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    Swoon
    Swoon
    Swoon
    Audiobook9 hours

    Swoon

    Written by Nina Malkin

    Narrated by Caitlin Greer

    3/5

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    About this audiobook

    Sin is coming... Prepare to Swoon.

    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?

    "Sexy and deeply seductive...Swoon will make your every sense tingle!"
    --Melissa de la Cruz, bestselling author of the Blue Bloods series

    “A captivatingly unique story of first love. Nina Malkin’s smart, vivid writing is a breath of fresh air. Simply unforgettable . . . Swoon will haunt you.”
    --Lara Adrian, bestselling author of the Midnight Breed series

    "Swoon is (forgive the pun) divinely swoon-worthy. Fast, sexy, clever--fans of Twilight have a new heroine to root for. I couldn't put it down!"
    --Karen Marie Moning, bestselling author of the Highlander and Fever series

    "A spine-tingling collision of past and present, revenge and justice, lust and rage. True love has never been so truly terrifying." --Robin Wasserman, author of the Seven Deadly Sins series and Skinned
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 19, 2009
    ISBN9780743582018
    Author

    Nina Malkin

    Nina Malkin is the author of five YA novels, including Swoon and Swear, one novella, and an adult memoir. She’s also an award-winning journalist specializing in pop culture and lifestyles, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, and numerous other publications. Nina lives in her native Brooklyn with her musician husband and assorted felines. Visit her at NinaMalkin.com.

