Intertwined by Gena Showalter

From the book: Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him:

One can time-travel.

One can raise the dead.

One can tell the future.

And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late....

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendship. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist.

Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger but not everyone will come out alive....

My review:

I enjoyed this book. The story line also looked deceptively simple and easy to predict. Happily I did not see the story this way. The twists and turns in the story kept the interest going and helped it lose it predictability. The complexity of Aden and his trapped souls drew me into his troubled life. The trapped soul's personalities, while intriguing, did not overshadow Aden as it could have happened. Instead the souls actually enhanced his interest to me.

 I also loved the character of Mary Ann. Yes, at times I was irritated with her simplistic good/bad view of the world, but it still wasn't so overwhelming it lost her charms. I think the coupling of Mary Ann and the werewolf was the most interesting part when talking romance in this book. I am looking forward too seeing why Riley couldn't resist her from the beginning even if it is obvious why he fell in love with her as their friendship progressed. He holds a lot of grounded knowledge for one that was simply seen as a servant in his world.

As for the rest of my review. I recommend this book. I only gave it 4 stars because of the ending. Be prepared to feel let down as major parts of this book have yet to be resolved. I didn't even see this as a good cliffhanger book in the way it ended. It just resolved one problem and then "poof" the end. I did know this was going to be a series, but that was almost too irritating. If I hadn't enjoyed the rest of the book so much I would have reduced my stars significantly. So, with that warning, I do say go and get it. You will enjoy this book.

Oh, and if you need more incentive to learn about the book, Harlequin Teen is holding a contest with this book. You can win $10,000 or instantly win swag. Details are at the site. So, go enter the sweepstakes!

Blog with Bite Questions:
#1  Do you feel the ending was cut short and needed more to be resolved before the book ended?

Not so much cut short, but without closure. So, I would agree more about needed more resolve. I know she was going for a cliffhanger, but even that was "off". The book needed to resolve a bit more of the story that seemed important to this book. It could crescendo again before the "end" of the book.

#2 Regarding Question #1, what are your thoughts on series books? For one you get more and more and more - depending on how long the series drags on - for another some series leave you with very little resolution at the end of the novels, i.e. the Merry Gentry series where only a couple of hours pass within the time span of one book. Do you find this is just an authors way of having guaranteed book sales - or do you really enjoy series and love reading about your fav characters over and over again?

I like series books and this obviously is going to be a series because of how it ended. I usually don't like cliffhangers, however. You can still resolve what the characters were working on within the book and keep it as a stand alone book and still have a series. Many authors do this and I enjoy those series books. As for sales. I don't think that has to do with the authors but more to do with editors and publishers. Authors usually are concerned about telling a good story. Editors and publishers are worried about sales.

#3 Which "trapped" soul was your favorite and do you see potential in the future story lines with the remaining three?

I didn't have a favorite trapped soul as they were all underdeveloped. So, all have the potential in future story lines. It seems to me we will learn more of Caleb next.

#4  When a larger-than-life character such as Vlad Tepes aka Dracula is used as a side-plot character do you believe it gives the story a more factual base, or makes it less real?

I think it makes it less real. I like it when they make a totally new story line on how supernaturals come into being. While she did take a more than traditional turn, the mentioning of Dracula made the vampires less interesting.

#5 What did you think of the side plot involving Tucker and Penny?  Do you think the issues from that plot were adequately resolved?

I feel that they were resolved enough for the present book. I can see both in future books especially due to Tucker's "ability" but I'm not sure how much more Penny can be changed to make her character live in the new world they discovered if Penny and Tucker end up together.

#6 What is your best guess as to what Aden Stone's superpower is - the power he possess without his souls?

Maybe he can bring those powers into himself just as Mary Ann keeps their powers at bay.