hyzie's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either.
Camille is annoying in a lot of ways, and she never really gets better. She is socially awkward in the most obnoxious way--she's extremely self-centered and it causes her to miss all sorts of things that are obviously going wrong in other people's lives. She's also not terribly bright and has that annoying YA "heroine" tendency to run straight towards the creepiest guy in the room at any given moment. If someone tells you they think he might be a murderer and you think he might be stalking you, seems like you should be running in the other direction, yeah? Is this just me?
Of course, because one time he managed to help her when she was in danger, Edward Ben somehow became the center of her universe at all times, and she trusted him even when he basically told her not to. Because that is not creepy at all.
There are no vampires, but this book was very clearly written riding on the Twilight wave, and sometimes the similarities are a bit too much. Unfortunately, vampires, even awkward sparkly vampires who play baseball, are just plain more interesting than what we have here in terms of paranormal stuff. Camille is awfully similar to Bella, but somehow I found the latter less annoying. Possibly because she was the first?
I did enjoy the thriller aspect and I thought the handling of the second viewpoint was done pretty well. I enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on, although I did manage to figure it out well before things were revealed. Camille is a trusting little soul and does not pay attention to things that should be obvious sometimes.
I won't pick up the rest of the series, but I'm not against maybe trying something else by the author, hopefully something that feels a little less derivative.
amarylissw's review against another edition
1.0
Is it bad that I can honestly say there was nothing I enjoyed about this book?
Let's start with the characters:
Our protagonist, Camelia, has no depth whatsoever and spends most of the time obsessing over a touch that makes her feel jittery and acting like a child in the face of danger. What is it with these protagonists?
Ben is nothing special. Super hot, of course, but also entirely bland. There was no chemistry between him and Camelia, and no reason for their attraction. (He has such a great touch, so I should totally fall in love with him. --Camelia)
The rest of the characters have similar development, which makes the story even more annoying.
And the plot. Oh, the poor, poor plot. Predictable, unoriginal, repetitive. I could guess who the culprit was pretty quickly, and the climax was . . . rather anticlimactic. Also, the book seems like such a waste, because part of it is Camelia and he friends talking about useless stuff, another part obsessing over Ben's touch, and a third trying to make the plot suspenseful. Note: Trying.
As for the rest of the story, we have very little on setting, the writing is mediocre, and this book really left me with nothing but disgust. (That may seem harsh, I know, but this book just irked me.)
Let's start with the characters:
Our protagonist, Camelia, has no depth whatsoever and spends most of the time obsessing over a touch that makes her feel jittery and acting like a child in the face of danger. What is it with these protagonists?
Ben is nothing special. Super hot, of course, but also entirely bland. There was no chemistry between him and Camelia, and no reason for their attraction. (He has such a great touch, so I should totally fall in love with him. --Camelia)
The rest of the characters have similar development, which makes the story even more annoying.
And the plot. Oh, the poor, poor plot. Predictable, unoriginal, repetitive. I could guess who the culprit was pretty quickly, and the climax was . . . rather anticlimactic. Also, the book seems like such a waste, because part of it is Camelia and he friends talking about useless stuff, another part obsessing over Ben's touch, and a third trying to make the plot suspenseful. Note: Trying.
As for the rest of the story, we have very little on setting, the writing is mediocre, and this book really left me with nothing but disgust. (That may seem harsh, I know, but this book just irked me.)
lumos_libros's review against another edition
3.0
This is definitely a suspense novel and it totally delivers on that front. I actually don't gravitate toward this genre (but I am more and more as of late.) For the most part I'm pretty bad at reading them cause I just can't take it! I'll flip to the end and see the outcome like a naughty reader, but I forced myself not to do it this time. I'm glad I did because it would have ruined the story.
Camelia is a normal girl for the most part, but an event happens that changes everything. A guy named Ben saves her from a car crashing into her and since then she hasn't stopped thinking about him. She finally sees him again at school a couple of months later, but when she wants to thank him for saving her life he denies everything. Confusion ensues and Camelia starts to get nasty letters and that's not even the worst of it. So who does Camelia trust? Ben, or all the other people telling her not to?
