Review: Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

If you're a regular reader, you've probably seen the other various times I've talked about Deadly Little Secret recently. For example, I talked about it on my last Teaser Tuesday. Well, now I'm ready to go in depth and talk about it. :)

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead she's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help – but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something..  .but he's not the only one with a secret.

"A boy to admire from afar, a girl you want to befriend, a novel to
keep you turning the pages because you won't know who to trust. Laurie Faria Stolarz's DEADLY LITTLE SECRET is a blend of mystery, chills, and forbidden touches--one captivating story you have to experience." - Kelly Parra, author of INVISIBLE TOUCH

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I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into when I started this book. The synopsis is pretty cryptic, but it sounded cool, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And I was very happy, because this book rocks. I was drawn in from the first chapter, which also rocked. 

I was instantly intrigued by the mysterious, scrawled chapters that appear every so often. The first couple made me curious, but not too worried. But as they went on, they got creepier and creepier until I was seriously freaked out. I really loved that bonus aspect, instead of just an entire book from Camelia's POV. 

Speaking of Camelia, I found her to be an interesting heroine. Even though she was smart and strong and brave, she wasn't insanely so, like some recent heroines who were either supernatural beings themselves, or just really awesome/fantastical humans. She was awesome, but realistically so. It's a refreshing change.

Ben was great, too, though RIDICULOUSLY frustrating. I wanted to smack him at some points, just because he was so secretive and kept holding back. Still, I began to fall for him anyway, and hope to fall for him even more in future books.

The climax was awesome, I will say. I didn't see it coming and it was terrifying and heart-pounding. The ending crushed my soul, though. I won't say why, but I just hope that my heart is repaired in the sequel.

Altogether, I give this book <*><*><*><*>

(:D)

~Mag