(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Deadly Little Lies, it may inadvertently reveal plot elements from its predecessor, Deadly Little Secret. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order. You wouldn't want to miss anything!)

Sixteen-year-old Camelia Hammond hasn't quite gotten over the trauma of being stalked and abducted by her creepy classmate, Matt. The fact that he's in faraway Louisiana - even though he should be in jail - should allow her to rest easy. But, she can't. Ben, her psychometric kinda boyfriend, took off and she misses him desperately. Things at home are strained because of Camelia's Aunt Alexia, who seems to be tottering on the brink of insanity. Plus, Camelia's stalker seems to be back. Either that, or she's as crazy as her aunt.

When Ben returns to school, Camelia's ecstatic. She needs to talk to him, be close to him, but he refuses to touch her, insisting it's better if they spend time apart. Except it's not. Camelia's lonely, confused and frightened. Strange things are happening - it's almost as if Ben's psychometry is rubbing off on her. Or maybe PTSD is causing her brain to go haywire. Whatever it is, it's freaking her out. The only thing that can calm her is sculpting at Knead, the pottery store where she works. Adam, Knead's attractive and very interested new employee, makes her laugh, something she hasn't done much of lately. Compared to Ben's intensity, Adam's a welcome - not to mention good-looking - distraction.

And if Camelia ever needed a distraction, it's now. The creepy notes, weird premonitions, and a general feeling of being watched, are making her jumpy. Her friends, her school counselor, even Ben, tell her to let it go, that it's probably someone's sick idea of a joke. Why, then, does she feel so afraid? The voices in her head are warning her - about impending doom or her increasingly fragile grasp on reality, she's not sure.

While the stalking, the premonitions, and the hint of more psychos on the loose should make Deadly Little Lies as freaky as Deadly Little Secret, it doesn't exactly. The second book has more depth (especially with the inclusion of Alexia's diary entries), which makes it a different kind of creepy. It's just more ... shivery than scary (except for the almost-end, which is, indeed, freaky). I liked the development of Camelia's character in the newer book, as well as the fact that Lies is "cleaner" than Secret, but I didn't love Ben in this one. His wishy-washiness annoyed me as much as it did Camelia. I wasn't wild about the ending of Lies either, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. The books draw me in and keep me reading. And that's saying a lot these days.

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love: Yeah, yeah, I got this for free. Disney/Hyperion sends me review books all the time. Some I like, some I don't. The grades I give are based solely on a book's merits.

(From left to right: Julie Wright, Janette Rallison, Josi S. Kilpack)

(Thanks to Sandra, our fearless book club leader, for the photos. If you don't recognize me, I'm the dorky one on the top row with the glasses and oatmeal-colored sweater.)

LDS book clubs are a funny thing. A lot of them started a few years ago when Relief Society (the church's organization for women) was restructured and we were urged to plan small group activities. I think most of the clubs have moved away from church "sponsorship" for various reasons, but still exist as groups of friends who want to read books that are in keeping with their common morals. I'm not sure exactly how The Bookworms got started - I've only been in the ward (my local congregation) for a year and a half - but I've enjoyed my brief association with these ladies.

Since our group's been a little defunct as of late, our leader organized a fun kick-off. We gathered to hear Josi S. Kilpack and Julie Wright, two LDS authors, speak. Since they were staying with Janette Rallison (who, I didn't realize, lives here locally), she came along as well. The trio talked about their lives, their writing, and the unique experience of writing for an LDS market. It was fascinating, even though I have only read Kilpack, and only one of her books.

Some of the interesting things they said were:

Josi talked about how writing her own novels has stolen much of the pleasure out of reading others' books. She mentioned a 50-page rule - if a story hasn't grabbed her by then, she abandons it. I know a lot of us bloggers do this, too. My question, though, is this: Have you had this same experience with blogging? Does reviewing books steal some of the pleasure out of reading? It has for me, although I feel like critiquing others' work has been more instructive than destructive. What do you think?

Someone asked how the authors "found" the time to write. I thought Julie's answer was interesting. She said she writes in 15 minute increments. I don't know about you, but I can take just about anything for 15 minutes, be it a sports competition or a dentist drilling (which are equally torturous for me). Her advice has inspired me to work on all those novels that have been germinating in the back of my brain.

Mostly, I appreciated hearing the women talk about why it's so important to them to write clean novels. My reading always vascillates between G reads and R reads, but I love the fact that I can walk into a church bookstore knowing I don't have to worry about the content in the books I choose. Now, you know how I feel about LDS lit, but listening to these ladies convinced me to give it another go. I love that there is this new crop of writers who are making the genre better and better every day. So, for those of you who are sick to death of hearing me talk LDS lit, I apologize, because I'm not done yet :)

(Sorry about the poor quality of the picture - food photography is A LOT harder than it looks)

So, my son turned 5 yesterday. I remember his emergency C-section vividly (well, not the procedure itself as I was heavily - and I mean heavily - drugged, but the before and after). Since he weighed only 3 lbs. 3 oz., he spent a month in the hospital, coming home when he was barely over 4 lbs. I'm amazed to see the big, healthy boy he's become!

Apparently, I was so amazed that I completely forgot to draw the name of the winner of The Hidden by Tobias Hill. Sorry about that. Without further ado, here she is: