Review of Stitch by Samantha Durante

As you all know, I love to support authors, especially indie authors, which is why I am so excited to be a host on Stitch Blog Tour. We're kicking off this week with a review of Samantha Durante's Stitch, followed by an interview with the author herself on Wednesday and a super awesome giveaway Friday, so be sure to stick around! 

Author: Samantha Durante
Date Published: July 30, 2012
ASIN: B008RC3NAM


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.

*Samantha was kind enough to provide me with a copy of Stitch in exchange for my fair and honest review, so here it is. Enjoy!  

I hardly ever read a synopsis, and when I do, I promptly forget it and just know that I wanted to read it and so I do. With Stitch all I knew was that it had a ghost story involved, and that was enough to hook me. Initially, when I started reading, I was captured by the vivid descriptions and laid back style of writing. That element remained constant throughout the book, but I still struggled a bit with keeping truly involved in the storyline. It was just that the plot had a tendency to drag a bit, but it delivered just enough sightings of the "ghost" to keep me intrigued. Then, at about 1/3 of the way through, everything just clicked. The only way I can describe it would be a train starting up. From a dead stop, it almost seems to take forever to get going, but then it starts to build up momentum and before you know it, you're speeding down the tracks. The thing of it is, if you have patience, you'll appreciate the beginning so much more. It's like a slow build up to something bigger and grander than you ever expected.

The author has clearly spent a lot of time doing extensive research into the paranormal and physics, because I certainly felt like I learned something reading this story. And while it was an original plot, I can also see where she might have drawn some of her influence. Stitch has a mash-up of Hunger Games meets Quantum Leap meets Somewhere in Time meets....something else (give me a minute to think of it...). Oh well, I think you know where I am going with this. The point is, it has a little of everything that we may have seen in other books, movies, tv shows, but it holds its own in an entirely unique way. Stitch has so much going on, I dare anyone to be bored or turned off by it. It gives you a bit of everything: paranormal, romance, suspense, conspiracy, and stuffs it all into a neat little package and wraps it in dystopian paper. Sounds pretty, right? It is.

I honestly didn't know if I would like this book going in--It's my first dystopian, after all--but I had high hopes for it. What I can tell you now is that it won't be my last. In fact, the next dystopian I pick up will probably be Stitch's sequel because I want to see what happens to these characters. I'm invested in their world now! I encourage anyone who hasn't tried dystopian before to give it a shot, starting with Stitch. It has the right balance of everything you probably already read to ease you into the genre, which is exactly what I need when trying something new. I don't think you could possibly be disappointed.

Can't wait to check it out? You can download the first five (5) chapters here!

Stitch sports a 4.5/5 star overall rating and is available on Amazon.