Twisted - Sara Shepard - 2011

Twisted (Pretty Little Liars #9) by Sara Shepard

Published: 2011 - HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Read: September 23, 2011

4 out of 5 Stars: This series is such a guilty pleasure for me

Reason for Reading: I was intrigued at how Shepard would continue the series, since book 8 had been noted as the last of the PLL series.

On GoodReads: "It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The Pretty Little Liars have more secrets than ever - twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild.

Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship.

Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore … eventually."

My Thoughts: I was a bit annoyed when I head that the series would be continuing, since my copy of book 8 claims it's the last one, but upon seeing that the 9th book was out, I felt I had to keep going with the series. I am really glad I did. I love these 4 girls, they are so unique and sometimes so vapid, but also very innocent. They all feel so very human. The story is really twisted, there's a new A in town, and I really have no idea who it is, or why they are out to get the girls. I really do just enjoy reading these books, they go by quickly but are so charming and so exciting.

Books Read This Year: 77 of 100

The Lying Game - Sara Shepard - 2010

Title: The Lying Game (1st in series)

Author: Sara Shepard

Year: 2010

Overall: * * * * (4/5)

GoodReads blurb: I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thePretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Let the lying game begin.

Plot: * * * *

Characters: * * * *

Stlye (writing style): * * * *

My Review: This is the first book in Shepard's new series. And I am totally hooked. I love how Shepard can just suck you into this completely bizarre story and take you away from reality for a few hours and keep you wanting more once you're finished. The mystery aspect of it is great so far, though just like in the Pretty Little Liars books there are twin sisters involved. I like that Sutton is realizing how awful a person she could be at the same time that Emma is discovering it too, it almost makes it feel like there are 3 sisters involved instead. I am very excited for the next book in the series, "Never Have I Ever," which comes out sometime in the Summer. I never really reach the point with Shepard's books where I can say they are truly fantastic novels, but they are great fun to read and keep me so entertained!

To Buy: Amazon

Next on the List

Next up for books is the first in the Pretty Little Liars books by Sara Shepard. I had vowed not to start reading any series that already has more than 3 books out (like the House of Night, A-List, Private, and Vampire Academy series). Not only because they take too much time away from other books, but because, for the most part, they are terrible.

Yes, I've read the Twilight books, and no, I don't think they're any good. I read the Uglies series, and really enjoyed it. I haven't read the fourth book though, but I will soon. I read the first two pages of Marked (a House of Night novel) and couldn't go any further because the dialogue was terrible. I read the first book of the Private series, and I enjoyed it, but then they just kept coming out with more and more and I didn't want to devote that much time to characters I didn't care that deeply for. I've read a lot of the Gossip Girl books, and I enjoyed them for easy Summer reading, but I haven't read any since the TV series came out because the TV show was so different that it was hard to go back and forth between all the differing story lines.

So you can see my apprehension at starting a series that follows this sort of trend, but I've heard really good things about the Pretty Little Liars books and I'm going to read the first one and see if I like it, and how much I like it. If it's just a good read, but nothing that makes me that invested in the characters then I'll call it a day and not buy the others. But if it's as good as I've heard, then maybe I'll pick up the second book sometime when the rest of my list isn't calling to me.

I may start reading a couple chapters now, before I have to get ready and pick up Mike for dinner at my parents' house. My brother and his girlfriend are coming over to grill some halibut they caught in Alaska. My brother is a chef at a local restaurant and I'm looking forward to the meal. Although they did also mention something about grilling some summer squash with the fish, and that is just unappealing to me, since I think squash is disgusting. Hopefully they pick up some other good veggies while they're at the store.

I'm also going to continue to find the worst music I can on iTunes so I can have a fantastically fulfilling dance party in my dining room. The only creature that can make fun of me at the moment is my cat, Ollie, and I think he would rather just dance with me than make the effort of leaving the room.