Touch of Smoke by Karissa Laurel

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Three years ago, Rikki Albemarle watched her best friend die at the hands of a supernatural evil. Certain she was slated to be the next victim, Rikki fled her small Smoky Mountain hometown, vowing to never come back. Plagued by nightmares and knowing she's the only one who believes Mina's death was no accident, Rikki returns with hopes of finding answers and holding the killer accountable.

Rikki is convinced the key to unlocking the secret of Mina's death lies with Owen Amir, the alluring young army vet who once claimed her heart. But the deeper Rikki digs into Owen's past, the more she's torn between the urgings of her heart and her memories of him on the night Mina died.

After falling further into the rabbit hole, Rikki lands at the feet of an ancient and powerful evil determined to finish what it started years before. To survive, she'll have to make a decision: believe Owen is the monster she always feared he might be or trust him enough to stay and fight for a second chance at love.

"Years before, I'd started suspecting my hair was kinky, and not in a curly way but in a BDSM way; it rebelled against me simply because it enjoyed being beaten into submission."

I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I don't like it when a book leaves me feeling frustrated, which is exactly how I felt after finishing Touch of Smoke. Maybe it was supposed to be romantic... but after everything else, I really needed a happily ever after. Unfortunately, it's more of a happily ever maybe. 

I really liked most of this book, but I did have quite a few grumbles that left an impact. One, Rikki was a very hesitant character when it came to trusting Owen, but she was willing to risk her life for strangers every day. I understood her hesitancy at first, but then it started to get on my nerves. Shortly after deciding to take a risk with him, she's ready to use the L word. It felt too slow and then too fast. I wish she had been more decisive from the start. 

Two, I'm not a fan of stories that survive on secrets. Owen was understandably secretive, but Rikki knew something was off about him, and she questioned him accordingly. He was evasive, the secrets caused problems, and then everything goes kaboom. I wish Owen had been able to confide in Rikki from the start, and they had dealt with their problems together. I believe it would have built a stronger, more lasting relationship between the two of them. Instead, there's this invisible wedge that kept them from really connecting.

Three, the pacing was weird. Sometimes the story felt slow and languid, and other times I felt like I was rushed through something without adequate preparation. For example, everything that happened with Mina was sudden and hard to process in the heat of the moment. Additionally, people's comments and perceptions weren't always clear. Rikki left for three years and no one checked on her? Not once? Evansville was a small town, and lot of people cared about her. Someone should have reached out to her, even if she was hiding with her tail between her legs. Which brings me to...

Four, Rikki's departure doesn't make a lick of sense. She was convinced she knew who the monster was, but she didn't actually stick around to figure it out. It was unfair to blame someone without giving them a chance to explain, and Rikki seemed like a character that wanted answers more than safety. She sacrificed three years of her life, almost lost her sanity, and for what? Why didn't she stay and ask questions? I understand she was hurting, but her actions didn't sit well with me. I also didn't care for how quickly things slid into place one she came back. She returned angry and wanting answers, but she also needed to give them. People were too accepting of her departure and lack of communication. Especially the one person she was intent on blaming everything on (without a solid reason).

Five, Owen should have made more charms.

However, I did enjoy the jinn aspect of the story! It's not often we see them make an appearance in books, and they played a pretty large role in Touch of Smoke. I wish more of their history had been explained, like where they come from and what they do, but the small details we do get were enough to move the story along. Owen's history was equally fascinating, and I would have liked learning more about his family and his childhood as well.

I thought this would read like more of a romance, but those occurrences were few and far between. The author builds up their slow burn romance, while also allowing Rikki to annoy me with her reservations, and then we fade to black when things start to get interesting. I wanted to know what happened! Not a huge deal, but a bummer nonetheless.

I also would have liked more from the secondary characters, and for Rikki's time in Chapel Hill to have been addressed. Those three years were crucial to her development, yet we learn very little about her time away from Evansville. She finished school, got a job, and then returned home to face her demons since they were impacting her day-to-day life. That's about it! What was school like? Job interviews? How did her inability to sleep impact her waking hours? All of that was skimmed over and only mentioned in offhanded comments.

This was a hard one to review. I enjoyed the overall story, but sometimes things felt too convenient, or they weren't explained well. Rikki and Owen have an intense relationship, but it fizzles before we really see their flames. The rest of the story overshadows their relationship, and their romance is neglected in favor of the plot. However, their love plays a pretty big role in the outcome. But the ending was... not what I wanted. I felt cheated after everything else that happened.

Touch of Smoke was an interesting read that offered a unique perspective on magic, but it was mostly underwhelming. I felt like I only got the bones of the story, and I would have liked for things to have been more fleshed out. A few explanations here, a little more character development there, and less hesitation from Rikki. She wasn't the strong and determined character I was expecting, and I had a hard time connecting with her.

I would recommend this one if you're looking for something different. Other reviewers have given it more favorable reviews, so check those out before making a decision!