I have never read [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361039443s/41865.jpg|3212258], but from what I've heard about it, it does have that kind of quality to it. I can't say what exactly because that might give something away. I'm not sure how Twilight fans feel about this. I can tell you this: it might seem unoriginal, but lots of authors use this to create a scenario that oozes tension. What I did see as a complete rip-off is the whole pottery scene. I mean did anyone else think of the scene in the movie Ghost? I know it isn't exactly the same but boy it most certainly had that "emotion" to it. I got kind of annoyed that so many guys were crushing on her. I mean really? But I get why because if we didn't have that many choices of who the stalker could be it wouldn't have the suspense we are presented.
The concept is original though. I wish I could say what it is but again that might spoil it for future readers. I'm hooked enough to read the next book [b:Deadly Little Lies|6223474|Deadly Little Lies (Touch, #2)|Laurie Faria Stolarz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348371261s/6223474.jpg|6404174]. The book grabs your attention from the onset but I felt it lacked originality with certain scenes and felt I didn't get to know the characters well. That might be because it is a series and we will get to delve deeper into the characters with the books to come. One of those series to be on the lookout for.
Camelia is a normal girl for the most part, but an event happens that changes everything. A guy named Ben saves her from a car crashing into her and since then she hasn't stopped thinking about him. She finally sees him again at school a couple of months later, but when she wants to thank him for saving her life he denies everything. Confusion ensues and Camelia starts to get nasty letters and that's not even the worst of it. So who does Camelia trust? Ben, or all the other people telling her not to?
I have never read [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361039443s/41865.jpg|3212258], but from what I've heard about it, it does have that kind of quality to it. I can't say what exactly because that might give something away. I'm not sure how Twilight fans feel about this. I can tell you this: it might seem unoriginal, but lots of authors use this to create a scenario that oozes tension. What I did see as a complete rip-off is the whole pottery scene. I mean did anyone else think of the scene in the movie Ghost? I know it isn't exactly the same but boy it most certainly had that "emotion" to it. I got kind of annoyed that so many guys were crushing on her. I mean really? But I get why because if we didn't have that many choices of who the stalker could be it wouldn't have the suspense we are presented.
The concept is original though. I wish I could say what it is but again that might spoil it for future readers. I'm hooked enough to read the next book [b:Deadly Little Lies|6223474|Deadly Little Lies (Touch, #2)|Laurie Faria Stolarz|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348371261s/6223474.jpg|6404174]. The book grabs your attention from the onset but I felt it lacked originality with certain scenes and felt I didn't get to know the characters well. That might be because it is a series and we will get to delve deeper into the characters with the books to come. One of those series to be on the lookout for.
geofroggatt's review against another edition
2.0
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.
jerrica's review against another edition
3.0
Cookie-cutter characters, annoying dialogue, Twilight-y feel. But the suspense was quality, good tension.
impybelle's review against another edition
3.0
Like so many of LFS's other books, I wanted to like Deadly Little Secret more than I actually did. The premise is interesting: Camelia's life is saved before the book starts by a mysterious boy whose very touch makes her weak in the knees. On the flipside, touching Camelia makes Ben, her hero, see that she's in further danger.
Sounds like a match made in heaven, until Ben's past follows him to school. Turns out his last girlfriend, Julie, happened to just fall off a cliff when she was alone with him. While Ben was found innocent after being charged with murder, little details like that won't stop the highschool rumor mill. Even Camelia's friends wish she'd keep her distance and instead hook up with any other guy that's been showing an interest as of late.
All of this comes down squarely on the good side of the storyline. As does the list of possible guys for the part of Camelia's stalker whose mind we're given a glimpse into every couple of chapters or so.
The bad? While we're told, repeatedly, that Camelia's mother is dealing with other things and is a bit... fluffy at times, it never fully makes sense for Camelia to not tell her parents she's being stalked once it becomes obvious that the stalking isn't merely a secret admirer. She's got proof, physical proof, and never once tells them, preferring instead to deal with it on her own.
So when she inevitably is snatched by her stalker, you kind of wish a clue-by-four would drop on her head.
I liked so much about Deadly Little Secret, but it never fully gelled or managed to make a complete liftoff for me. It's a good book and a solid start for a series.
