this was a great horror novel, I thought it was a wonderfully spooky atmosphere going on and the characters were really unique. I enjoyed going on this journey and look forward to more.

Stitch weaves a story around Marc, a twenty-two year old man with the ability to gain strength every time he experiences injury. The supernatural/horror elements of this book are unique and fascinating, but the premise around it lacks believability.

Marc is a student-teacher who befriends a high school student named Glenn. This begins the problem of believing what the story presents. Marc acts younger than he is, and the fact that he connects most to a student he tutors makes him even more juvenile. Readers are meant to believe he’s in his twenties, but his dialogue and actions often reflect a teenager. The motivation to getting close to Glenn is to get closer to the student’s older sister Susan as a potential love interest, but that story line also falls flat, despite the threesome teaming up to defeat evil.

The story begins with Glenn being beat up and Marc being thrown into the fight in order to start learning more about his powers, something he (and readers) are left to wonder about for much of the first half of the book. As Glenn is getting his butt kicked by student bullies, the cops and the football coach encourage the violence. Again, is this believable? I think many readers will struggle to connect to the characters, their motivations, and their actions in these opening moments. It continues to spiral out of the realm of believability when we discover the majority of the town seems to be swept up in a gambling ring. Also, Susan seems to pop up at the most convenient times rather than organic moments.

The world created around “the stitch” (the ability to come close to death, survive, and grow stronger) is intriguing, and if a more realistic story had been crafted to cradle this one-of-a-kind notion, the story would have flourished. There’s creative bits of ideas peppered into the plot, including the introduction of Kismets, who are emotional and telepathic partners of those with Marc’s ability. Each person with the ability has an indivudal Kismet, and readers will be pleasantly surprised to discover who Marc’s Kismet is.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

A roller coaster beginning to a creative urban fantasy series! Author did a good job of providing just enough background, and answering the right questions, so that you got a good idea of "stitches" and got some resolution, but still have questions remaining. The whole "stitch" thing is a unique dynamic, a fun change from the "traditional" type of urban fantasy with reapers, witches, vampires, etc. Some good twists from the bad guys and a satisfying end that gives a little closure while still leading to the next installment.

I had no idea what kind of ride I was in for when I started reading Stitch by Timothy Collins; however, it turned out to be a very fast paced thrilling adventure! Marc Cheeks is a 22 year old college senior with dreams of being a high school teacher. He still lives in his hometown with his father while he student teaches at the same high school that he attended. Marc appears to be a quiet somewhat morose man who is trying to have a better life than that of his father. Unfortunately, things don’t go planned for Marc when he is faced with violence and brutality. His life changes quickly and he is forced to adapt to a world that is unfamiliar to him and deal with a life which he never planned on living. I don’t want to risk spoiling any part of the book, but I will say that this book was so much fun to read! It says that it is book 1 and I look forward to reading more about the adventures of Marc Cheeks.

1 star, I tried to get into this book but felt nothing for the characters to make me want to read more than 3 chapters.