I'm still scratching my head about Touched. 

What I liked: I enjoyed Ms Aalto's different perspective on vampires (Revenant) and their lives. A human who bonds with and guards the vampire. Definitely different. Some of the characters were better written than others. I'm still on the fence with the lead, Marnie. The story is all told through her point of view and it was okay but not excellent.

I found Marnie to be somewhat childish, inept and a little too full of herself. Half of her "situations" in Touched are her own fault due to her poor decisions. She doesn't listen to anyone else who has more experience in crimes and With vampires. Most of the time she seemed too whiny and needy for me to connect with.

That said, I did want more background. The blurb indicates she's something very special and yet, I didn't see it. She has a PhD?? really??? Maybe book smart in this case isn't everyday life smart. Some of the banter between the characters was chuckle worthy but for the life of me, I really couldn't connect.

I did find my curiosity spiked when Marnie's brother made his appearance. I WANT to know his story.

What I didn't like: As I mentioned, I didn't connect with the characters very well. It took me 6 days to get through Touched when I can normally read two or three books in the same time period. 

I found myself even skimming at a few points.  Ms Aalto seemed to want to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, into this story. You've heard the phrase, too many secrets, well....Touched had too many plots/subplots, love interests and even some very light bondage that appeared out of nowhere. Huh?

So, you probably think I really hated Touched but it intrigued me enough that I want to see where the author takes the story in the next book, Death Rejoices. I'm either a glutton for punishment or will find the author stepped up her game.

No recommendation at this time.