Reviews
Laurie Faria Stolarz helped get me into reading with her Blue is for Nightmares book series, and a friend of mine had recommended her Touch book series back in elementary school. Set in the fictional town of Freetown, the story revolves around sixteen-year-old Camelia Hammond, an ordinary girl beginning her junior year of high school. When Ben Carter, the new boy in town, saves Camelia from being hit by a car, Camelia is terrified to learn Ben is rumored to have a murderous past. As Camelia attempts to get closer to Ben and learn more about him, she receives a series of ominous gifts, threatening phone-calls, and terrifying text-messages from a mysterious stalker. Along with her close friends, Kimmie and Wes, Camelia must determine if Ben is the one terrorizing her, or if it is someone else. Upon starting this book, I immediately recognized some typical young adult paranormal romance tropes from the early 2000s. The mysterious boy with a dark past, the paranormal high school romance, the insta-love trope. This book is definitely a product of its time. The scene where Ben saves Camelia was almost exactly like a scene from Twilight. The stalker plot definitely elevated this basic paranormal romance into something more compelling. Laurie Faria Stolarz has done stalker storylines in her previous books, but I didn’t feel like it was pasted on here. I liked reading from the stalker’s perspective, but it was more creepily juvenile than it was scary. This book had an interesting premise, but an incredibly basic execution. This book feels like it was written for a younger audience than typical young adult books, and that’s okay, but I don’t think that it translates well to older readers or readers looking for more out of their young adult books. I didn’t guess the identity of the stalker correctly, but I still feel like the mystery of the stalker was written poorly. The motive wasn’t strong enough beyond “crazy obsession” and I felt like the character was just a caricature of a crazed stalker. This definitely wasn’t a favorite for me but I do understand that this book would most likely be more appealing to younger readers getting into reading. Despite not being a fan, I’ll most likely continue reading the rest of the series as I love the paranormal aspect to this book.
Okay near the start it has a bit of twilight feel (have nothing against that, just not a twilight fan) but the characters are interesting and it's just a fun read and a really fast read!
Okay, so I don't really like writing bad reviews but in some cases it had to be done. This book didn't have to same allure as the previous two books. At some point it felt painful to read. Still, I just couldn't help finishing this book. I still have not found any redeeming qualities that I like about any of the characters. To be honest, I think that Aunt Alexia is the best character. Ben has lost his appeal this book, I found myself hating Adam even more and Kimmie was just to unrealistic for me to comprehend. I did however like the audio transcripts and crossword puzzles throughout the book. It was a nice creative touch. The story did pick up towards the ending and I found it bearable to read again. Hopefully, Laurie Faria Stone can make up for this disappointment in Deadly Little Voices.
Find this review and more on my blog Sometimes Leelynn Reads. “If it were up to me, all boys would come with a label: Failure to take in small doses may result in irrational behavior, poor judgment, and estrangement from one's friends.” I came across this book back when I was visiting my mom and brother in Hawaii. I didn't get a chance to read it then, so when I saw that my local library had a copy, I figured I'd read it this time. When I was reading the synopsis, I didn't really understand what it could be about. What was it about this boy's touch made Camelia go crazy? And why was it that this mystery boy Ben thought her life was in danger? Was it going to be actually interesting, or was it going to be subpar? I thought it was pretty interesting, at least the premise about Ben. I won't spoil what it is about him that makes him mysterious, or why he thinks that Camelia is in danger, in mortal danger. But it's something pretty crazy when you think about it, and hopefully, Camelia will actually believe him. Can I just say that I am actually super disappointed at the fact that nobody thought to call the police when everything was going down? Clearly, someone is stalking Camelia, and while she doesn't know who it is, this person is able to get into her house, take photos of her during times when she doesn't even realize she's being followed, and leave her random gifts in her bedroom. The first time this happened, the police should have been involved. Teenagers should not be responsible for keeping something as dangerous as a stalker to themselves. They need help, and this book didn't show Camelia or any of her friends taking the proper action to getting help. No wonder Ben thinks her life is in danger, especially when the stalker starts to escalate in behavior. This isn't some lovesick puppy. This is something worse, and it doesn't help either that none of the proper adults are involved. For the most part, I thought this book was okay. I still don't understand why Camelia was so obsessed with the way Ben touched her in the beginning - when he saved her from almost getting run over by a runaway car. She spends three months thinking about it, and it's not like he touched her in any special way (not on the surface, anyway). She even finds herself touching the same spot on her body that he did, almost absentmindedly. It's weird. I don't get it, but maybe that's just me. I get reminiscing about the time you almost died and how a complete stranger saved your life, but not focusing on how he touched you. To me, that's just creepy. I'm still debating on if I will finish the series. I haven't checked to see if my library has the rest of the series either so that may also play a part on whether I'll continue. I'll see. Hopefully, in the future books, we find out more about Ben, or at least we don't have another stalker on our hands.