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    Reviews for Swoon

    3/5

    137 ratings25 reviews

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    • 1/5
      What a horribly written book — also not for teens — to much raunchy sex for teens — maybe good for age 20-30 and looking for a book mostly about lust
    • 3/5
      Teen fiction; ghost romance. Actually better than I thought it would be--characters are endowed with sharp wits and the plot rolls along at a decent pace. Not sure if I would read the rest of the series. Maybe.
    • 3/5
      Reminiscent of Holly Black's "Valiant." Quirky, unique, and sometimes poetic, but a bit raw and grungy for my taste. After a hard-to-waddle-through intro the book picks up and remains engaging, but the plot turns and the finale, I found a bit hard to swallow.
    • 1/5
      I only read about half of this. I was enjoying it well enough, but then I lost interest after a certain spoiler.
    • 1/5
      Sinclair Youngblood Powers. Correctly nicknamed Sin, a ghost on a hellish mission to avenge himself and his love. He’s been brought back in a freak accident, when a young teenage girl falls from a tree. The same tree he was hung on.Pen is oblivious to her possession, but her cousin, Dice, is not. Dice, with a few secrets of her own, plans an exorcism. But when her exorcism goes wrong, and Sin turns into a havoc wreaking, flesh and blood human, she has to face the consequences. She must make her own plan.Swoon was a thriller that kind of messed with my mind. It kind of confused me, and it was definitely over the top sexy for me. It was a little too far-fetched. I thought the ending was a little too predictable. The only good thing was the main-character, Dice. I thought she was very strong willed. She had a few secrets, and thats always good thing in a book.Overall, this was a book I would not give a second chance to.
    • 5/5
      I'll start out by saying that Swoon was not at all what I expected. However, I still ended up loving it in the end - once I gave up the idea of what I thought it was going to be. If you like "bad boys" - real bad boys - then you'll love Sin. His name really says it all. I alternated between hating and loving him, but in the end I pretty much settled on love, despite some of the absolutely horrible things he did throughout the book. I think I loved him for Dice more than anything.I really liked the symbolism and meaning found by reading between the lines of Swoon. It was a good novel at face value, but it was even better if look a little deeper. There is a lot of sex in this book - and plenty of drug use as well. I didn't think that this content took away from the plot, rather they added the edge and "sin" that was integral to the plot. Basically, I hope my review made you wonder - I didn't want to say too much or give anything away. Swoon is really one of those books that you just have to read for yourself - and I highly recommend that you do. It seems to me that it is one of those love it or hate it books, but I personally loved it!
    • 5/5
      Swoon is one of those books that you either love or you hate, and I for one love it! It's been about two years since I read this book (it was one of the first books that I read when I really started to get into reading!), and I've read many, many books since, but Swoon still remains one of my favourites! What I loved about Swoon was the fact that it was so original. I have never read anything like it since, and don't think that I ever will. I loved all of the unique, quirky characters in this book, especially my favourite (to this day) bad boy, Sinclair Youngblood Powers (I decided to name my first son Sinclair after reading this book lol)!As much as I, personally, love this book, it's not for everyone. There is a lot of cursing, drug use and sex, but that really didn't bother me at all. I actually feel like the book wouldn't have been the same, or as good, without all of that stuff. This book is also a little bit confusing, but as long as you pay attention while you read, you should be able to follow!I would personally recommend this book if you are looking for something unique (and amazing!) and aren't too offended by swearing, teen drug use and sex! I can, without a doubt, say that it will be like nothing you've ever read before, and I hope that you will enjoy it if you decide to give it a go! Swoon is definitely one of my favourites!
    • 4/5
      Once again…not sure what I was expecting…but this was not even close to my realm of expectation!Pulled out of NYC, Candice (AKA “Dice”) and moved to the town of Swoon, CT. She lives across the street from her Aunt, Uncle, and cousins…but her folks still work in NYC so she is basically unsupervised during the week and some weekends when her parents can’t make it home. Which leaves lots of time for trouble and her cousin Pen (Penelope) is usually the one finding it…including when she nearly dies from falling out of a tree. But the knock on her allows a ghost, Sinclair, in, and he has a mission. Sin is gonna need Dice’s help.Here I assumed that “Swoon” was a reference to that back of the hand on the forehead, about to faint, type of thing…and it’s actually the name of the Conneticut town where the story takes place. LOL – I don’t think I could live in a town called Swoon! I’d be too tempted to actually swoon!I don’t want to give away major plot points, because they will really drive you to keep reading…so what can I say? That’s the question.First the storyline was very inventive. A little ghost story, a little time travel, a little “Witches of Eastwick”…at one point during the story I had jotted down that comment…although it total it was nothing like “Witches”. There is a bit of a triangle, but not the kind of triangle you would expect. There is a lot of revenge and good vs. evil. There was a lot going on but it all melded together beautifully and was not confusing or formulaic.I really like Dice…she was smart, snarky, and yet typically self-conscious. Malkin didn’t pull any punches which I appreciated. Dice smoked pot and has a history of exploring anything and everything…she is probably most like a “human” teen than a lot of YA heroines. She’s been abandoned, for all intents, by her NYC editor Mom and character actor Dad. Dice lives in a house across the street from her Aunt, and her parents try to get home on the weekends…but aren’t always successful. Which explains Dice’s proclivities in a number of ways.Sin, aka Sinclaire, had a complex story. I loved him at first, so charming! Then I hated him for being manipulative, then I kind of liked him again, then hated him with a passion, then loved him again…he really ran the gamut. This was a tough one to put down! Because it was so different and so good, I hesitate to read the next book, “Swear” for fear it won’t measure up. Is that awful of me? I think I will read a few other books first and then get into “Swear” when “Swoon” isn’t so fresh in my mind.
    • 2/5
      Not a fan- I will leave it at that.
    • 2/5
      BEWARE: This book centers completely around sex. If that's not your thing, avoid at all costs.
    • 2/5
      Honestly, I really, really did not like this book. I feel like two stars is very generous. I didn't like any of the characters, and I really didn't care what happened to them. I do not like books where the romance is 'love at first sight', I am old enough to know how ridiculous this concept is, and I feel that it's an easy out for an author. The whole time I was reading this book, I just wanted it to be over. Sorry if this is really harsh.
    • 5/5
      Read it and leaves you amazed. Has many teen issues mixed into a paranormal background that is very unique. Has potential. It is Book 1 of Swoon novels.Very different wrting style and you should take your time reading it so you get it
    • 1/5
      Let’s be perfectly frank. I really, really disliked Swoon. It didn’t captivate me at all, the characters were poorly developed… and the romance was horrific! The only thing this book has going for it is the fact that its featured supernatural creature is a golem. I haven’t encountered any golems in my reading before. Other than, y’know, Gollum (LOTR), but that’s just a homophone.Anyway. The romance. I’m not sure what it is about some paranormal YA books, but in some of the particularly bad ones, the heroine falls in love with a supernatural being for NO REASON AT ALL. Take Swoon, for example. New-girl-in-town Candice comes to find out that her cousin is possessed. Candice gets a quick look at the possessor in question, and “falls in love with him”. The only charming bit about Sin (the golem) is that he’s from the 1700’s, making him have foreign appeal? I don’t know.Another thing that was disturbing (as if love-but-not-really isn’t scary enough) was the fact that Sin would constantly throw out (how do I say it) an “orgy wave”, and everyone in the immediate area starts writhing and gasping. And this for some insane reason makes Candice like him even more. Yeah. Uh-huh.General idea: I didn’t like Swoon. Others might (and do, apparently, because the book came out in paperback following the hardcover), but it certainly wasn’t my cup of tea.(Originally posted to 365 Days of Reading)
    • 4/5
      I haven't read about ghosts in YA novels. Well, ghosts and golems. This is the first one I've read in a while and I was curious how it was going to turn out.Dice and Pen are two crazy teens. Maybe they just want to try out a lot of things, them being teenagers and all. But I was a bit thrown off, and I wouldn't agree with some aspects of the book, considering that this is YA, and I'm not even a teen anymore. Maybe I'm a bit sensitive and most things don't really bother me, but drinking is one thing (and I'm fine with that) but drugs, smoking weed? I wouldn't want much of that in the book I read.I liked Sin and the way his character has developed. I've said countless of times before, I have a weakness for bad boys, and Sin just happen to be a bad, bad boy. Wait, scratch that. He's a diabolical, scheming boy. Okay, that's better...However, Sin, evil as he may be, was changing Swoon. Some lives for worse, but most for the better. But it had to be done. His ways might be bad, and he might be driven by a purpose, even revenge, but he was changing the lives of everyone in that small town. And, what he didn't know, was that Swoon, a town that has shunned him even when he was alive, was changing him as well, along with Dice.Dice, who was desperate for someone to be with her, who learned to deal with her past mistakes, to finally let it all out, to deal with her life, to let go, and to start anew.Despite my disagreements with some aspects of the book, this has more substance than what I had originally thought it had. It wasn't just about a girl having visions, or some ghost ending up in a girl's body. It gave me a sneak peek in a life of teen, which I think, was a bit truthful than what was written in most YA novels. It dealt with serious issues (abuse, coming of age, coming out of the closet, sex, cheating, use of drugs, you name it...). When you think about it, it was deep, in a sense.
    • 2/5
      I have three words to describe this book.Paranormal.Dawsons.Creek.UGHRight down to the overused SAT words in common conversation it was the ghostly version of a whiny powerless girl who lets everyone else in her life control her.Sin (the resident ghost) was supposed to be this grand sexpot filled with charisma but yea, far more one dimensional. He came across as an overbearing asshole. Everything was all about his power and control over every.single.person in town. And boy, did we see that control at infinitum. Oh and how did that control exert itself? Sexually inappropriate situations. Copious amounts of sexually inappropriate situations and behavior. Now, granted, kids are kids and they have sex and they do sexy things. But it got really old that almost every single act of revenge Sin undertook revolved around sex — illicit affairs, teenaged seduction of adults, inappropriately timed orgasms, missing undergarments, orgies….you get the point right? I would have liked to have seen a bit more variety in the way of machinations.As it related to the romance portion of the story, I was completely baffled as to what about Sin made Dice love him so much. He wasn’t appealing in any way. He was selfish and petulant and like I said earlier, controlling. While he did look out for her in some capacity it always felt more self-serving than as any act of love on his part. The relationship was completely one sided until the very end when it leveled out a bit but even then that was a result of circumstances related to the outcome of Sin’s quest.The narration didn’t do much to help me enjoy this story. In fact, it just might have been the reason I ended up disliking it so much. Narrator Caitlin Greer didn’t represent the different characters in this story well. Her voice sounded extremely young and while Dice is a teen-aged girl one of the main thematic elements of the story was sexuality. It is a story that was intended to be far more sultry than came through the speakers. Specifically, this narrator lacked the desirability and allure that was needed for the character of Sin. His most essential of characteristics were his dark revenge-laden sexy undertones and this narrator missed the mark. By a mile. No, by miles and miles.In the end, my low opinion of this book is a direct reflection of having listened to it on audio as opposed to reading it in print. I suspect there is a possibility I would have walked away with the impressions and feelings that the author intended had I been more capable of using my own imagination where characters and situations were concerned. For that reason I’m going to conduct the experiment of giving the follow-up a try when released. Though already tainted by this negative experience with the first book I’m quite interested to see how I feel about the second.I hesitate to warn anyone off Swoon entirely but if I were to encourage you to read it I would say definitely go with the print version so that you’re better able to create your own experience.
    • 3/5
      Let me start off by saying that Swoon is an incredibly beautiful story. The way it’s written, the detailed setting, the easily manipulated characters- I enjoyed them all. But every once and awhile, you’ll come across a book that no matter how good it is, you can’t fully enjoy it because you can’t fully understand it. This is a perfect example of that for me.I’m not saying that Swoon is impossibly hard to understand. Writing and plot wise, it’s pretty simple. But I felt like there was a story under the story that you had to read between the lines to grasp. Most people will tackle it with one read through but I was not one of them.To me, it just seemed like random events after random events with an incredibly surprising ending that left me so flabbergasted. In the beginning, Sin’s journey to avenge the soul of not only himself, but his murdered fiancé and unborn baby, was pretty straight forward. But once Sin and Dice began traveling back to uncover the mystery behind his past, everything just seemed to unravel. I won’t elaborate because I don’t want to post spoilers, but I just didn’t get it.I did enjoy Sin and Dice’s relationship, however short and prolonged it might’ve been. But other than that, the story didn’t pull me in like I had hoped it would. In the future, I plan on thoroughly re-reading this. Maybe you’ll see a retraction review? Maybe not. But this is a story that you’ll have to personally read and form your own opinion about.
