Deadly Little Games by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Release Day: 28th December, 2010

-

Publisher: Hyperion Books

-

Pages: 304pgs

-

The Story

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...

The Review

To be honest, I have "mixed feelings" for this third installment of the TOUCH series. It's sort of a love-hate relationship with this series but has become one of my favourites. I mean, from the moment I picked up and read the first book, DEADLY LITTLE SECRET, I was addictively hooked on the storyline Stolarz had written, along with her relatable and loveable but simple characters. Only this time round, I found myself a little disappointed and feeling...distant.

---

Well, let's first start with Camelia - the main heroine of the story. I loved her character immediately in the first book, even a little more in the second, but she'd completely threw me off in the third book. When she finally gets her act together and starts a relationship with her psychometric boyfriend, Ben, even though things start to become rocky between the two of them...she still has no clue how to hold a relationship. When Adam enters the picture, the ex-bestfriend of Ben and one whom caused a bit of trouble for Camelia's relationship with Ben, Camelia suddenly forgets all about Ben. It was annoying. Sure, Adam was in trouble and her new found powers pretty much drew her into his path...but seriously?? They were a lot of things that could have been avoided...like a kiss. I won't go into much detail...but you'll get what I'm talking about with Adam's relationship with Camelia.

---

Second, let's talk about Ben - the love interest of the heroine. He's mysterious, has the stereotypical look of a "bad boy", has a cool power of touch and obviously cares a lot about Camelia, only he's the type to be secretive...meaning this will drive a gal nuts!! I was disappointed in DEADLY LITTLE GAMES because he was hardly in the book!! The only thing he was good at was disappearing acts!! I hope to see more of him in the next book, cause I won't be happy otherwise. But in any case, he still doesn't open up to Camelia...which he should by now. He kind of reminds me of many other "serious" boys characters like Edward - ones who prefer to ignore their feelings. THAT alone was frustrating to read. Still...I love him for being so serious.

---

And thirdly, there's Adam. I liked him a lot in the previous book, DEADLY LITTLE LIES, and even more in DEADLY LITTLE GAMES. He seems nice enough to have around, mainly because he's the complete opposite to Ben. He's open to discussion and just puts his cards on the table, but man, he was pretty stupid. How will you see the signs of this stupidity, you ask? Well, to name one...he has a stalker and leaves his apartment open? Yes, stupid.

---

On the whole, still give this book a try, especially if you've already read the first two books in the series! I love mysteries, and even though this one a tad bit predictable (the ending mostly) and the storyline fell a little flat, but I still love Stolarz's writing and her characters. What I loved most about this book, a reason why I'm give it 3 stars rather than 2 1/5 stars, is because of the cool addition of crossword puzzles and audio transcripts that were marked in the book -- between chapters now and then. They were just so...cool. I loved solving the crossword puzzles mostly. It gave you a nice break from the reading.

The Rating

3/5 stars