Review & Giveaway: A Touch of Scarlet by Eve Marie Mont

Title: A Touch of Scarlet (Unbound, #2)

Author: Eve Marie Mont
Publisher: Kensington Teen

Publication date: March 26, 2013

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary/Time Travel)

Source: Publisher

Format: ARC

Pages: 319

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Emma Townsend is back at prestigious Lockwood Prep, but her world has altered immeasurably since her tumultuous sophomore year. The best change of all: her boyfriend, Gray. And though Gray is leaving for Coast Guard training, Emma feels newly optimistic, even if the pain of her mother’s long-ago death still casts a shadow.

Yet Emma isn’t the only one who’s changed. Her friend and roommate, Michelle, is strangely remote, and old alliances are shifting in disconcerting ways. Soon Emma’s long-distance relationship with Gray is straining under the pressure, and Emma wonders if she’s cracking too. How else to explain the vivid dreams of Hester Prynne she’s been having since she started reading The Scarlet Letter? Or the way she’s found herself waking in the woods? As her life begins to echo events in the novel, Emma will be forced to choose between virtue and love. But can she forge a new future without breaking her heart?

A Touch of Scarlet, from its title, is about The Scarlet Letter. It is not a retelling, far from it, but the main protagonist, Emma, ends up in a parallel world, the one from The Scarlet Letter, by entering a dreamlike state. This happens every time she ends up going near the place where she got struck by lightening (and survived). This book is also set in Emma's boarding school where she is entering as a Junior. The beginning of the book showed us that she is finally in relationship with Gray who was in A Breath of eyre. The plot does not slow down one bit, where there are a lot of romantic anguish concerning our couple along with some possibility of a love triangle, as well as a very surprising yet satisfying ending. 

If you guys have read my review of A Breath of Eyre you would know that I enjoyed it but wasn't that impressed by it. Even with that I thought I would give A Touch of Scarlet a try and I am glad I did. In a Touch of Scarlet, you really feel that the characters are wearing an extra layer, whether it be emotional baggage or finding a friend in a person you least expected it from. Emma and Michelle's friendship was strained and challenged throughout the novel but at the same time new friendships were formed from two of the "fearsome four" in A Breath of Eyre, if you guys remember them, they are basically Emma and Michelle's mortal enemies. I love that Eve allowed us to find the good in some of these people and that they could repent for their wrongdoings and aren't all a bunch of heartless mean girls, though the other half of that crew proved just that. As for Emma and Gray, I just have to say that I was very disappointed in how Gray handled the relationship and felt very sorry for Emma. I felt that Gray, at 19, was too immature and made some decisions that you could tell were stupid from a mile away. However the star in this book is Emma; she was forgiving, a good friend, and wasn't the type that was consumed by any relationship troubles she was facing. 

You are all wondering where The Scarlet Letter fits into all this, unlike A Breath of Eyre, Emma didn't spend as much time in the parallel world. I honestly REALLY appreciated that because I was more concerned with the development of Emma's actual life. The Scarlet Letter was more like a guiding hand, steering her in the right direction as well as opening her heart and mind to the things around her. A Touch of Scarlet 

Kensington Teen have generously offered one copy of A Breath of Eyre, the first book in the Unbound trilogy, to one lucky winner. This giveaway is US/CA only. Be sure to enter using the rafflecopter below

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