Flawless by Sarah Shepard

Book Summery (via Goodreads): Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is making her sick. And their most horrible secret yet is so scandalous that the truth would ruin them forever. And why shouldn't I tell? They deserve to lose it all. With every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message I send, I'll be taking these pretty little liars down. Trust me, I've got enough dirt to bury them alive.

Book Review:
Flawless picks up right where Pretty Little Liars left off. The reader delves deeper into each of the girls' lives as A reveals their secrets one by one. The changes between the book and the show were definitely more noticeable this time around. I was rather stunned at some of the changes, and a few events really took me by surprise. The same characters are all there, and I am still partial to Spencer and Aria. I know I said this in my review of Pretty Little Liars, but the book series definitely seems to have some rather severe behavior in it. The TV show is waaaay toned down in comparison. I am still eager to continue the series, and find out who A really is! I will continue my plan of staggering the series between other books I want to read, to mix things up a bit. I would love to hear any comments about the show and/or the book series! Have you noticed a difference? Do you think it's easy to guess A's true identity?

Favorite Quote:

"Don't get too comfortable. It's not over until I say it is. -A" (p.330)

Cover Art Commentary:
This is probably my favorite cover of the series. I really like the orange background. The girl on the cover seems to be the most low-key out of the series. Perhaps the character is supposed to be Emily? Which character do you think it is?

Rating:

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Book Summery (via Goodreads): 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?

Book Review:
Ok, so I'll admit it...I recently got hooked on the show. If you haven't seen it yet, you should really give it a chance. It's totally addicting! However, I broke my rule of reading the book before watching the show. Unfortunately, this means I didn't enjoy the book as much as I probably would have had I not known what was going to happen. Plus, they combined other books into the first season of the show, so I was waaaay ahead of the curve. Despite that fact, this was a fun, fast read. The characters are addictive and flawed. My only issue with them is that they were engaging in multiple behaviors that were seriously overkill. I mean drinking, smoking, sleeping around, cheating on your older sister's boyfriend all at the age of 14? Combined, it just seemed a little over the top. These behaviors are definitely toned down in the TV show. My favorite characters in both the book and TV series are Aria and Spencer. What I love about all the characters is that despite their poor choices, lies, and bad behavior, you like them. You want to get to know them better. I am hoping that they evolve over time, like they do in the show. I will still continue to read the rest of the series, but will most likely alternate them between other books that I plan on reading.

Favorite Quote:

"You thought only girls who entered beauty pageants ended up on the sides of milk cartons. Well, think again." p. 1

Cover Art Commentary:
It might seem a little corny to have plastic dolls on the cover, but I think it really works, especially with the types of characters and behaviors sprinkled throughout the book. The series looks colorful and whimsical together on my shelf.

Rating: