Deadly Little Secret Laurie Faria Stolarz

It was a dark and stormy night... wait, no. No it wasn't. It was just dark. Clichefail. And, what book does Medeia choose off of her (growing) pile of books? Well, if you read the title of this post then you know it was Deadly Little Secret. If you've read any of Laurie Faria Stolarz's other books, then you also know that reading one of them at late o' clock at night when you're alone in the house is a BAD IDEA.

This one starts out eerily Twilight-esque. Camelia is walking along, minding her own business, when suddenly a car comes hurtling out of nowhere! *cue dreamy grey-eyed stranger* In a very Cullen-ly move, he pushes her out of the way of the speeding vehicle of death and then they stare into each other's eyes for a while. Camelia doesn't catch his name before he races off (to save more damsels in distress or something) and before she could thank him for saving her life.

{Fast forward three months}

There's a new kid at school who (allegedly) pushed his girlfriend off a cliff. Guess who it is. Just guess. Yeah, it's the dreamy grey-eyed stranger. Camelia tries to thank him, but he waves it off and says that she's probably mistaken him for someone else. As Camelia tries to get closer to Ben (aka grey-eyed stranger) she starts to find pictures in her mailbox. Of her. With increasingly hostile messages written on them.*shudder* Who could be stalking her? Is it the kinda creepy boss at the pottery studio where she works, who's given her an invitation to come in any time? Or could it be the super yummy star jock who keeps running into her? Or... is it Ben, who keeps touching her and can't seem to let go?

I repeat: bad idea to read this at 11 at night. What really freaked me out were the passages written by Camelia's stalker interspersed every couple of chapters. Halfway through I had to switch to Wildwood Dancing. Though some of the the elements of this piece of scary seemed recycled, they still combined to form a chilling read, which is something that we've come to expect (and love about) Laurie Faria Stolarz. Deadly Little Secret gets a 5 out of 7 from yours truly.

[side note: I had to read through the first fifty or so pages of this one before I was 100% sure Ben wasn't going to turn into a vampire. This is what Twilight similarities do to me.]

Closing all the curtains and hunting up a blanket (make that several blankets),

P.S. The winner of the Fiercely Fawesome First Contest is posted below.

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

Sonia is like our very own Cinderella. She cooks and cleans while her ama watches telenovelas all day. Her papi is the only one who understands Sonia's dream to be the first in her family to graduate high school, but with him always working one of his jobs the only people around are her ama, her drunk of an uncle, and her useless brothers who all insist that familia is everything. When Sonia has had enough of doing absolutely everything for the family and decides to put her studies first, her ama is outraged. Consequently, Sonia is shipped back to Mexico to learn some life lessons from her grandmother.

The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez was engaging and enjoyable. Sonia is one of those characters that you really care about. When Sonia chooses to go back to school despite the strain this decision puts on her already exhausting life, I just wanted to give a "WOOT!"... I'm pretty sure I did, actually. And the chili-eating contest was -- well, you'll see. The only thing that seemed out of place was Sonia's secret romance with Geraldo. It just felt superfluous.

I give The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez 5 out of 7 *crrrracklecracklekaBOOM* lightning bolts.

Craving salsa,

Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey

Rosalind was born into an ancient prophecy. Merlin had predicted that one day a "21st queen would end war with a wave of her hand". So it seems a cruel trick of fate when the 21st queen in question is born with a dragon's talon as the fourth finger of her left hand. And after years of insane treatments from every sage, witch, wizard, sorcerer, seer, and wise person in the kingdom it seems that there will be no hope for Rosalind's future as anything other than a witch-marked mistake of birth. At the same time she must deal with her mother's increasing obsession with the secret in relation to the dragon attacks of Wilde Island (their kingdom).

But all of that fades when she is kidnapped by the last dragon and taken to the island of Dragon's Keep to raise his eggs as a sort of governess. Abused, hated, exhausted, and still cursed, Rosalind begins to see the repercussions of her mother's own personal secrets and the treachery on both sides of the Dragon/Human War.

I had read a negative review of this book a few months ago and was prepared to not enjoy it, which isn't really a great way to go into reading a book. Sure enough, the heroine was cowardly, whiny, and in denial for a good half of the book (granted- she goes through more than I could ever imagine). But I can still see how that would turn off a few readers (understatement). Due to my love of dragons, I read on and began to note huge changes in Rosalind, although they came almost too late. Close to the end, the writing and plot really picked up as well. Still, the writing was really very beautiful from the beginning. It just got more beautiful in progression. It all felt very Fairytale-y-ish and Grimm-esque. And as you might have noticed, I am obsessed with the Grimm-esque.

