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Welcome to The Romantic Scholar, a book review blog. Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you enjoy your stay.

After an eight month long hiatus, I am back. And I could not be more excited about it.



***My comments are located at the top of my posts***

Thursday, March 3, 2011


My Overall Rating:
a solid 5/5 :D

Age Recommendation:
As the other books were, this is still definitely for a slightly more mature reader. Just the themes that it deals with are a bit inappropriate for the younger audience. It's a dark series and the romance is most definitely suggestive at times. I would give it about a PG-13 to 15 rating. But like I said, this is all based off of maturity. The reading level is good for any strong independent reader and up.

Cover Art:
The cover art is fantastic. I absolutely love it. In the forest, in the snow. It's almost like running away. And once you're reading the book, you really begin to understand how all of the covers tie in. It's subtle, but it's there. And the subtlety is exactly what I love about it. It makes you guess and question it. Just like the book itself.

Re-read and Recommend?:
Of course! And I would recommend this book series to adults as well. It's not at the limit of some young adult books where they are truly intended for young adult and young adult alone. It is written so well and even though it is not difficult to read, it's not elementary to read either. It does cause you to actually use your brain. And I love that.

Summary:
Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to sense things through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control and hurting people. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend.

Before either teen has a chance to fully grasp these abilities, an unresolved family tragedy resurfaces in Camelia's life, irrevocably changing everything she cares about...

My Thoughts:
I absolutely LOVED this installment. The suspense, the mystery, and the romance made this book a total page turner. It would have been read in one sitting if not for school, but I did get it done in two. I just couldn't put it down. And reading it at night makes the story a little bit creepier, but it also makes it so much more enjoyable.

I feel that by this point of the series, I REALLY know the characters. Camelia and Ben's relationship is just so involved and complex and you really start to feel all of the angst and pressure that Camelia is feeling throughout the entire book. I do wish, however, that we could at some point get a glimpse into the mind of Ben. I would really enjoy seeing his thoughts and feelings, and not just his expressions of them.

In this book, Camelia's powers are becoming more and more developed and she is learning of her connections and similarities to her Aunt Alexia (whom we FINALLY get to meet). And once again, these powers of psychometry are stirring up some difficulties for Ben and Camelia.

You may remember from the other two books, the side chapters or add-ons at the end. In the first two books, they were anonymous diary entries. Giving you some form of insight to other characters we have met. In this book, Laurie changed it up a bit. You were reading a transcribed therapy session. Again, anonymous. And these therapy sessions really helped add to the suspense and he mystery of the whole book. And at the end of each session, there was a crossword puzzle. With only a select few of the clues given each time. Again, leaving the reader puzzled. But I felt that with this included, the reader was more a part of the story than just reading along. You could actually participate. And I would suggest to anyone reading this book, DO THE CROSSWORD!! It's really very interesting. Plus it's a fun little game. Get it? :D

This book really tests the power of trust and believing in oneself and others. Reliability and the meaning of friendship. Plus all of those teenage angsty issues, remember those? Cliques, relationships, parents...need I go on with those, haha. And like I mentioned up top, I would most definitely re-read this book and recommend it to everyone. If you have not yet read anything by Laurie Faria Stolarz, go out and get one of her books. Whether it is the Touch series or the Blue is for Nightmares series. Because once you do, you'll be hooked.


Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publisher: Hyperion
Pages: 304

Purchased from store

Summary from Amazon Product Details


1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this lovely review! I'm thrilled that you're enjoying my work!

xo,
Laurie Stolarz

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