    • 2/5
      ummmmmmm.... that's pretty much what I was just left saying to myself after finishing this novel. I was very excited to read this story. It sounded like it would be steamy and sexy and still have the paranormal twist I love. I was very disappointed. If you are looking for a good steamy sexy love story, this is not the book for you. There wasn't anything sexy about it. There were a few spots that were steamy by in an immature overly detailed way. I am still trying to figure out half the story. The writing was very choppy. I often found that I had to ga back and reread the previous pages to figure out what was going on. It felt like a chore, almost as if I were studying for a test I didn't want to take. I kept reading hoping that it would turn around but it did not. The first third of the story showed promise but once "the town" began it was all downhill. I found Pen to be very annoying. I also found it hard to keep track of who was who with all the nick names. Chapters without titles was bad for this book. I often found it hard to know what was happening, who was involved, what time period it was, if it was a continuation from the previous chapter or the start of a new plot. I'm not sure how I feel about the main character Dice. Se was consistent in most cases but the whole psychic thing and her love/hate for Sin. I didn't really believe any of it. Her relationship with Pen was totally rediculous. It all felt very unfinished. The only storyline that I felt was complete and gave closure was surrounding Marsh (kristen) and her father. Maybe event the plot surrounding Sin as well, kind of. I hated the ending. Everything that I wanted this book to be, it was not. No true love story, no steamy love scenes, and most prominent no closure. Overall this came off as the work of a scatterbrain. I think the author tried to focus on too many storylines. It came across jumbled and incomplete. Maybe if she would have developed Sin's character more and the relationship between him and Dice I would have enjoyed it more. This was just a mish mosh of confusing story lines that left me disappointed overall.
    • 1/5
      I got this book through Amazon Vine. I was excited to get it because I actually had this book on my wish list. Boy was I disappointed.The concept is interesting. Dice has some psychic ability. When her friend Pen falls from a tree and dies for a moment; Pen's body is entered by the spirit of Sinclair (Sin). Sin was wrongly murdered many, many years ago and wants revenge against the town of Swoon (where they all live). Sins presence makes Pen act out and Dice tries to exorcise Sin; instead she ends up giving him a physical body that allows him to wreck havoc in person instead of through Pen.Okay if the premise sounds interesting, it is. Unfortunately the execution of the story left a lot to be desired. All of the characters come across as stereotypical and flat. The story itself is inconsistent and disjointed; chapters end in the middle of a scene only to have new chapters start in a completely different setting. It leaves wondering if some pages fell out of the book or something. An example of this: a big deal is made about how Dice need to hitchhike to get someone to drive her back to New York city, she meets a psychic there. In the middle of their meeting the chapter ends. In the next chapter Dice is suddenly back in Swoon getting ready for a Halloween party. How did she get back to Swoon? A big deal was made about how she got out of Swoon, so how did she suddenly get back? What happened to her meeting with the psychic? I mean really would it hurt to have some consistency?I also had a bit of a problem with this being dubbed a young adult novel. Throughout the novel drug use runs rampant. We are talking use of every kind of drug you can think of; it is casual use with no real purpose to the story. The drug use is such that every single character in the book casually uses drugs; it really gives the message that all young teens casually use drugs and I found it kind of disturbing. Which leads to the problem of the casual sexuality in this book too. I am all for liberal sex (big fan of the Anita Blake books here); but when you have young adults having loads of casual sex among themselves, trying to seduce teachers, and descriptions of casual sex between senior citizens...it was all just a bit weird for me. I would have been uncomfortable reading this as a "young adult".Now let's briefly discuss Sin and Dice's "relationship". There is no relationship. Dice loves Sin (for no reason) and Sin constantly abuses her emotionally and occasionally physically. Still somehow Dice and Sin are supposed to be the ultimate star-crossed couple...ummm no, they are just dysfunctional. I found many of the characters' relationships with each other to be equally disturbing and unhealthy. I also never really got the point of the story.Some of the above could be excused if the story was fast-paced, engaging, or fun to read. Unfortunately it is none of those. I had a lot of trouble getting through the book; believe it or not all of the sex and drug use was so prevalent it got very boring to read about. The whole time I read this book I was just counting down the pages, hoping that soon I would get to the end of it.I usually try to find something positive to say about a book; but seriously I did not like this book and I have nothing positive to say about it.
    • 4/5
      Candice is beginning a new life away from New York City in the small town of Swoon, Connecticut. Dice spends her time in Swoon leisurely hanging out with her perfect cousin, Penelope, and her group of privileged friends. However, after Penelope falls from a tree during a bout of drug-induced fun, things begin to get interesting. Penelope has been inhabited by the spirit of Sinclair Youngblood Powers, a young man who was wrongly accused and executed for killing his fiancé in the town of Swoon over 200 years ago. Now Sinclair is bent on revenge and Dice must overcome her feelings for him and put a stop to it before her new town falls apart. This was a compelling read that keeps up a quick pace and intriguing plot from the very beginning. The characters were likable, even when somewhat twisted. However, some characters were thrown in and never fully developed, in particular a friend from her past in New York. This is not a book for anyone who has trouble reading about sexual situations. It sometimes seemed like sex was thrown in just for the sake of making the book more appealing—like extra fight scenes in an action movie. I think the addition of these situations sometimes took away from the flow of the book. Sinclair’s revenge often came about in the form of enticing sexual expressions in the townsfolk. I like the revenge storyline, but it often became overshadowed by the nature of the situations.
    • 1/5
      I picked Swoon up knowing that it was supposed to be dark, edgy and sexy. It definitely had the dark, perhaps the edgy as well, but I found nothing about this book even remotely sexy. It starts off well with a promising premise--Pen's body becoming inhabited by a ghost when she falls from a tree. The fascination that Dice, a slightly psychic teenager, feels for Sin, the ghost, made me think that the story was going to go a certain way. But when horrible things start happening around the town of Swoon, it takes a pretty awful turn. Dice is in love with Sin for no reason I can tell; he's vindictive, violent, and does things to hurt people who Dice loves. Dice herself is not particularly likable either. She vacillates between trying to stop Sin's horrible acts, and doing next to nothing because she loves him too much. The only characters who I found even a little bit likable were very secondary ones who didn't get enough of a storyline. The writing was also a tad confusing at times, with the narration feeling like it was pulled straight from Dices brain. This gives it a jumpy and sometimes incomplete feeling. At other times it's unclear who, exactly, is narrating. Overall, this is probably one of the least enjoyable books I've read in awhile. I couldn't put it down, but only because I knew that if I did, I'd never pick it back up.
    • 3/5
      Right off the hat I have to say that "Swoon" is not for Young Adults. "Swoon" isn't for morally rigid adults either. This is the story of Dice, a 17 year old who goes to live with her cousin Pen and her family in the little po dunk town of Swoon. Something weird happens when Pen falls from a tree. When she awakens she has changed and begins to act strangely. Dice finds herself able to communicate with the 'spirit' that has possessed Pen. Later the two girls find a way to make him human. His name is Sinclair, or "Sin". Sin is out to extract revenge on the heirs of the townsfolk who killed him and his fiance two hundred plus years ago. It doesn't matter to him that these people are innocent and shouldn't be judged by their ancestors. What Sin does is lead the entire town to sin. He wants to humiliate and injure the entire town. This leads to many, many, MANY, mentions of drug and alcohol use and sex. Not even typical boyfriend/girlfriend sex but homosexual teenage encounters and the occasional orgy. Parents have affairs as do the even the old folks at the nursing home. This is just some out there stuff. But the biggest thing that hurts Nina Malin's story is the fact that not one of her characters is empathetic, intresting, or likeable. Dice just loves Sin. She has no reason for it, she claims to hate everything he does. He sleeps with others and her love never waivers. He is sadistic in his behaviour of her at times and again she never falters. I don't like weak heroines. There are far too many in fiction today who let their men abuse them in some way in the name of 'love'. She has many chances to stop some of Sin's doings but only once does anything that I can recollect. She is apathetic to his evildoings. Pen is a hussy. The book tries to explain it so that Sin is making her that way, but I think she was a hussy before she ever fell from that tree. She laughs at all the things happening in Swoon until it directly affects her. Sin can have the saddest backstory in the world of literature but