Enchanting Review: And Then Everything Unravelled

AND THEN EVERYTHING UNRAVELED
JENNIFER STURMAN
Mystery YA
Point
ISBN# 978-0545087223
256 pages
$16.99
Trade—Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Delia Truesdale never imagined her idyllic life in California was about to change. When her internet tycoon mother suddenly goes missing off an expedition to the Antarctic, Delia is the only one who believes T.K. is still alive. Worse, since she's the only one, she has no chance to decide to stay home. Oh no, according to her mother's will, she's about to be shipped off to the other side of the country, to New York City and two aunts she's never even met, let alone barely heard anything about. And the two of them are about as opposite as you can get.

With Delia the only one believing her mother is still out there somewhere, she's forced to deal with the fact that everyone around her wouldn't believe a word she says if she told them what she suspects. Between a weird phone call, mysterious satellite pictures online and the fact she just doesn't feel her mother's gone, Delia does what she can to prove to the world her mother is still alive. I liked Delia right away and her aunts, Charley and Patience are about as opposite as you can get. Charley was definitely my favorite of the two with her fun personality and unique way of doing things. especially how at first she had enrolled her in a totally different school without telling her prim and proper sister and was ready to send Delia there, until Patience came charging in. I loved how Charley set up a meeting for Delia to come to terms with what happened and it ends up being with a psychic, one who seems to agree with everything Delia's found so far. Her mother is still out there somewhere. But when she warns her she can't tell anyone, because the eight will turn into twelve, Delia decides to get her own detective to look into things since she doesn't know whether eight means days, weeks, months or even years. The pace of the book moves along very well and things are revealed all in good time, and the evolving relationship between Delia and Quinn, with his at times opposite personalities was enjoyable to watch unfold. Filled with unique and interesting characters, fun scenes and a mystery that gets more deep and dangerous the more Delia finds out, AND THEN EVERYTHING UNRAVELED is definitely an entertaining mystery read.

Ms. Sturman is the acclaimed author of several adult mystery novels, including The Pact and The Jinx. After graduating from Harvard College, Jennifer earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. She now lives in New York City, a few blocks from Delia’s aunt. She has no free time, but if she did she would probably spend it watching teen movie classics and playing poker. Please visit her online at
www. jennifersturman.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
August 2009

Enchanting Review: Killer (#6 Pretty Litlte Liars series)

KILLER (#6 in the Pretty Little Liars series)
SARA SHEPARD
YA Mystery
HarperTeen
ISBN# 978-0-06-156611-0
321 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover—Available Now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

KILLER, the latest installment of the Pretty Little Liars series, takes its readers on a rollercoaster of a read as the girls find Ian’s body, but the moment they bring Wilden back to the scene, Ian’s body is gone. Now the girls are being called liars by both the police and the press and no one believes a word they’re saying. Even as the new ‘A’ texts the girls, no one wants to believe that the girls are in any danger from anything but fear of being out of the spotlight. But are they crazy or is the newest ‘A’ actually trying to help them solve the mystery this time? With a jaw dropping ending that almost seems impossible, fans of the series will delight in the newest addition to the series.

Pretty Little Liars is my favorite YA mystery series, hands down. KILLER is a fast paced, riveting read with characters that’ve grown over the course of the series and new secrets and scandals being revealed around every corner. As the girls discover and remember more about the night Ali died, the more things point towards Wilden as somehow being involved, but how and why? How can they possibly trust the man who seems to haunt all their memories?

Aria’s struggling not only with moving into her father’s new house with his expecting girlfriend as a mean’s to get away from her mother’s boyfriend, but also with the fact she keeps bumping into Ali’s older brother, Jason. Is it her or is there something going on between them? Surely the rumors about Jason hurting Ali all those years ago were just that. Rumors. Spencer yet again feels the major outcast. Not only because of her possibly being adopted, but because she’s the one who first found Ian’s supposed body. When her family’s home is vandalized because of it and her parents ostracizing her for it, Spencer decides to find out where it is she might belong and answers the e-mail from her possible birth mother. Hanna’s forced friendship with her soon-to-be-evil-stepsister isn’t working out like her father would hope. And after Hanna blurted out what she did about Kate in the last book, it seems Kate’s out for revenge. But Hanna knows how to play that game too. Emily’s dealing with her own relationship troubles, especially when her boyfriend’s mother seems to hate her. When her boyfriend won’t believe her, what’s a girl to do, especially after finding a photo in their kitchen with her head cut out. That’s not typical friendly mother behavior. What I loved best about KILLER was how the tension never seemed to let up where the mystery was involved and how everything led up to the big party at the new hotel, a place that ends up harboring a very big secret. As all the clues start to fall together, the girls find themselves in deeper danger then they could ever imagine. One of the best scenes in the book is when aria is lured out to Jason’s apartment, only to almost be attacked by a dog. When she has no other choice, she’s forced to break into the apartment, only to discover what may be the biggest clue yet.

