Touch (Selfish Myths Book 1)

I absolutely loved Touch and the magical way Jaster has told the a story, it's so beautiful and unique, and has struck a very deep cord with me and made me look at things a little differently.The writing is so storyteller and very magical. Imagine yourself as a child around a campfire, a story is being told and you are so engrossed in the story that you become an intricate part of the story. That is the closest to how I can even come to describing reading this book.I loved the characters, among my favorites were Love and Andrew, of course and Miss Georgie. A girl is the supernatural entity in the story and her name is Love. Love is strong, fierce, stubborn, selfish, mean, kind and protective. She is far from perfect, she is kind of a little snot but I couldn't help but like her. She is not human and did not have a well balanced childhood. While Andrew who's childhood wasn't perfect and who life's is perfect is unwavering kind, thoughtful, Touch is the first book that Natalia Jaster has written and she has smashed it out of the park.I absolutely loved Touch and the magical way Jaster has told the a story, it's so beautiful and unique, and has struck a very deep cord with me and made me look at things a little differently.The writing is so storyteller and very magical. Imagine yourself as a child around a campfire, a story is being told and you are so engrossed in the story that you become an intricate part of the story. That is the closest to how I can even come to describing reading this book.I loved the characters, among my favorites were Love and Andrew, of course and Miss Georgie. A girl is the supernatural entity in the story and her name is Love. Love is strong, fierce, stubborn, selfish, mean, kind and protective. She is far from perfect, she is kind of a little snot but I couldn't help but like her. She is not human and did not have a well balanced childhood. While Andrew who's childhood wasn't perfect and who life's is perfect is unwavering kind, stubborn, sweet, thoughtful and has a sense of humor. Andrew is also far from perfect but something about them together works. Also I want to mention Miss Georgie, I loved her character I feel that I didn't get to see enough of her in this book.I love how Jaster gave me the sense of her definition of love and made me think of my own. I love how she described love (the feeling not the character although she was describe well too). Even though this book was about love it was more so about touch hence the book title Touch. Jaster makes me have all the feels in this book but nothing more than the inferences on touch. How sacred it is and how many different ways it can be interpreted.If you like romance and mythology or writing that will sweep you away then Touch is a book that you must read. I am going to recommend this to every-person who asks me for a book recommendation and maybe even some who don't. If you don't read this book then you will be missing out on something great.

I don’t know how long I’ve had this book on my “To read” list but I’m very happy to have finally gotten to it. Just as expected from the genius behind Foolish kingdoms, Touch was a fresh breath of air in a two month filled with only okay books. I don’t think I have read anything quite like it. It was original, imaginative, beautiful and devastating all at the same time.The drama, the star-crossed romance and the characterization was absolutely on point, pulling me into the story from the get go and never once let me go. I don’t know what it is, but I noticed it in Foolish kingdoms and now in touch, and that is the writing. Natalia Jaster has a very unique way with words that can turn the most overused mundane story into an epic and authentic read that you just never want to let go of. Not that Touch was in any way mundane. I really liked the take on gods and goddesses and how the world is built up of emotions. It’s a take I have never seen anyone really explore in this way and that together with the writing is what mad Touch stand out so much to me.We can’t forget about the characters and romance either. Being a goddess with immortality and humans and their emotions as her work, Love started of as pretty playful character with a charming nativity towards human opinion, and Andrew being the charming human counterpart to her. I loved how well they worked and developed together, their struggles, and angers and how it all played a role in the plot and the drama. This was the absolute perfect recipe for a romance and I couldn’t not fall in love with it. In general there were very few flaws to the story, the only one being that the story rambled a bit too long in some parts. Otherwise I had no issues and only praise for Touch. Five stars.

