Book Review: Inbetween by Tara Fuller

Inbetween
by Tara Fuller
Published: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Available: Amazon

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.

Review:
What originally drew me to Inbetween was that it wasn't another angel book. I don't mind angel books, but I wanted something that was new. Inbetween, thankfully, gave a new twist to a romance between the living and the dead. Being protected/stalked by a reaper is definitely less appealing than an angel, but Fuller manages to pull it off.

This was a really sweet romance. Finn is absolutely dedicate to Emma and protecting her from an evil spirit. Emma, though she only remembers small pieces of her time with Finn, immediately connects to him, and while she's cautious in trusting her sanity, she feels a connection with him. There are a few steamy scenes, although nothing to risky.

The characters were nicely developed, although I felt sometimes things were glossed over. Emma had been institutionalized for supposedly being a paranoid schizophrenic, but there was very little depth to this part of her. She mentions it in passing, uses it as a motivation to not discuss Finn with anyone, but we don't know anything about what she experienced there. Same with Finn. There were mentions of fire and his brother, but until the end of the book, we don't really know anything in depth about it.There was also the problem of Emma not really being able to do anything to help herself. She tries, but there's nothing she can do to stop the spirit, and she has to rely on Finn to protect her from the paranormal aspects, while her best friend Cash protects her in the living realm.

Cash was my favorite character. I actually wanted her to end up with him. He obviously had some issues, considering his binge drinking and multiple references to needing to stay out of his father way (which was never really explained). He was an amazing friend, willing to die for Emma, and I really felt that he and Emma would have been perfect for each other. But at the end of the book, it's pretty obvious that he will be featured as one side of another Kissed by Death romance. I think I'm going to enjoy his story a bit more than Inbetween.