Sara Shephard graduation from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. Her PRETTY LITTLE LIARS novels were inspired by her growing up in Philadelphia’s Main Line. Visit www.prettylittleliars.com for PLL gossip, giveaways and exclusive series secrets.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
July 2009

Enchanting Review: Sight

SIGHT

ADRIENNE MARIA VRETTOS

Mystery YA

Simon & Schuster

ISBN# 978-1-4169-0657-5

254 pages

$16.99

Print – Available now

Rating: 3 Enchantments

Dylan is a psychic. She has visions of missing children that can help the police. Unfortunately, she usually sees the last moments of a child’s life, so when the child is found, he or she is dead. These haunting visions scare Dylan and emotionally scar her, so she doesn’t think about them unless she absolutely has to; not even her best friend Pilar is aware of Dylan’s psychic abilities.

Then Cate arrives in town, and Dylan finds herself revealing more of her secrets than she has ever before. But there’s something off about Cate that Dylan can’t place and probably doesn’t want to figure out. Cate is overeager to be accepted in Dylan’s hometown but her ways of going about doing this are undeniably odd. Dylan’s new friendship with Cate causes a rift in her long-standing friendship with Pilar, especially because of each friend’s unrevealed yet lurking secrets. But when Pilar’s little secret Grace disappears, Dylan realizes she has to embrace her sight to clear up all the mystery and save little Gracie’s life.

SIGHT starts off promisingly with an intriguing mystery and psychic visions to accompany it. However, the plot slows down after that and ends weakly; I was especially disappointed by the lukewarm climax. From the way the story started, I was expecting more dangerous encounters and frightening visions than I got. I’m not saying that the plot was bad; it just could’ve been written much better. There wasn’t much characterization, and I would’ve appreciated more development of Dylan’s character. It was difficult for me to connect with any of the characters, and I sometimes felt frustrated with them when I realized an important connection or clue long before they did. There was also a certain air of unreality about this story. It wasn’t Dylan’s psychic visions that caused this because those were actually one of the more plausibly aspects of this story. It was a mixture of the characters’ slowness in piecing together the mystery and the villain’s lack of motive. I couldn’t understand why many of the characters did what they did, and this confusion greatly diminished my enjoyment of the story. There might’ve been a deeper message in this story, but if there was, it was buried so deep I couldn’t find it. Overall, SIGHT was interesting but it didn’t live up to its full potential.

SIGHT is Adrienne Maria Vrettos’ second novel, her first being SKIN. You can visit her online at www.adriennemariavrettos.com

Rachael Stein

Enchanting Reviews

October 2008

Enchanting Review: Death By Latte

DEATH BY LATTE

LINDA GERBER

YA Mystery

Sleuth Speak

ISBN# 978-0-14-241118-6

224 Pages

$6.99

Paperback—Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Aphra Connelly returns in this second book in Ms. Gerber’s popular DEATH BY series. This time she’s going to Seattle to track down her mother. Thanks to the Mulos appearance on the island and Seth’s information, she knows where she is and how to reach her. It should be the perfect mother-daughter reunion—except that it isn’t. From the first moment Natalie Connelly lays eyes on her daughter, it’s pretty clear that Aphra’s unexpected presence isn’t welcome, by her or her associates. But that’s not the worst thing that could happen. When her mom’s partner, Joe, ends up dead in a café that afternoon, and Aphra spots a familiar face on her tail, things really take a dangerous turn. Add in Seth’s surprising appearance, demanding back the ring back he gave her that’s suddenly missing and what was originally meant to be an uneventful trip to see her mother is anything but.

What a great second book in the series! The danger is really ramped up in this one now that Aphra is reunited with her CIA agent mother, who is on the run from a dangerous mole that’s out for revenge on all those who helped put his boss behind bars. Ms. Garber’s voice pulls the reader right into the story so they feel like they are right there along with Aphra. I have to say the unexpected twists and turns to the story were very unexpected and I literally gasped out loud when the identity of the mole was revealed.

DEATH BY LATTE is a fast paced page turner that really has it all: mystery, suspense, and romance. Can Aphra help Seth save his father or will she be the unlikely pawn that helps the mole track down her mom and the Mulos? You’ll have to read this one to find out.

Ms. Gerber’s lived in Utah, California, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Washington D.C., Finland and Japan, and has traveled through Europe and Asia, Mexico, Australia, Hawaii and Micronesia. You can visit her online at http://www.lindagerber.com

Lisa

September 2008

Enchanting Reviews