21 Mar 2015

Twisted, Ruthless, Stunning, Burned and Crushed by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars)



Below is a description of the first book in this series, Pretty Little Liars
Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.

Goodreads Links
Twisted - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9893331-twisted 
Ruthless - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429037-ruthless 
Stunning - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9893355-stunning
Burned - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9893358-burned
Crushed - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16065550-crushed
 
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Author Website:  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Books 9 to 13, Pretty Little Liars Series
Source:  Review Copy from Publisher



My Review

What I loved about this book... 
Jumping right back into this series was so easy, the characters are memorable and likeable. What I liked the most about this series is the  'what happened next' plot line.  Just after you think that one thing is solved, another problem comes up.  Who is 'A'?  Of course that is the main theme of this stories and I really enjoyed following each of the characters and trying to see if they are 'A' or not.

I also liked the fact that since it has been a number of years since I read the first 8 books in this series, I could immediately drop right back into the story and into the lives of the characters just as if I read the first part of the series yesterday.  I thought I would have forgotten bits but once I started reading I remembered mostly everything. 

What I was not fond of with these books...
I read the first 8 books a very long time ago (the last one read was Wanted) and for some reason I had stopped and I couldn't remember why.  After reading the first two books, I then remembered why.  The plot line in all of the above books are pretty similar, maybe with slight differences in places and who is probably 'A'.  By the time I got to starting to read Crushed, I felt the series was getting a bit repetitive.  The four girls are in trouble, someone who is calling themselves 'A' is after them, the girls have to either run from danger or face it head on.  Which one will they choose.  If I had a choice, I would have probably combined each of the books in this review and made them one or maybe two larger books.  That is the main reason why I have decided to combine all these books in one review, mainly because my view of each of these books is exactly the same...

I have to admit that I have stopped reading the books now.  I felt that Crushed was a great place to put this series aside as there is a good ending (which I won't spoil for you) but let's say that it was the perfect place to stop reading the series.  That said, I am now on the second series of the TV series for Pretty Little Liars and really enjoying it so far.  I might even go as far as to say that I am totally addicted to the TV show, I can't wait to start watching the third series....! 

About the Author
(From Author Website, link above)


For as long as she can remember, Sara Shepard has been writing. However, when she was young she also wanted to be a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a filmmaker, a claymation artist, a geneticist, and a fashion magazine editor when she grew up. She and her sister have been creating joint artistic and written projects for years, except they’re pretty sure they’re the only ones who find them funny.

She got her MFA at Brooklyn College and now lives outside Philadelphia, PA with her husband and dogs. Her first adult novel is called The Visibles/ All The Things We Didn’t Say.
Sara’s bestselling young adult series, Pretty Little Liars, is loosely based on her experiences growing up on Philadelphia’s Main Line…although luckily she never had any serious stalkers. The series has also inspired the ABC Family television series of the same name.


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