Torn

Collide #2

by Ashley Stambaugh

Three months have passed and Melina thought she was safe. Safe from the effects of the angel powers and safe from the Noxin demons. But she thought too soon.

Just as she’s starting to enjoy her new powers and her new relationship with Lee, the slight pain she still experiences after using the powers starts to grow worse. As the pain becomes more and more unbearable, she finds herself lashing out at innocent people with unexplained anger and hatred. Then to make matters worse, she sees a Noxin demon again.

No one, not even the elders, seems to know what’s happening to Melina, or how a Noxin demon found her. And when she’s introduced to Dean, another unique human like herself, she learns that his pain is completely gone, which only makes her situation even more confusing.

Grasping for any type of answer, Melina throws out one possible explanation after another. But as her angry feelings intensify, and her angel powers grow weaker, she begins to think there might be something malevolent inside her that’s trying to take over. It’s not long before her internal struggle spirals out of control, and her body is turned into a battlefield that’s torn between good and evil.

Melina fears that if no solution is found, then she might lose all the people she loves, especially Lee. But what scares her even more is that she might lose herself to evil.

Genres: Fantasy

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2015

About the author

Ashley Stambaugh grew up in a small town in Illinois where she and her two siblings created some of the best memories playing on their family’s farm. She stayed in the southern region of the state to attend college where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and also met her husband.

Now, she and her husband live in Indiana and spend their time creating new memories with their two boys. She also enjoys reading, taking long walks, and finding great bargains. When her sons are a little bit older, she has a great desire to travel with her family. Oh, and she also has a slight obsession with chocolate.

When she’s not busy spending time with her family or losing herself in a good book, you can find her curled up on her couch with her laptop, writing.



Connect with Ashley online via the following social media links:

Website: www.ashleystambaugh.blogspot.com
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/ashleystambaughauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashleystambaugh
Instagram: author.ashley.stambaugh

Reviews

[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I’m under a lot of pressure to be the first person ever to post a review on this but I’ll try my “best-est” to come up with an objectively fair review.

As I have said in my review of the prequel, the story has a lot of potential. It is the main reason I decided to read the sequel. Fortunately, I did find several things here I thought missing in the first book. For one, I think the main character, Melina, has undergone a good dose of changes and developments. She has become a more dynamic character especially with this unexpected twist to her abilities.

I also like the consistency of the supporting characters from the first book up to this sequel and I like that the story took off right where the first book ended.

It came however to my attention that the pacing of the plot here seems a lot slower than that of the first book. During the first half of the story, I felt like nothing much happened. I could not help notice several instances in which Melina willingly submitted to her guardian’s advice that she rest. I must say that she was well rested during the first half of the book.^^



Do not give up on the book though, because events did become interesting later in the story especially at the ending where Melina finally showcases her abilities.

The writing style still hasn’t changed since the first book. Dialogues made up more than half of the entire story but the good thing is the dialogues here have become more substantial.

The romance to me was a bit uninteresting and sort of awkward but I guess it’s simply because it isn’t the focus of the story. The arrival of the new character, Dean, to me seems a little bit out of place and I find his role quite insignificant to the story.

So honestly, like the title of the book, I am torn about my feelings for this book. Some parts I found okay, some parts I didn’t like and some parts I liked.

I guess I will just have to let the wheel decide!



Please don’t hate me, Ashley Stambaugh. :'(

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) I have mixed feelings about this book. One of my complaints in the first book was that it was hard for me to buy into Melina and Lee's relationship. In this book, three months have passed and I felt like their relationship was, indeed, moving forward and I liked that. They don't have much time by themselves to develop their relationship, though, so I won't be completely surprised if they don't end up together.

This book started out slow to me. Melina was resting a lot so it didn't feel like too much happened for a while. A new character, Dean, was introduced, and I kept waiting for something interesting to happen with him. By the end, I still wasn't sure what his purpose was (possible love interest or maybe someone who will betray her in the end or just another human that understands what she's going through?) so I'm curious to see if he'll appear again in the next book.

Melina didn't have a lot of one-on-one interaction with her guiding angel, Walter, who is now an elder, but he was still there when she needed him. Walter and another elder, Phinneas, set out to get information that will help Melina. As they got that information and started understanding what was going on with Melina, it got more interesting and there were some twists thrown in that they needed to figure out how to deal with. I thought Ms. Stambaugh did a great job of setting up the final book and I'm looking forward to learning how Melina's story ends!

I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.

Mel's Shelves

[Twin Opinions · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to say here is difficult for me, not in a bad way though. I enjoyed the first book and did this one as well. I just have a few things that left me on the fence. There is more to this than the first story. The plot for Melina goes along smoothly. I really liked the development of her abilities in this one. I love the way her character is written. She just grabs your attention and pulls you in. I do feel like she needs more time for the romance in the plot or it needs to drop. I just feel like it is stuck in there. When it comes to romance in a book I want the full effect or none at all. I don't think the story needs to be centered around it, but it would be nice to see more of it. I am also a bit hung up on Dean's character. He is new and I just don't know what he brings to the story, if anything. I hope that we will learn more in the next installment.
Aside from these things the story flows well after the first couple of chapters. I enjoyed the book and am excited to see what comes next in Melina's life. Excited to see where the author will take the character as well as the other characters. I do like this series and will definitely read on.

[Amanda Carrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the second installment of this series. I was glad to see that Melina and Lee were still together, I enjoyed the new characters and I couldn't wait to see what was causing her all of this pain. I definitely had a hard time putting it down! My only complaint was this one felt like there wasn't as much action as the 'Collide', but it was still enjoyable. I can't wait for #3 to see how it ends!