Name: The Coldest Touch
ISBN: 9781529388107

Isabel Sterling

The Coldest Touch

From the author of These Witches Don't Burn comes another paranormal romance for fans of Richelle Mead and Stephenie Meyer. Elise Beaumont is cursed. With every touch, she experiences exactly how her loved ones will die. And after her brother's death--a death she predicted but was unable to prevent--Elise is desperate to get rid of her terrible gift, no matter the cost. Claire Montgomery also has a unique relationship with death, mostly because she's already dead. Technically, anyway. Claire is a vampire, and she's been assigned by the Veil to help Elise master her rare Death Oracle powers. At first, Elise is reluctant to work with a vampire, but when she predicts a teacher's imminent murder, she's determined to stop the violent death, even if it means sacrificing her own future to secure Claire's help. The trouble is, Claire and Elise aren't the only paranormals in town--a killer is stalking the streets, and Claire can't seem to shake the pull she feels toward Elise, a romance that could upend the Veil's mission. But as Elise and Claire grow closer, Elise begins to wonder--can she really trust someone tasked with securing her loyalty? Someone who could so easily kill her? Someone who might hold the key to unraveling her brother's mysterious death?

Bria

Maybe it was just me but this book fell flat. I was expecting this to be at least 4 stars, but it was just okay. Honestly, the 3 stars comes from the diversity.

carys jenkins

the vibes were immaculate it gave first kill it gave don’t blame me it GAVE i need to read all of isabels works now

THIS!! My god this is exactly what I needed rn, sapphic paranormal romance?? It was just perfect! The right amount of drama, a really good slow burn, just the whole thing was so satisfying! I love them so much the stupid idiots I had such a good time!!! 

The rep in this book was really good too I really loved reading it and I’m now dying to read more from this author ahhhh!!

grace richards

Isabel Sterling is turning into a favorite author of mine because I loved These Witches Don't Burn and now I had such a fun time with this book, too! High school me was so obsessed with vampires and paranormal romances. Getting to dip back into that through a sapphic lens as an adult was a treat! 

I enjoyed both the protagonists and the side characters. Elise and Claire were very cute together! Although Claire did get a little annoying with how pessimistic and self-sabotaging she could be at times. I did still feel for her and her struggles, and liked her character overall.

I really wish we got to see more of the lore of the story and The Veil. I'm really interested in exploring all the different paranormals more. Sterling could easily write more books in this universe because there's definitely a lot to cover. For what we did see, I really liked the concept of the death oracles and how their powers have been used for all sorts of political machinations.

Aside from more books set in the universe, there's definitely room for a direct sequel, as well. I really want to see what is going to happen with Elise in the future. And I know Claire has a mission she will want to complete.

One thing really confused me at the end, though. There's a character that has a complete personality change twice, which I found inexplicable. He had empathy and cared about people, then he had absolutely no empathy at all, then his empathy returned. I understand it was related to the supernatural but it really didn't seem to match the way some of the others like him behave.

Overall this book wasn't perfect but I could very easily see past its flaws because I was just having such a good time. If you want to enjoy the fun and the cheese of a cute paranormal romance, pick this one up!

Kayla

Isabel Sterling is turning into a favorite author of mine because I loved These Witches Don't Burn and now I had such a fun time with this book, too! High school me was so obsessed with vampires and paranormal romances. Getting to dip back into that through a sapphic lens as an adult was a treat! 

I enjoyed both the protagonists and the side characters. Elise and Claire were very cute together! Although Claire did get a little annoying with how pessimistic and self-sabotaging she could be at times. I did still feel for her and her struggles, and liked her character overall.

I really wish we got to see more of the lore of the story and The Veil. I'm really interested in exploring all the different paranormals more. Sterling could easily write more books in this universe because there's definitely a lot to cover. For what we did see, I really liked the concept of the death oracles and how their powers have been used for all sorts of political machinations.

Aside from more books set in the universe, there's definitely room for a direct sequel, as well. I really want to see what is going to happen with Elise in the future. And I know Claire has a mission she will want to complete.

One thing really confused me at the end, though. There's a character that has a complete personality change twice, which I found inexplicable. He had empathy and cared about people, then he had absolutely no empathy at all, then his empathy returned. I understand it was related to the supernatural but it really didn't seem to match the way some of the others like him behave.

Overall this book wasn't perfect but I could very easily see past its flaws because I was just having such a good time. If you want to enjoy the fun and the cheese of a cute paranormal romance, pick this one up!

vmknmy

** spoiler alert **
           it was alright i guess

positives first
the characters were great, i liked most of them (i feel indifferent about maggie tho im not that invested in her or the swim team), and the plot was really nice. i liked the diversity, although at first it did seem forced, but i like how theres representation for different races and identites

also vampire and human lesbians so... id give 5 stars just for that tbh but i do have some problems with it because nothing can be perfection

and wyn
wyn is perfection, and their relationship with claire is also perfect
i love wyn

some negatives
the ending was a little...disappointing to me but that's my fault cus i expected more romance between them and like show them ending up together

it also doesn't really feel like a standalone, there are still so many unanswered questions imo like what happened with rose? what happens with claire and elise? how does their relationship develop? how does everything unfold afterwards? like idk i just feel like so much more is left unresolved in my opinion imo

also some things happened like, off page like the rest of Elise meeting Petra, like the author could have shown us the whole exchange, what she learned in the moment, but it still was nice what they did and it didn't take away from the story too much

the other thing is how like, it took 90% of the book for elise to even be able to shield, but then after 1 scene which isnt even fully described, its shown for elise to be fully able to control all her powers instantly, whereas the struggle and slow learning from before seemingly disappeared

anyway 4/5 because it was good overall, we also need more sapphic vampire books with like healthy relationships and like i really liked Claire's povs because vampire povs are nice

Dilayra Verbrugh

3.5 ⭐️

Sapphic vampire book. 
Non-binary rep and bisexual rep! 
Strong start and end, but the middle got a bit too slow for me and I’d wish there was more romance. 
Other than that it was a fun book and I loved the love interest.

Zoe Smolen

Esther

vampires and magic ..but make it queer.   She’ll wield her charm as a weapon and her smile as her shield. 
Elise has lost her brother and can now see how the lives of the people around her end. Claire is a vampire and is responsible for protecting and training Elise until she can realize her powers full potential.

Chaos and feelings ensue.

I think the book has great queer representation and a diverse cast of characters who also mention prejudices against themselves in the context of the real world. The Coldest Touch has the protagonists come to terms with who they are compared to who they always thought they were, and figure out how to move forward with this new knowledge. The book is also about revenge on past adversary's and coping with loss of a loved one.
My only gripe would be that the ending was resolved a bit too quickly and easy for my taste
  Our future is uncertain, and there’s an unknown expiration date on my life, but isn’t that true for everyone? Isn’t that the beauty of life, making choices and falling in love and embracing the good things— no matter how small— even when you have no idea what will happen next?  
Thank you Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Paperbacks and the author Isabel Sterling for the opportunity to read this book as an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

The Coldest Touch

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