I kinda love this series.
** spoiler alert ** Rating: 4.1 Holy shit, I finished this book in half a day. I seriously could not put it down. I went into this one, not knowing a single thing about the plot. (Sometimes I do this thing where I put a book on my list, but one pick it up after a few months after having forgotten what it's about, which makes the experience that much more fun.) The book pulled me in after having read only five pages. Not knowing what was going to happen I was that much more on the edge, wanting to know where the plot would take me next. And boy, did this book take me in a different direction than I thought it would. Somehow in my mind, I had labeled it as a cute contemporary, but it was so much more than that. One thing I didn't like though were the characters. I liked Ben just fine--and it was obvious he wasn't the bad guy, lbr here--but the other characters were all so dull and just not there? I couldn't really connect to them, there was no depth, nothing to intrigue me. I would've liked getting to know her parents more? Her aunt? Annoying things: - the typical ”Oh no! We can't go to the police bc this and that!” Who would've thought?! Certainly not me. I'll never understand why they choose to stay quiet instead of just getting their asses to the police station and stop it before it gets out of hand. That'll forever annoy me. - Camelia. Her thoughts were irrational a lot of times? Once again, I just couldn't connect to her. - her friends. Seriously, her friends were very annoying. Kimmie at least. Her personality was very irritating, and, like, when your best friend gets into trouble, you go to the police or at least to her parents. And what does she? Nothing. Yes, she did give her an ultimatum, but did she act on it? No. And wasn't she the one that said she couldn't bear it if something happened to Camelia whilst she did nothing to help? Cuz something did happen to her. Could she bear it? Yes. I had so many suspects, but Matt? He was really low on my list. Though, the ex-boyfriend--what a cliché. All in all, I liked the book and I'll continue with the series. Seriously wondering what'll happen in the next book.
Quick read. It totally sucked me in. I actually finished it in a couple hours. (I'm a quick reader.) Definitely better than I thought it would be, and interesting enough that I'm compelled to continue on with the series.
I really enjoy this series. I may have to look into other books by this author while I wait for the next installment.
I love a book published by Disney. I never thought that day would come..even when I was younger, I never liked Disney's books. I decided to take a chance one day and picked one up. It's been on my shelf for a couple of years, and I decided to read it. Deadly Little Secret, by Laurie Faria Stolarz, is a book I really didn’t expect t like. I know I say that with a lot of books, but this book had a Disney symbol on it, so I was thinking that It would be cheesy..like bad cheesy, but it was a good cheesy!
The worst book out of the bunch. It was the most predictable book in the series. I don't expect young adult novels to be the most intense writing in the world, I just expect better storytelling. It was painfully obvious who the new stalker was. I guessed it the moment the character was introduced. If its that easily guessed, I don't find the story interesting.
First, I am so glad this series is over. Second, I was actually really enjoying this last book. I loved the twists and turns this book took but the conclusion was seriously lacking. I don't know why I had high hopes that all of my questions would get an actual answer. But I can cross this series off my list.
This book is way better than the first 3. By far. I did find it to be predictable but in a better way. I enjoyed the interactions of the Aunt. I like where the next story seems to be going.
Second book into the series and I'm convinced this girl has the worst luck in history. I hate a terrible love triangle. Introducing a second love interest that is lacking the chemistry needed for an actual love triangle is quite annoying.
I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. It was okay. I wouldn't recommend a friend read this novel. The best thing about it is its a short book. The characters were flat, the mystery was predictable. I only hope this series gets better.
okay, imagine twilight, hush, hush, and the mara dyer trilogy all smashed into one beautiful book. THATS WHAT THIS IS AND I AM FREAKING THE FUCKKKKKK OUT
Holy shit. The plot twists (emphasis on s) were so FUCKING unexpected, but made so much in the end. I never once thought the ending would turn out the way it did.
okay, this book, much like the previous ones was not predictable at all. though, it was a little too similar to the first one.