Taking the above into consideration, I would have to give Dragon's Keep a 5 out of 7 Lightnings. Hesitant Readers Beware, Dragon-o-philes Enjoy!

Hunting For Carey Books I Haven't Read,

P.S. Even if I wasn't particularly fond of this Janet Lee Carey book, I really enjoyed the Beast of Noor! It was exceptionally fawesome. Wenny Has Wings was fabulous as well. OHOH! And she has a blogger account and blog!

Creepy Glass Eyes...

After reading this, I doubt if I will ever be able to look at a doll without shuddering somewhat. Although not one for scary books ,I thoroughly enjoyed the eerie sensation of reading this. Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge by Kathryn Reiss never sacrifices quality for blood-baths and sufficiently surprises throughout its plot. Enough so to cause its nearly untimely death when my pulse needed a break. I had to put it away... in a sack... in a drawer... in a different room.

Isabel Thorne, more commonly known as Zibby, can't quite put her finger on what frightens her about the new doll house. Perhaps its the strange way she came by it, marked at the exact price she had in her pocket and sold to her by a woman no one recognizes. All the same, once she has signed on the contract of sale, the beautiful creation and its accompanying set of dolls are hers forever. Quite literally. Always accompanied by the eerie doll in the gray dress, danger begins to follow the Thorne family. For the scenes of play are warping into reality and the greatest disaster of all has yet to occur.
In the early 1900s, Primrose Parson is too grown-up for her beloved nanny and is turned over to a governess. Mean-spirited and controlling, Sweet Miss Honeywell demands obedience and an end to Prim's pranks and tricks. But the girl is indomitable and snarky (new favorite word), taking out her frustrations by playing with the custom doll house given her by inattentive parents. And when Honeywell's domineering actions become too much, one prank will end a life and begin a nightmare to last more than a century.

With plenty of unexpected occurrences and happenings, Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge did not disappoint. Even the vile governess has more to her than meets the eye, the novel outlining her loves, clouded past, and the twisted result. With all the darkness, stormy nights, and history of a good ghost story it unfolds to provide a tale that will make your palms sweat at either noon or midnight. You'll also think twice before you laugh on the next time you think your stuffed animals just moved.

BANG!ZAP!KACHOW!! 5 out of 7 lightningz.

Shivering and Packing Away My Porcelain Dolls,
*Aella Siofra*

The Shadow Thieves

A review! A review! After many posts of a non-review persuasion I am finally seating myself to do some real live type-it-up critiquing.

There has been a rash of Greek mythology publications lately, probably spurred by the Percy Jackson series *cheers from a far-off crowd of adoring Percy fans*. The Shadow Thieves intrigued me though. Being the first novel of the Cronus Chronicles it outlines the eruption of an exhaustion plague, an exiled half-blooded shade, and the descent of Hades from cool, furiously flaming overlord to wimpy, not deserving immortality, love-sick businessman.

Our story begins with a frustrated female lead named Charlotte, whose own endearing cynicality redeems her. She is an underachiever, a brilliant liar, and appears unphased by the news that her cousin Zee will be coming from England to live with her family. But when the boy in question arrives he drags a mysterious illness with him which soon infects Charlotte's school and everyone she holds dear. Meanwhile, in the Underworld, Hades has banished a rabble rouser by the name of Philonecron, who goes by even the more ominous title of Phil.

Once exiled to the barren plains of the creatively named land of Exile, Phil (diabolically) begins to raise an army of shadow children to overtake the Underworld knowing fully that it is only by the blood of Zee, Charlotte's cousin, that the shades can be commanded. Sapping the boy's strength whilst Zee is unaware, Phil begins the chain of events that leads to a secret mall passageway, harpies, and a frustrated Charon (ferry guy for the River Styx).

I was, admittedly, confused by the writing style, which is a rather unique form of narration involving "audience" participation. But the humor proved humorous and did not fall flat (nothing like a bad joke to ruin your afternoon). The characters develop spines through the course of events and you find yourself actually liking them despite first impressions. Unfortunately, it rides its humorous tone for far too long and takes up half of its precious pages with background information. All the same, the second half of the book is the novel equivalent of forgiveness.
The verdict is in and I rate this as a strong 5 out of our up to 7 scale.

Dreaming about slaying harpies,
Aella Siofra