Carole's Sunday Review: Make it count

Author: Tamar Sloan
Title: Make it Count
Genre: YA and paranormal
Pages: ebook
Published: October 10th, 2017
I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

He’s irresistible…but she’s the one person who knows his days are numbered

Casey’s touch can reveal the one thing a person would never want to know — the number of days they have left to live.

By the time Casey turns seventeen she’s learnt to withdraw. But the phobia she fakes in order to avoid human contact is sorely tested by hot, persistent, motorcycle riding PJ. For a girl who craves contact, maple eyed PJ is impossible to resist. When the inevitable happens, when hands, bodies and lips collide, Casey sees PJ's number, one that can only be seen as a cruel twist of fate. 

Now she must decide. Will she continue counting the days of her life, or start living a life that counts?

I was instantly drawn in by the cover and then by the summary. The cover is stunning and the summary is certainly intriguing. 

Casey has always had this little gift of being able to see how many days left someone has before they die. It is for sure a curse in my opinion. There is no positive about it. Sure, she can try and save someone, but it is not guaranteed. She tried once and it failed horribly. 

After a horrible event that she tried her hardest to avoid, she is now a hermit. She has developed a phobia and stays at home. You can't really blame her. I wouldn't want to go out anywhere that could touch people. Her parents finally decide that enough is enough and they are done enabling her because they want her to enjoy her life and have a future outside of being in their house. They take her to a therapy group for fellow kids with phobias. During all this, she meets PJ the hunky motorcyclist.

Things happen and they become an item, but the stinky part is that is days are seriously numbered and Casey has to decide if she should just accept that he will die soon or do something about it. 

I really feel bad for Casey. That is NOT a power I would want. I couldn't stand knowing someone I love or even a strange I brushed against on the street is going to die in 2,000 days or 2 days. It would all be too much. I honestly would become a hermit and never go outside. 

There was some comedy here and there that helped lighten the story, so it wasn't all doom and gloom. I'm glad for some happy moments. 

The writing style was done well. It didn't feel like a YA all the time. There were some very YA moments that were over-the-top, but a ya is still a ya in the end and those moments were bearable since the rest of the book was done well. 

The ending was okay. There some plot holes left open and I feel like there needed to be more of an explanation of a certain event. 

The romance between Casey and PJ was done well. It wasn't insta-love and it wasn't cheesy like some YA romances can be. It was a sweet romance. 

In the end, this was pretty good. Casey and her power were interesting and I connected with her especially with her dislike of cheese. I dislike cold cheese. I don't mind melted cheese, but I used to be like her and HATE all cheeses. But, yes, the story was interesting for sure. Some overly YA spots and there were some things I am still scratching my head about, but I enjoyed this story. I'll give this 4 stars.