Kelly Hashway

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” The quote is from Sir Walter Scott’s poem Marmion that was published in 1808. Today, it could apply to Author Ashelyn Drake’s novel Our Little Secret. How? I’m glad you asked.

The characters in Our Little Secret might be found in almost any high school today. There’s Toby, the good-looking basketball star, loved by all the girls. His twin sister, Tori, who feels inferior to her popular brother, and who wouldn’t? show more Becca Daniels, the story narrator, has known the twins all her life. Tori is her best friend. Therein lies the problem. Becca would like to be more to Toby than just a friend. To do so, would ruin her friendship with Tori. Then there’s Meredith, his ex-girlfriend. You see where this tangled web is going? The secret comes in when Toby and Becca start hanging out with each other, the beginning of something more serious, and pretending to Tori that Toby’s just tutoring Becca in trig.

One lie leads to a bigger lie to a bigger lie. Sometimes I was a little aggravated with Toby and felt he should have been honest with his sister. I also understood. Teens do not always make the best decisions. Is Becca willing to give up her friendship with Tori to get the boy of her dreams? And what about Meredith, who’s out for revenge against Toby?

Ashelyn Drake has written a story that most teens can probably relate to. They might even learn a lesson or two about honesty. A fun read with characters that aren’t perfect and make mistakes, like real people. I recommend Our Little Secret for teens and older folks too, who can smile with the memories.
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Spencer Hill Press has put out some stellar books and I loved the premise of The Monster Within by Kelly Hashway, so I did have some level of expectation going in. Unfortunately, the dark, passionate read that I was expecting was not found here.

When Samantha crawls out of her grave it was sort of business as usual. There was no real passion between Ethan and Samantha, the whole thing felt pretty wooden, and even the simplest of plot elements were riddled with poor explanations. Holy plot show more holes, Batman.

Why are these two in school? That is one hell of a dedication to education. Does it make any logical sense that this girl who just crawled out of a grave would enroll in school with all the problems that she faces? Plus, am I to believe that Ethan is smart enough to raise his girlfriend from the dead, gather false documentations for new identities, set the two of them up to live, etc, etc… and at the same time he does a countless amount of things that are dumb, dumb, dumb.

Oh, and that scene near the beginning where Sam takes a drive and runs into a man that ends up forcing himself on Samantha... It was written so unbelievably, that I actually felt myself cringe from the awkwardness of it all.

“Day two of school was almost as bad as day one. I didn't kill anyone, so I considered that a vast improvement.” ~Sam seeming very snarky

“Only I wasn't okay. My victim count was up to three. I’d never be okay again.” ~ Sam telling me something that I am not feeling from her
See? Wooden. Shouldn't this girl be an emotional wreck if she is not being portrayed as something more evil? It’s like she feels less traumatized than I do when I accidentally run over a squirrel.

If you follow my reviews, you know that I like to deliver a balanced review, even if it is a negative one. Unfortunately, listing anything positive would be a real reach. I never got emotional, creeped out, excited, or invested in any way. In the end some of my biggest questions were never answered and I was left feeling like I had been told an okay story, but not in a way that left me feeling anything for the characters, their situation, or most importantly, any passion between the two who were supposedly so much in love that one raised the other from the dead. show less

Minor confession time: zombies freak the H out of me. I don't know why, because, honestly, I've seen more dead bodies than I care to admit. But dead bodies walking around? Definitely scares the bejeezus out of me. Anyhow, that being said, if you dig the zombie genre (as in, love the Walking Dead and such) more power to ya, and grab this book!! Despite my silly fears, this was a really fun read. The world of the Ophi was intriguing and I loved the details Hashway worked in. Plus, I'm always a show more fan of anything with Greek gods, especially Medusa. So, no doubt I had fun reading this. Add in the awesome Alex, and I can't wait for the sequel! show less

Like many kids, I had an imaginary friend, but never thought about what happened to him when I abandoned him. (Yes, *him* - I liked playing with boys as a child, and haven't outgrown it.) This delightful short piece takes a look at how s/he must feel when that occurs - and what happens next.

It's very well written and the characters are very believable. Would recommend to any young person (or parent of same) going through that period of change and growth.