THE CADENCE by Casey Hays

An arc was provided by Goodreads. This did not influence my review in any way.

goodreads:

 

Emma King’s life is fairly ordinary, with the exception of one extraordinary aspect. She is plagued with the rare ability to feel a person's emotions with a simple touch. Any sensation she feels becomes amplified to almost unbearable levels. Emma has learned to keep her hands to herself and her emotions under wraps.​

But when quiet, good-looking Gage Parmer moves to town, everything changes, and for the first time in her life, Emma loosens the chains that hold her emotions in check and prepares herself for the whirlwind that is to come. Mysteriously lacking in emotions, Gage tells Emma an incredible story that pulls her into his world of impossibilities. At first, she refuses to believe. But when she puts his words to the test, she discovers that his world is also hers. ​

Soon she will be forced to use her ability in an attempt to destroy an ancient evil that has defied death and ruled the centuries in a reign of terror.

They are called… The Cadence.​​

In the end, she has only one weapon and one chance to defeat the Cadence, break their circle of power, and restore hope

My take

I absolutely loved this book! Thank you, Casey for sharing J, though that did not influence my review.  

I consumed this book in record time, at least for me it was record time. This fast consumption isn’t because I skipped chapters but because everything was just so fast-paced and I didn’t want to stop reading. I found myself staying up past midnight reading. This is pretty late when you have a toddler waking you up at the crack of dawn with enough energy to power an entire city.
For a book that spans close to 400 pages, I didn’t feel dragging at all, and no chapter felt like a filler. Every chapter had a purpose and all of it was a pleasure to read and so beautifully written.