Review: Stitch by Samantha Durante

Stitch
by Samantha Durante
Series: Stitch Trilogy #1
Publication date: August 1, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Dystopian Romance
Purchase*: Amazon

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move. Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers. Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

I love a good dystopian and when you mix in a little science fiction and paranormal woo-woo you have the ingredients for a spectacular new trilogy. Stitch delivered a fast paced, original tale with characters I immediately identified with. What started out as an intriguing ghost story quickly morphed into a gripping dystopian and I cannot wait for the next installment.

We meet Alessa a serious student in her freshman year of college. She is not at her dream college or even her second choice school. Her life altered courses when her parents died in an auto accident days before her eighteenth birthday leaving her to face her senior year of college alone. Lately, she has been losing sleep due to disturbing dreams and the specter of a handsome young man who seems to be haunting her sorority house. Determined to learn more about him she begins researching the home’s history. The tale that unfolds is fast paced; full of twists I never saw coming and the start of a fantastic new trilogy.

The characters in Stitch were complex and mysterious. I immediately became caught up in Alessa’s world. I loved watching her character change as she discovered things. She handled things so well and I think she is going to be a kick-ass heroine. We learn so much and so little about the ghost named, Isaac. I enjoyed interactions with him and his thoughts. He is twenty-seven, very much a man and quite smexy. There is a relationship in this novel and all I can say is I want to know more! It is definitely a side dish in this action packed tale, but also an important one. We get to know Jamie and Joe and other characters that added to the tale.

The driving factor above all things with Stitch was the world-building.  I have read a lot of dystopians and found Durante’s vision to be brilliant. Told from multiple POV’s traveling back and forth between timelines, we slowly begin to understand Alessa and Isaac. I just want to spill my guts and share everything, but alas I shall not spoil it for you. The plot was fast paced, with clever twists and surprises that literally glued me to the book. I just kept thinking, OMG, how cool is this. While I did not always like the transition and change of POV; not because they were not good, but they did not always transfer smoothly and had me going. “Whoa wait a minute where are we?” I cannot stress enough that this was not a big enough deterrent to warn you off. It did not effect the plot and I actually enjoyed the different perspectives and felt they added to the tale and aided in the world-building. Many questions were answered regarding the world and I have a strong sense of the how and why. It did not end on a cliffhanger, but certainly has me excited for the next book. 

If you are a fan of paranormal, dystopians and sci-fi then Stitch will have something for you. I still cannot get over how refreshingly original this storyline was and cannot wait for Shudder book two in this trilogy. Samantha Durante is an author to watch and I looking forward to going along for the ride.

I spotted this book on a few blog tours and expressed my excitement for it. The author reached out to me and provided this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. Thank you.

Four double chocolate coffee cups out of five