Spoilers below so bewareI enjoyed this book. It's not my all time favorite but I did like it. It had good pacing and an interesting plot.I appreciate that I wasn't left with any questions at all. That is the worst thing about stand alone book, in my opinion, is when they are ended without answering all the questions that were brought up. This book didn't do that.I gave it four stars instead of five because I don't understand why Love did not know Anger was in love with her. I mean she is Love. She knows the feeling inside and out and how to spot it. Even after she knows she loves Andrew and has felt it personally she cannot see what Anger feels towards her. It's obvious that she recognizes lust when she talks to Envy but it just didn't sit well with me that after 200+ years around someone she failed to recognize the feeling that she was trusted to dole out.Other than that, I liked that the author made the love messy. In most YA novels love is that sweet ooey gooey honeymoon phase type of love. It isn't like that forever. Love grows and evolves with a couple. It's not always sweet and nice. Sometimes it's the hard type of love that someone needs to better themselves or to realize something they may be doing wrong. Love is messy. I loved that in the epilogue the author mentioned the right and wrong touches. For example, the wrong touches like brushing against one another when you may be fighting and every little thing annoys you about the other person. That's okay. That doesn't mean you don't love each other. That was my favorite part of the whole book.Well done. Good read.

Oh my goodness, I don't even know where to start with this review. I went in to the book with high expectations as I seriously adore the way Natalia writes, and the worlds she creates and the chemistry between her characters. And to be honest with you, I loved Touch every bit as much as I loved the Foolish Kingdoms books. It is a little different, whilst Foolish Kingdoms are fantasy romance, the Selfish Myths are paranormal romance. And though the world changed, the writing and the characters are every bit as amazing as those I fell head over heals in love with in Foolish Kingdoms.I loved Love, she is such a unique character. She is bold and brave and flawed and selfish and loving and naive and just such a joy to read about. Whilst the focus of Touch is the relationship between Love and Andrew, we get to witness the most wonderful transformation as Love truly starts seeing the mortals she has been pairing up. She undergoes a metamorphosis over the course of the book, and though she is just as flawed at the end of the book as she is at the start she really grows as a character, and we get to witness her experience love for the very first time.Natalia has the most incredible talent for creating characters as well as couples that you just become so invested in. There is this moment towards the end of the book and by that point I just felt so connected to Love that I could literally feel my heart breaking as I read Love's bleak vision of an empty future.I don't want to say too much about it, for fear of spoilers. But if you read Touch (which I highly recommend you do) you will know what I mean when you reach that part.It is not just Love that I loved, Andrew is just as interesting and unique. I have a weakness for morally grey characters and was worried the selfless Andrew may not be able to hold my interest as well as say Poet who is the master of snark. But I shouldn't have worried, Andrew is an incredible character and I loved reading his take on the world and that he wasn't afraid to share his opinion. As with Love, there is real growth for Andrew over the course of the book and by the end I loved him almost as much as Love does!I cannot wait to start reading Torn, I love the version of the world that Natalia has created in the Selfish Myths series and I cannot wait to see where the story goes next. Like the Foolish Kingdoms books each of the books in the Selfish Myths series will focus on a different couple. This is not the kind of series I usually go for, and to date Natalia is the only author who has kept me engaged with a series when the main character(s) switch with a new book. I honestly think that is due to Natalia's incredible writing and her gift for creating characters who are so compelling.I have given Touch 5 stars, because I loved it, because I will be rereading it and because I would definitely recommend it!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Natalia Jaster’s writing? It’s actually hard to believe Touch was her debut novel. It contains her usual lyrical prose but is also very polished and well put together. I can usually spot an author’s debut novel (even if I am unaware it was such). There is often a certain rawness to it, especially if I read it after devouring their later works, like I did with Touch (I actually started with Natalia’s Foolish Kingdom’s series which was written and released after).However, there is none of that in evidence here. There is a lot of heart to this story but it doesn’t suffer from that first novel syndrome. Touch is a fantastic story and I almost wish I had read it before Foolish Kingdoms (I do like to try and read a new-to-me author’s books in order of publication, but oh well).But I am getting ahead of myself here. First, a bit of background. I actually held off for a bit after reading Trick, Dare, and then Lie (books 1, 2 and 3 in the Foolish Kingdoms series) before I finally picked up Touch. It’s not that I didn’t want to read it earlier (I very much did) but I didn’t want to let go of the feeling that there was