Title : Deception

Author : CrystalPascale

Synopsis : "Audrey... soon everything will change."

Audrey Litt was an average teenage girl. That is, until new-boy Mark arrived. Then everything changed, just like the mysterious hooded man said it would.

After a group of assassins pay a visit to her school, Audrey discovers the truth about herself.

She was born to be a thief.

Her mission? Locate the crates of missing gold worth millions.

With the assassins in hot pursuit, Audrey must accept her life will now change forever. Her world now turned upside down, Audrey doesn't know who to turn to, who to trust.

But on a trip up to the mountains, Audrey chances upon a peculiar boy, named Kol, who knows more than he lets on.

As if being hunted by assassins wasn't enough, Audrey finds herself now stuck between a love triangle.

Will she pick the protective new-boy Mark? Or the devilish and mysterious Kol?

And where is this gold the assassins are so eager to get their hands on? Why are they after it? But most importantly, can she get there fast enough?

So many questions, so little time.

Audrey races against the clock as little-by-little she uncovers lie after lie, each worse than the last, and Audrey soon realises that some secrets, are better left buried.

Status : Ongoing, 29 chapters at time of review

Link : https://www.wattpad.com/story/55420667-deception-wattys2016

*

Deception is what I like to call slow action. There's less of the bam! pow! hiss! Shoot that bad man's head off! and more of the who did this? Who did that? Why did he do that? Which isn't a bad thing. It's more like a thriller, exploring the mystery and hidden secrets behind Audrey's family, as well as the people around her. The synopsis is right, there are a lot of lies, and the death of a friend early on weighs heavily on our protagonist's shoulders. She has to contend with trust issues, as well as not having a single damn clue about what is going on around her. She's as clueless as the reader, which works well in our favor as we along with her slowly attempt to find out what is going on.

There's more talk and less action - again, not a bad thing. It's about slowly unraveling the web of lies, thread by thread, instead of shooting the first head you see. The good grammar gets a tick in my book, along with the love triangle. I genuinely have no idea who she will end up with, though I'm betting my money on the devilish and mysterious Kol.

Personally I would have preferred faster-paced scenes with more fighting, but that's just me. Overall, a pretty standard offering, with a few complementary plot twists thrown in. Nothing I've never seen before, but it's a solid tale, a tried-and-true formula that works. More for mystery and who-dun-it lovers than an action buff.

On another note, this author is a very successful example of someone who maximizes author-reader interaction. She leaves open-ended questions that makes you think, and she replies to almost every comment. I've seen so many authors who notice only the reads and not the readers. CrystalPascale definitely isn't one of them. Way to go!

See? Even Hawkeye agrees. Now that, is awesome.

Wrap it up now - stars or stones? An average-sized constellation of stars.

*

Disclaimer : This review is not a personal attack on the author, and is merely a reader's honest opinion. No offense is meant.