Book Review: Swoon

Swoon by Nina Malkin


I bought this book.


Description: Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him -- but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent -- and irresistible -- adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.

What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?


My Review: Swoon is a mature young adult novel that is seductive, dark and full of scandalous moments. Author Nina Malkin starts off her story with a bang when Penelope is possessed by the spirit of Sinclair ("please be so kind as to call me Sin") Youngblood Powers, a young man who was wrongly accused of murder and hung in the 18th century. When Candice (Dice) performs an exorcism to rid Pen of Sin's possession, it has the unexpected result of restoring Sin to his own body and making him "real".

What I liked most about this book was the rich character development of Sin, Penelope and Candice. Malkin does a great job of fleshing out all three characters and making them interesting and relatable to readers. She keeps Sin's character consistent with his 18th century upbringing in language and demeanor. My only problem was with how easily Sin seemed to adapt to the modern world, considering 21st century technology, but this did not really take away from my enjoyment of the story as a whole.

My other favorite part of Swoon is the retelling of the events that led up to the execution of Sin. Malkin transports Dice and Sin into the past to relive the day of the murder and finally reveal to Sin who truly committed the crime he died for. I liked how this part of the book not only revealed the murderer, but also gave Dice a glimpse of the life Sin led.

All in all, this was a great book. I am interested to see what becomes of Sin and Dice's relationship in the sequel.

Disclaimer: Swoon has mature content and would not be appropriate for teens of all ages.


My rating: 4.5 stars

Description and picture courtesy of Goodreads.


Swoon Book Trailer