still a Natalia Jaster book out in the world I hadn’t yet read. I wanted to savour the feeling because once I read it, I knew I would be desperately waiting for each new release to satisfy my cravings!The Foolish Kingdoms series was decadent and lush and quickly became one of my all-time favourites. I had a feeling that Touch would be joining the ranks. Once I found out it was going to be a series, I knew I couldn’t put off reading it any longer. Now here we are…Touch is a loose retelling of Eros (or cupid, if you will) and is very much steeped in mythology, with a contemporary setting and a little flavour of urban fantasy added to the mix. In this version, Eros is actually female, appearing as a young woman called Love. Love is the first (successful) goddess of her kind. Of all the emotions, Love is the trickiest of all and it took the Fates many centuries to create a goddess who can wield this emotion.Love’s class is unique, comprising of other young gods and goddesses. The cream of the crop, they are considered elite. Yet, for all of this Love is lonely. Love has never felt love and she keenly feels its loss though she can never quite put her finger on what is missing. She is touch-starved and bearing a mischievous temperament, she lives among the mortals who cannot see or here her, creating chaos in her wake. Wielding her bow and arrow, she brings people together but feels there is something missing her life.Andrew is a mortal with a rare gift – he has the ability to see what other mortals cannot. A chance meeting with Love in a winter forest spins the axis on both of their worlds. For Andrew is the first mortal who can truly see deities. And this makes him dangerous.Love knows that she shouldn’t risk herself or Andrew but she cannot stay away from this young loner, who manages to be jaded and innocent in equal measures. Andrew, for his part, is also fascinated by Love. The more time they spend together, the more Love yearns for Andrew to be able to touch her.However, the Fates cannot allow this to continue. Love is given an ultimatum – she must bind Andrew’s heart with another mortal girl. If not, Andrew will have the power to destroy her and all her fellow deities. Love is torn – between what her heart wants and what the Fates have decreed for her. What will she ultimately choose – her duty or the mortal boy who has stolen her heart?Listen, I’m just going to put this out there… I frickin’ love Love! She is the ultimate badass. A goddess with a healthy heaping of attitude and fire – she is awesome. Andrew is also pretty darn fantastic. He is a loner but one with such a kindhearted soul.Love and Andrew together were amazing. They had such an palpable chemistry. They were not a perfect fit for each other – they disagreed more often than not but their love for each other could not be denied. They were messily imperfect which just made them all the more suited for each other. The romance between them was just so swoon-worthy – I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t get enough of their interactions.I loved all the side characters too, especially Love’s class: Anger, Envy, Sorrow, and Wonder – all of them were wonderful. I felt so bad for Anger. His feelings for Love were always pretty clear to me even if Love herself couldn’t see them (until the end, anyway). They may even have made a good match but at the same time, I think Love belongs with Andrew. I was so happy that Anger would be getting his own story in Torn (which I have read and it is absolutely fan-freaking-tastic!) I also cannot wait to get Wonder’s story.The world-building was also masterfully done. I am the first person to admit I read books for the characters and the story and world are secondary to me. Everything in this book was just so well executed though. The characters were relatable (yes, even those deities!) and the story, expertly wielded within the modern setting with mythological themes, was just so good. I can’t wait to see more of this world, its characters and its own brand of mythology.Mythology has always been fascinating to me and I am so happy to see a retelling with mythological themes (not that I don’t also love fairy tale retellings but it’s good to mix it up now and again). I would highly recommend this series to anyone who loves all those myths and tales. For those looking for a great sweeping romance with an otherworldly spin. It is just such a great little novel, worthy of all the love.

This book was a sweet and extremely easy read. The language is good, the book short, cute, stuffed with clichés. Reviews about this book had me thinking it was big on the fantasy, but that was not the case. It was more a little touch of fantasy into a big romance story, and I am sure all YA romance lovers out there will love it. That said, it was not my kind of book. In other words, the wrong genre for me (I was expecting more of a NIght Circus-kind of magic, not a girl sleeping in a tree and being unseen by most people). I passed it on to a friend who is more into romance than me, and she loved it.

This book was wonderfully written. The development of Loves character was amazing to see. Especially Andrew! *heart eyes!!*.Every single character was fascinating. Anger, Sorrow, Wonder and Envy. I would love for these Fates to get their own books, i seriously need more of this world.Touch was just beautiful to read...

Oh my godI absolutely loved this book and I read it in a few hours.Its writing style was perfect and the story was unique.It shocked me how much I enjoyed this book.And I would highly recommend to those wanting a quite night in with an amazing read.