Untouched by Robert J Crane

 



After finishing my reread of the first book in the series I knew I just had to go on and read the second one. In this book we continue following Sienna as she is beginning to settle in at the Directorate although she hasn’t officially agreed to stay yet. She has been offered a job though and is taking her time to mull it over as she doesn’t have anywhere else to go and isn’t sure if taking on the world by herself is a good idea just yet.

Despite her limited experience in social situations she is beginning to develop feelings for one of the agents originally sent to roust her from her childhood home, Zack, and Crane does a really good job of showing just how awkward having a crush on someone can be when you’re seventeen. In this book we are given a lot more information about metahumans and what the Directorates role is in trying to police the ones who cannot integrate successfully into human society and abuse their powers.

We also learn a lot more about Sienna and I feel that her personality comes through a lot more. At the end of the previous novel she was able to defeat Wolfe by using her newly developed powers but she now has to pay a price she was unprepared for, anyone who she kills by draining them will take up permanent residence inside her head. Wolfe being the monstrous serial killer that he is does not make this easy for Sienna, at several points physically taking control of her body as well as more subtly influencing her mood and decisions. Sienna is scared by this and chooses not to tell anyone, leading to disastrous consequences.

I really enjoy the character of Sienna and just admire how sarcastic and brash she is although I also like the balance Crane is able to achieve when Dr Zollers and Perugini take her down a notch by showing her she doesn’t have to feel bad for someone else’s actions but that she also can’t spend her whole life feeling sorry for herself and using that as an excuse for her own actions.

This novel goes by a bit faster than the first and I didn’t feel that there were any duller patches in it. As with the first novel it does end on a bit of a cliff hanger, perfectly placed to draw you in and make you want to read the next one!

Comments