Review: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Stone Cold Touch
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4,9 hearts
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Release date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Summary: After what happened in the end of White Hot Kiss, Roth is gone, and Layla is trying to get to terms with it. Her powers begin to change, and she can’t see souls anymore. Then Roth suddenly reappears, with some bad – and shocking – news. There is a Lilin. And they have to stop the Lilin before it can do too much damage.

At the same time, weird things start to happen at her school, and they suspect the Lilin may be close. But how are they going to figure it out before it gets ugly now that Layla s incapable of seeing souls anymore?


My thoughts: For once, I didn’t have unreasonable high expectations of a book by JLA, since I was disappointed with the first book, but Stone Cold Touch was better than the first. Sure, there were still a little too much romance and too little action in it, but it was better than the first one.

I was still a little annoyed by Layla. I think that instead of focusing on the problem at hand – the Lilin – she focuses most of her energy on Zayne vs Roth, although she refuses to admit she feels something for Roth. I just want her to get a little more independent, she’s still depending a little too much on Zayne and Roth.

This book features more Zayne, because they – finally – figure out what they feel for each other, and decide to try to make it work. Of course, it’s not exactly easy, considering Layla is still part demon and can take his soul by kissing him.

After a while it got boring and annoying how she was always so anxious about what she is and what she can do. I didn’t like that she was always worrying so much.

Now to the things I liked. Roth. I was a little mad at him because of an incident in the beginning of the book, but this is normal for me. Except for that little incident, I was still as in love with him as I was in White Hot Kiss.

Then we have Bambi. I still love her as much. I honestly don’t know why, I just do. And we saw more of Bambi this time, because she is now Layla’s tattoo.

Zayne was a little better in Stone Cold Touch. He was less boring this time around, and he was in more action scenes. I’m still Team Roth, though. I think that although Layla’s relationship with Roth gets a little more complicated in this book, it’s still far less complicated than her relationship to Zayne. I think that relationship is way too complicated, and besides, although Zayne is her best friend and maybe more – and he is a great best friend – he’s not always there for her, like Roth is. And while Zayne says he’s not bothered by what she is, it is obvious that she can’t really “let loose” and be who she is with him. She always has to be careful around him, and all that, but with Roth, she doesn’t. He doesn’t care about what she is.

So I say thank you to JLA for making this book better, because I really hoped for something more like this.