Deadly Little Secret (a Touch Novel) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Deadly Little Secret (a Touch Novel) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Goodreads Blurb: Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Up until three months ago, everything in 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 the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but 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 the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. 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.

From the best-selling author of Blue is for Nightmares comes a story of paranormal romance that's sure to be a thrilling and chilling teen favorite.

My thoughts: It has been awhile since I have re-read this series. I first discovered this series while browsing my library shelves for something new to read. This was my first introduction to her writing and I immediately fell in love.  I read this book before I discovered Twilight and now that I’m re-reading it I get major Edward/Bella vibes. 

One of my favorite things about this series is that it’s only 5 books and they are all short, quick reads. You can read a book a day, finish the entire series in a week. I also love the mystery, the story keeps you guessing until the end. Though that fact that it’s a fast read is a “pro” for me it is also a “con”. I wish the book was a little bit longer but then I worry it will be extended with nonsense that doesn’t add much to the story.

Something I would change about the story is the friendship between Camelia, Kimmie and Wes. To me their friendship is super relatable and each character has their own unique personality that readers will either relate themselves or have a friend in their social circle that is similar to the character.

Links to Purchase:

Amazon

Barnes&Noble (nook format)

Thriftbooks

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The Merciless by Danielle Vega

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Goodreads Blurb:

Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .

In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

My thoughts: This book to me is a mix of Mean Girls with some elements of the movie the Craft. I read this book quickly, you can read in one sitting. The story and writing isn’t the greatest but it you are looking to read something quick to pass the time I would recommend this book. The Merciless if book 1 in this trilogy, I haven’t had the opportunity to read the other two but I am interested to see who the story has evolved since book 1 so I might continue with the series.

Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs (Tea Shop Mystery #1)

Goodreads Blurb: 

“Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston’s beloved Indigo Tea Shop, lives in a town steeped in history- and mystery. While catering an event, she is busy serving teas and scones, while an esteemed guest is found dead-his hand clutching an empty teacup. All eyes are on Theo...who is now trying to save her reputation and track down the real killer.”

My Thoughts:

I started reading this series on a recommendation from my mom, we own the entire series, and I figured why not start it now. It’ll be fall soon and what’s nicer than a hot cup of tea on a chilly night. This book was everything I wanted and more. A feel good quick read with mystery, excellent characters, witty banter, and character development. There is plenty of excitement but also a dip into antique and historical Charleston as well. It truly is a wonderful book and I will be definitely reading the rest of the series.

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Goodreads Blurb: Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity.

My thoughts: It’s creepy, it’s in an old Asylum, and if you like Riggs’s Peculiar Children READ THIS BOOK. I love the mystery behind it all, why are the three characters there, how are they all connected. I found it to be a quick read and it’s not something you need to focus hard to follow. I would recommend this book if you are going on a short trip or trying to get out of a reading slump. This book one in the trilogy with some novellas in the middle. You don’t have to read the novellas, they just give you some extra background which you could find interesting.

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter

Goodreads Blurb:

She won't rest until she's sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.
If anyone had told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that's all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real.

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn't careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies.

My thoughts: I love Zombies and I LOVE Alice in Wonderland so the second I saw the title I immediately knew I had to read it. I got completely sucked into the story that I forgot the world around me so I had to watch when I read it. The story takes place in current day with “Wonderland” being the spirit plane between us and the afterlife. There are some Wonderland aspect of the story but mostly it is all Showalter’s vision. The relationship between Ali and Kat is one of the best friendships I’ve read and Ali and Cole’s relationship…is one of my top OTPs! Forever Team Cole!!!!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Goodreads Blurb: Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My thoughts: I was a little nervous to start reading this trilogy because no one I knew ever read these books. The story is monsters versus Angels, not monsters like demon monsters but monsters as in chimera. Chimeras are beings that are hybrids of different animals, like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately Karou is in the middle of it all, and it’s up to her to figure out why and how end the fight. Karou can definitely handle anything that is thrown her way until Angel-man Akiva gets in her way and makes her starting question the ones she calls family.