Sounds like a match made in heaven, until Ben's past follows him to school. Turns out his last girlfriend, Julie, happened to just fall off a cliff when she was alone with him. While Ben was found innocent after being charged with murder, little details like that won't stop the highschool rumor mill. Even Camelia's friends wish she'd keep her distance and instead hook up with any other guy that's been showing an interest as of late.
All of this comes down squarely on the good side of the storyline. As does the list of possible guys for the part of Camelia's stalker whose mind we're given a glimpse into every couple of chapters or so.
The bad? While we're told, repeatedly, that Camelia's mother is dealing with other things and is a bit... fluffy at times, it never fully makes sense for Camelia to not tell her parents she's being stalked once it becomes obvious that the stalking isn't merely a secret admirer. She's got proof, physical proof, and never once tells them, preferring instead to deal with it on her own.
So when she inevitably is snatched by her stalker, you kind of wish a clue-by-four would drop on her head.
I liked so much about Deadly Little Secret, but it never fully gelled or managed to make a complete liftoff for me. It's a good book and a solid start for a series.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, this was a quick read, but not a very good one. It tries to be a suspense novel, but ended up annoying me too much to be even the least bit scary.
Yes, the book was similar enough to Twilight to question the originality of the plot (or at least some parts of it). The short and sweet version is that Camelia is saved from getting squashed by a car by an enigmatic and handsome newcomer to her town with a violent past. After that accident, though, she can't stop thinking about him and tries to get to know him better.
At the same time, it appears that someone has become obsessed with her and is leaving her creepy photos and notes. So, who is the nutcase? Is it handsome newcomer Ben, or one of a slew of other characters interjected into the plot just to keep you guessing? Did I really care? Um, no.
Her friends are another annoying factor. Kimmie and Wes are immature and single-minded. I could not stand either of them. Even the adults are written like total idiots.
While I often YA books, this was just too young for my taste.
Yes, the book was similar enough to Twilight to question the originality of the plot (or at least some parts of it). The short and sweet version is that Camelia is saved from getting squashed by a car by an enigmatic and handsome newcomer to her town with a violent past. After that accident, though, she can't stop thinking about him and tries to get to know him better.
At the same time, it appears that someone has become obsessed with her and is leaving her creepy photos and notes. So, who is the nutcase? Is it handsome newcomer Ben, or one of a slew of other characters interjected into the plot just to keep you guessing? Did I really care? Um, no.
Her friends are another annoying factor. Kimmie and Wes are immature and single-minded. I could not stand either of them. Even the adults are written like total idiots.
While I often YA books, this was just too young for my taste.
heyhaley17's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Its full of complex characters that keep you reading, you love or you love to hate...or be annoyed with in some cases. Stolarz never fails to weave an interesting story that you love to keep reading to see what happens next. The plot is complex and compelling for any reader and the ending will leave you wanting and waiting for the sequel. Deadly little secret is a story of trust/mistrust, betrayal and obsession, a fatal combonation that could put Camelia's life at risk as someone watches her every movement. Can she trust the mysterious Ben to help save her or is he the cause of her endangerment. Whatever the case she can't deny she is drawn to him.
I really want the sequel. This one just leaves you hanging a bit and wondering if you're right or wrong. I suggest for anyone young or old to give this book a try. It has a little bit of everything.
I really want the sequel. This one just leaves you hanging a bit and wondering if you're right or wrong. I suggest for anyone young or old to give this book a try. It has a little bit of everything.
demonsreadtoo's review against another edition
3.0
This one looks like a paranormal, but it’s not really. There are vague inklings towards it, but the book predominantly focuses on the high school drama Camelia is subjected to after a boy accused of murder enrols at her school. It has a vibe similar to those of Hush, Hush and Fallen, minus all the angel stuff. There’s even the whole ‘awkward lab partners’ thing going on. While I don’t see this book being everyone’s cup of tea, I did find myself getting wrapped up in the crazy stalker plot as well as the outsider romance that took forever to come to fruition.
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too
Read the full review at my blog, Demons Read Too
haleyshoard's review against another edition
5.0
This book was very interesting from the start. I loved how it just immediately picked up with the story instead of taking a couple chapters to really get into the climb to the climax. This book is definitely an easy read and very entertaining, I would suggest this to anyone looking for a good laugh.