Tarnished

Five stars are not enough for TARNISHED. TARNISHED is simply outstanding! This had to be said right away. I’m not sure whether someone who hasn’t read the first book of this series, Perfected, will be able to easily follow, because TARNISHED continues exactly where PERFECTED left off. However, TARNISHED is so good, I believe that readers should make an effort to read TARNISHED, or better yet read PERFECTED before. To cut a long story short: the “pets”, are genetically engineered girls, whose life is dedicated to making their owners’ life more pleasant; they’re much like slaves. Ella had been bought by Congressman John Kimball, but eventually Ella and Penn, the Congressman’s son, fell in love. Things became intolerable for Ella and she escaped to Canada, where it’s illegal to own “pets”. But Ella has vowed to try and reunite with Penn, one way or another... Ella has escaped and wishes to find Penn, the boy she loves, but she then learns that “pets” are being killed. She wants to find out why and who is murdering them, then is looking for a way to bring justice to the poor innocent, dead girls. What she didn’t expect to find is a very unlikely ally: her acquaintance: Missy… I had loved the first book, and I was hoping TARNISHED would be as good, but it’s much, much, much better! TARNISHED is absolutely fantastic! Exciting, filled with action, and very fast-paced; I am overjoyed! So much happens, there are amazing plot twists, and character development is remarkable. Ms. Jarvik Birch’s prose is absolutely seamless, flowing; the writing is simple but gorgeous and very eloquent. The characters’ dialogues are impeccable: they fit their personalities and their social statuses, and the teenagers sound like they should. TARNISHED is a resounding proof of why Young Adult books can be so successful: the storytelling is captivating, the plot is air-tight, the characters are very relatable. Ella, Missy, and Penn are all different from each other, and I love them all. Missy was a wonderful surprise! I wish I could have read TARNISHED in one sitting; life kept getting in the way of my reading and I just didn’t want to stop. And the cover is genius: it is what the book is all about; you’ll see when you read it. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.