Spider-Touched by J. Strong

I love Jory Strong’s Ghostland novels and Spider-Touched is another fabulous addition to this series.

Held prisoner by humans, his angelic memory and power lost because of the sigil-inscribed collar around his neck, Tir dreams of freedom and hungers for vengeance. He’s sworn he’ll never lie with a mortal, but when Araña removes his shackles and helps him escape his captivity, she melts his icy control and leaves him burning with desire. She’s a temptation he can’t resist—an unknowing enemy who might well enslave him more thoroughly than the chains he’s worn for centuries.

Branded, feared, untouchable because of the deadly spider-shaped mark on her skin, Araña is unaware of her true origins. Raised in a fundamentalist settlement until she escaped and found refuge among outcasts and criminals, she believes herself demon-tainted. But when her unnatural psychic ability causes her to weave her destiny to Tir’s, their alliance turns into an exploration of passion, and begins a quest that will lead to her Djinn heritage.

Powerful forces brought them together to serve a greater purpose…but learning the truth of what they are will destroy them—unless their love is strong enough to overcome the dark legacy of a battle that began with the birth of mankind.

Have you ever read a book that’s hard to describe?  I actually read this awhile ago and I have been having a hard time putting into words how I feel about it.  The novel itself was great.  The characters, Arana and Tir, were emotionally driven, yet they weren’t emotionally handicapped.  The plot was superb without being overly intense and it kept me glued to the pages the entire time.  However, at the same time, I didn’t feel like Spider-Touched had the same overall feeling that Ghostland did.

I’m not sure if this is it or not, but there are passages from Ghostland that I can still remember, maybe not clearly (I do read a lot after all), but they are still there.  I really can’t say the same about Spider-Touched.  Granted, now that I’m writing this, scenes and moments are coming back to me quite easily, but I wasn’t left with more questions or wanting to dive right back into the world.  I knew Healer’s Choice, the third novel, would be coming, but I wasn’t agonizing that it wasn’t out sooner.

Don’t get me wrong, Spider-Touched is another amazing story, but I didn’t see Arana and Tir clashing all that much.  The two were too easy about not depending on each other and yet there were times when they did.  I can’t decide if they were perfect for each other because they were just that much alike or their personalities were just a little too hardened to realize that someone else was there for them.  Granted, due to their upbringing, I can totally see that, but having both characters with so similar back-stories may have been what killed it for me.  The two knew the score and really didn’t try and get the other to break away from it.  I believe that’s it right there.  Arana and Tir grew up in similar situations, where they were taught to fear the ones that were meant to care for them, and when they finally do find someone who could care for them, they’re not given a chance to break that habit.  The fact that both of them have trust issues wasn’t seen as a flaw and wasn’t worked on.  It wasn’t really until the end that we see the two begin to work towards total trust and I think it would have worked more for me if the flaws were seen more clearly and worked on earlier.

Overall, this was still another fabulous story and kept me intrigued and interested to see what was going to happen next.  The characters were a little off, but that really didn’t distract too much from the story.  Actually, we’re given a glimpse into what we’ll see in Healer’s Choice and while Spider-Touched didn’t leave me with too many questions, it did leave me with a heavy interest in one of the supporting characters that we were introduced to.

Read Order:
Ghostland
Spider-Touched
Healer’s Choice (2010)

Also reviewed by:
Errant Dreams Reviews
Genre Go Round Reviews
Darque Reviews
Dear Author
Stories of a Phoenix

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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