan. Everything took a 180 in the matter of two pages. The mother of all cliffhangers! Every Last Breath you better come soon or I'll unleash my very own personal Thumper ;)

Oh, and can I cheer for Layla with some pompoms?! She was so much more confident and defiant, and she didn't back down from a fight. In WHK she dealt the best she thought she could, but in SCT she was on fiiireee! *waves pompoms*
I admit she was a bit too reckless at times. She should've listened to Zayne when he told her not to go off anywhere with Roth *diehard Roth fans boo*, and not for the sake of listening to Zayne, but because going off with Roth seemed to end with either getting herself hurt, or hurting someone else. I don't suppose she has a slight problem with learning from her mistakes?

I warmed up to Danika in SCT, and I actually think that this weird Lanika friendship where they call each other sexy (I did say it was weird, okay) is sorta cool with epic proportions....and I admit I've been a bit harsh on her, especially in WHK, because I'm reading in, oh, I don't know, Layla's POV. Danika's innate Zayne-targeted flirtatiousness in WHK just got on my nerves, you know?
In truth, Danika is in as much of a tough spot as Layla is over Zayne.....well, she doesn't know Zayne nearly as much as Layla does, so it's a bit of a unsubstantiated crush on her side, but then again people expect for her to be with Zayne, so I guess having that expectation that she'd end up with Zayne, and being encouraged to have such an expectation must have influenced her feelings quite a bit, whereas Layla's crush on Zayne occurred naturally and perhaps (probably not, he's too hawt to be denied *wink*) denied at one point. After all, Layla knew even as a kid that she could never be with Zayne.....or so she thought.

Roth was a total jerk at first, but he didn't do it because he wanted to, and it was rather obvious, so it was hard to get mad at him when I could see he was in as much pain as Layla. Plus, he still managed to be hilarious. In other words, Roth was classic Roth. 'Nuff said.
And Bambi is officially my hero! *cuddles the oversized snake* She's the bestest familiar EVER! (view spoiler)[She made Zayla kisses possible *squeals* (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[I know a lot of people *cough*TeamRothies*cough* are mad at Zayne because of the possibility that he was present when Abbot threatened the kill Layla as a way to get Roth to stay away from her, but I think that's a moot point because Zayne never would've let Abbot threaten Layla's life like that. It's completely against his character, and it's obvious that the one thing Roth and Zayne share is their love for Layla. In other words, Zayne loves Layla. And a protective guy like Zayne would never let someone threaten the life of someone else, let alone the girl he loves. Plus, I doubt Roth would have 'grudging respect' for Zayne if he'd just stood by.
I am a little apprehensive why JLA wrote it so Roth didn't just tell Layla straight up whether Zayne had been there though, because if Roth won the polls (and it's very likely he did) and she uses that plot flexibility to 'make up Layla's mind on her choice between Roth and Zayne' in Every Last Breath, I will be really mad. Like, reaallyy mad.
If Zayne is going to lose Layla, it shouldn't be because JLA writes that he let Abbot threaten Layla and then took advantage of Roth's absence to get closer to Layla romantically as a plot tool to make Layla hate or distrust Zayne and inevitably choose Roth. Hell, even Roth said that Zayne would've done the same that he did for Layla and stay away from her if it meant her safety. So I really, really hope that Zayne's character will stay true and that if he does lose Layla, it'll be in a fair way that doesn't destroy the sincerity of his character. Please. Please. Pretty please. (hide spoiler)]

I loved how sweet and possessive Zayne was in SCT *dreamy look* My outlook of Zayne completely changed in this book. Layla pining over Zayne and Zayne being over protective/borderline possessive is a familiar scene, but when they're open about their feelings for each other? And actually act on them? Drastically different ballpark. You got to see an adorably vulnerable side to Zayne, as if he'd somehow lost some of his 21 years xD
*whispers* I can't believe he's never 'done the deed' with a girl before because he's liked Layla for ages omg how cuuuteee *high pitched giggle* I almost want to coo and pinch his cheeks.....expect that would be....yeah. Kinda creepy, considering he's a fullgrown Warden. A hot fullgrown Warden.
(view spoiler)[And the fact that he was able to look past the Tomas-Warden-gobble and when Layla took part of that woman's soul and when she accidently started to take his soul just shows how much he loves her because, come on! He's had Warden ideals drummed into him since he was a kid, and sure he got mad for a little bit when she took part of that woman's soul in the club, but he got over it. He totally ignored those wretched Warden ideals. (hide spoiler)]
Team Zayne? Should I? Could I??

Choosing between the Roth and Zayne is sooo hard. But I know only one will get to be with Layla, and I also know that it's pretty likely to be Roth.....almost everyone seems to love Roth you see *grins and rolls eyes*
I really don't want Zayne to lose Layla though, and it's probably cruel but I don't want him to be with Danika *sniffs resentfully*
Besides, Danika and Zayne aren't actually a good match in my opinion. She needs someone where she's not always second best, someone who will accept her for her, including her need for independence, adventure and fighting......and yeah, that just cut out all the prospective Wardens *snickers* because even tho I find some of the classic male Warden protectiveness cute, they generally take it a couple (a lot more than a couple) notches overboard into smothering land high up the creep-o-meter, and I hate how sexist and illogical they are as a society.

I mean come on, how exactly is it smart to refuse to let the women train to fight, or even learn self defence, when they're usually the ones targeted? *facepalm* Maybe if the male Wardens weren't so prideful over their macho protective abiltites, and let the females train, they'd actually stand a better chance......but oh no, Wardens (the males that is, since the females are treated like smothered baby-makers and aren't allowed to fight, let alone make decisions) are always right because they have pure souls, so surely everything they say is correct and holy and just. Yeah, whatever helps them sleep at night.

To be honest, I love Zayne and Roth going at each other......it's entertaining *cackles and joins Stacey munching popcorn* I'll be sad to see it stop in the next book when she ends up with one of them.

Secret Message to My Dutiful Followers

Even tho I love Roth (and would love to have his babies *cough*) I decided to vote for Zayne because he's adorable! Plus, he's the underdog and I don't want to see him become a lost puppy as well as an underdog *sniff* Well, if Layla rejects him in Every Last Breath, I'll have him ;) *coddles and glares at a certain Olivia from Fictionally Obsessed*

5 GARGOYLE BABIES......please? Cookie dough on top? *flutters eyelashes at Zayne* (yes I am aware I practice fictional polygamy, I came out of that closet ages ago, thank you for your concern)

—MissBloodsucker™ All Sucked Out!

View this review on Goodreads