I think the first chapter of The Gift should come with a bit of a warning, because it certainly serves to unnerve the reader from the start. I honestly was a little out of breath by the time I'd read it; there was no easing me in gently that's for sure!
I found the whole premise of cellular memory a really interesting idea to underpin the story. Whether Jenna's new transplanted heart could in some way hold the memories of the donor Callie. In fact this sense of uncertainty pervaded most of the book; was Jenna responsible for all the mistakes, or were events just down to her own imagination? Personally I don't think cellular memory is such an out-of-field idea as to be impossible, though I'm not entirely sure whether I'm totally convinced. I do accept that we don't know or understand everything of which we are capable, so I am more than happy to accept it as a possibility, and thus I was intrigued by what was happening to Jenna.
The italicised flashbacks only served to further unnerve me. I was left wondering what had happened to cause Callie's death and I understood completely why Jenna had to find some answers. The book was well-crafted enough to engage me, and the writing evoked tension and questions which kept me engrossed until the end.
Being completely honest, I found Callie's ending just a little bit twee, but not enough to disappoint me in any way (and in fairness I don't know any other way in which Louise Jensen could have resolved Callie's story, so perhaps it isn't fair to mention it!). I would recommend not reading it piecemeal like I did because it did make me a little confused by the end action-scene. It was totally my fault though because for some bizarre reason I thought starting it before Christmas was a good idea. It wasn't. Give this the luxury of time and attention.
I did like Jenna as a main character though, she was feisty yet flawed enough to be interesting and engaging. And I did care enough about her to be worried what her own ending was going to be. And I guess the same could be said about Callie, as the two of them are so intrinsically linked.
I really enjoyed this second novel from Louise Jensen, and I have to say I'm already looking forward to the third! They are definitely proving themselves to be great reads.