at no time does he come across as a decent guy. The bad part of that is that Malin and her Dice want us to think deep down he is. I didn't buy that. Now I regardless of what you may think at this point, I didn't hate this story. I found it to be a real page turner. My stepdaughter wanted to read this since it was YA but I am going to vote a big 'no' to that idea. I am not so morally uptight that I mind reading the sex and drug stuff because some I don't mind. This just went overboard on both the sex and drugs, and the fact that it promotes itself as YA is misleading and scary. Malin's idea is a very interesting and unique one and I think had it been presented differently, perhaps with different characters, this could have been a phenomanal read. That said, the authors writing style was unique in a good way and I wouldn't mind checking into the other books she has written.
    • 4/5
      The Good: The beginning was good, it drew you in… and when I say “it drew you in”, what I really meant was the book is practically daring you to put it down! And you can’t because it is so fascinating and you just HAVE to know what happens next. The middle… it was pretty good, but the ending, OMG, the ending really delivered the most.Usually those types of endings make me want to chuck the book out the window… this was not the case with Swoon. And that takes skill to make me, the most emotional and sensitive person ever, enjoy the ending like that. You really pulled it off so, kudos to you Nina Malkin.Okay… to the characters.Dice was very cool. Even though I would never really hang out with her in real life (because she could probably kick my ass), I really liked her! She was sarcastic, interesting, and she was real. I think that’s what I really liked about her; she didn’t try to be anyone else. Not to mention, she’s a really good person to her friends, her family, and practically everyone else.Even though I like Dice, sometimes I questioned her feelings about Sin. I wondered, “Why is she so in love with him?” and I am sure, everyone who has or will read this book has/will thought/think about that. I mean, if you look in the dictionary for the word “bad boy”, you’ll find Sin’s picture. And probably if his picture is in it, the dictionary will out-sell Twilight… but that’s beside the point.The point is, even though he’s really bad… you can’t help but have a soft spot for him. He’s handsome, a gentleman (mostly), and he had this huge tragic life, the perfect desirable bad boy. I’m not saying everything he does is justified. Way more than once, he would do something and I would just want to strangle him for being such a jackass! But there were times (way more than once) that really made me… dare I say it, swoon for Sin.Ack, my mom would probably never let me out of the house for saying that. But, Sin’s the type of guy who would even make the most innocent of girls sneak out their window for him. Not that I would do that because, you know, I would probably die.So, to an extent, I understand what she was thinking.Basically what I’m trying to say here is that Ms. Malkin has written very real and balanced characters.The Bad: This was a little mature, at least for me it was. I usually do not give an age limit for books because I know everyone matures differently, but this is totally for the more mature teen readers and up, only. It’s not completely cringe-worthy; it’s just sometimes awkward to read because it describes certain intimate acts, anatomy, and sexual references. Maybe I have the maturity of a five-year-old, but I felt just a teensy bit uncomfortable reading it sometimes. It was a good book, but young teens should not read this, at least, not yet.Also, at times the writing was too fast-paced and it left me confused and sometimes, with a headache. So, if you are going to read it, make sure to read slowly. Otherwise, you’ll be really frustrated. And coincidentally, there was some parts that were boring and I wanted to skip ahead to the action. The point is: this book is bi-polar.Overall: Although, definitely not for everyone and when finished reading, I was a little confused about what I thought of it, after really thinking about it, I found that I immensely enjoyed the story. With a fantastic story line, Swoon is exciting and will have you breathless the whole time you’re reading.Grade: B+
    • 5/5
      Candice (Dice) has been transplanted from a busy New York City to a quiet Swoon, Connecticut – and nothing much happens in Swoon. She spends her time hanging out with her cousin Pen since her parents stay away most of the time because of their jobs. Mostly just home for the weekends, they aren’t involved in Dice’s daily life.Dice’s life gets a little more interesting after Pen has an accident during a dangerous stunt while climbing a tree. While unconscious, Pen is inhabited by a vengeful ghost named Sinclair Youngblood Powers. Dice is aware of this change due to her heightened psychic abilities and immediately feels drawn to Sin, but after she realizes what he plans to do, she makes it her mission to send Sin back to where he came from and out of Pen’s body. But, things don’t go as planned. Sin becomes flesh and blood and way more dangerous than before. Dangerous to the town because of the revenge he is exacting on its inhabitants and dangerous to Dice because of the deep feelings Sin brings out in her.SWOON is dark, sensual, and edgy. There are a lot of references to sex and drugs so be aware when recommending this book to adolescents. This would definitely be a book for high school students and above. Nina Malkin should be commended for creating a unique paranormal story. She weaves together many loose ends to create a thought-provoking story. SWOON will stay with you long after you read it.
