Review: Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller

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Inbetween (Kissed by Death #1) by Tara A. Fuller
Release date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: Personal Copy
Link: Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Since the car crash that took her father's life three years ago, Emma's life has been a freaky - and unending - lesson in caution. Surviving "accidents" has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It's not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn's fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before, and he's not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left - his soul.

I thought the concept of Inbetween was very unique and I was so excited when it came out. However, once I started reading I just couldn't relate to or sympathize with the main characters. I found them a little too naive, selfish, and irritating to like. I also found myself having to put the book away because I would either be bored or I wouldn't be paying attention to what I was reading.

I never connected with Emma. She was rather bland, and an unmemorable character. I couldn't find anything special about her. Finn told us of all her goodness and how much of a better person Emma is than Maeve but I just didn't see it. In fact, I felt sort of bad for Maeve instead. She may have been very angry and dangerous but I think she was justified in her anger. Emma whined a lot about not being able to have a normal life and about not being able to to defend herself but I just did not have it in me to feel sorry for her. So, when she started looking for ways to defend herself, I finally started to respect her.

Finn annoyed me the most. There were so many times I wanted to slap some sense into him because he would only have a one-track mind and forget all of his responsibilities. He is also very selfish. He wanted his friends to help out but when he was denied, he would get angry. What also bothered me about Finn was that he reminded me too much of Edward Cullen in New Moon. There was a conversation that Emma and Finn had that I thought was very much like the conversation between Edward and Bella after Edward came back. Here's what Finn said:

"Before you, there was only dark. You lit up my whole world,  like the sun bursting through the clouds on a stormy day. You made me remember what it was like to be alive. You made me believe I was something that I didn't think existed anymore." pg. 189 of 260

Edward in New Moon:

"Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars - points of light and reason...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black." pg. 514 of 563

It was a big turnoff for me. It took me out of Finn and Emma's world and into Stephenie Meyer's Twilight world.

The only saving grace for me were Easton and Cash. They brought the snark and comedic relief into an otherwise very dramatic storyline. Book 2 of the series is supposed be on Cash and book 3 is on Easton. I can't wait to read about these two. In fact, it was because of them that I managed to finish reading Inbetween.

This book had a lot potential but it just didn't do it for me. I think that if Emma was a little bit stronger and had some sass to her, it would have made the story a lot more enjoyable for me. I am willing to look into more of Tara's work and hopefully I will enjoy it a lot more than I did with this one.