    • 4/5
      A tragedy relocates Candice “Dice” Moskow to the uber-preppy town of Swoon, Connecticut. Everyone hopes that she will be reformed after hanging out with her cousin, the perfect Pen Leonard, but when Pen falls out of a tree, thing start going horribly awry. It turns out that Pen has been possessed by the angry spirit of Sinclair Youngblood Powers, wrongly murdered over two centuries ago and now determined to exact vengeance on Swoon.In an effort to exorcise him out of Pen’s body, Dice accidentally gives Sin his own flesh and blood. Suddenly people start acting on their hidden desires: affairs begin, erotic encounters ensue, passions are awakened, the whole town is in an uproar, and Dice knows that the too beautiful, too persuasive Sin is inexplicably behind him.Feeling somewhat responsible for creating him, Dice attempts to stop him, but finds herself drawn more and more into Sin’s misery and history. How can she be falling in love with this soulless monster? What is Sin, and is he malevolent or just a hurt young man?This book is a great example of a story that starts out amazing but fizzles out the longer it drags out. At the beginning, I was completely enamored with Nina’s stream-of-conscious-like writing style. Dice’s casual colloquialism as the narration lends authenticity and interest to SWOON, and is one of the parts I like most about this book.As the story went along, however, it became more and more bogged down by seemingly random events that were not only unbelievable, but also slightly disturbing—vague mentions of orgies, outlandish sexual promiscuity, etc. I also never got a clear picture of the characters, especially Sin, who is supposedly dark and soulless, and yet has the power to whip the whole town into a sexual frenzy.In the end, SWOON read for me like a melodramatic Asian drama, with inadequate character development yet an overabundance of things happening and hidden motives. With a few hundred pages less and some more tightening of the plot, this book could’ve been incredible. As it is, however, it is only a pleasant, slightly uncomfortable diversion, a book that is, unfortunately, too easy to put down.
    • 5/5
      "Eventually all stories must be told. People simply aren’t built to hold them in. …. [It’s a] matter of finding the right person to tell it to. Since a story, even a sad one, is a gift.” (p. 417-418, ARC edition – may vary from the final published version.)It may seem odd that I’m starting this review with a quote from the second to last chapter of the novel. And although the quote refers to a minor subplot, the truth of it really resonated with me and sums up my feelings about this superbly written book about impossible love and unimaginable loss.But basic plot before I go any further – NYC transplant Candice (known as Dice in the nickname-loving, cookie-cutter Connecticut community of Swoon) meets 18th century transplant Sinclair (known as Sin, because he sins with abandon and causes others to sin as well) when he possesses the body of her hot but prissy cousin Penelope (known as Pen because …err… elope would sound weird?). Sin was strung-up by Swoon’s denizens’ snobby ancestors, so he’s out to get revenge. Only Dice is aware of what he’s capable of, but swept up in the spell of his charm, she’s very reluctant to stop him…I really did feel like this story is a gift – and judging by the polarizing reviews on GoodReads and across the blogosphere – it’s one that’s not right for everyone. I can understand that some readers are turned off by the all “lustful” scenes Sin leaves in his wake, but these are strictly dreamlike in quality (think Patrick Susskind’s THE PERFUME), and in no way explicit or eyeball scalding.Ok, I’ll allow that the paranormal plot is rather convoluted and does tend to meander at times, but the writing is so stellar, I honestly didn't mind the detours. I took a week to read this, not only because I had only stolen moments to devote to it, but also because I wanted to savor Malkin’s delicious turns of phrase. The story is told in first person, and Dice is so wry in her observations and so conflicted in her loyalties and desires I found myself identifying with her (despite our differences). I don’t know…maybe you have to have a certain maturity level (and I'm not talking about age, though this is more appropriate for older teens), and/or a certain familiarity with tragedy, to really connect with this one. All I know is that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and not only will it stay on my shelf, I know I’ll go back and read passages from it again and again.