Pretty Little Secrets By Sara Shepard...

Series: Pretty Little Liars (Book #4.5)
Published: January 3rd 2012 by HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 450
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Rewind to junior year in Rosewood, Pennsylvania, to a winter break no one has ever heard about. . . .

Fat snowflakes fall onto manicured lawns, quilted stockings hang over marble fireplaces, and everyone is at peace, especially Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer. Now that Alison’s murderer is in jail and A is dead, they can finally relax. Little do they know there’s a new A in town. . . .

Rule number one of being an effective stalker: Get to know your prey. So I watch these liars day and night, keeping an eye on the trouble they get into, the messes they make, and the secrets they keep. Hanna’s desperate for a very personal session with her gym trainer. Emily is number one on Santa’s naughty list. Aria’s old flame from Iceland is about to land her in hot water. And Spencer’s resorting to some backhanded tactics to get what she wants.

What happens on holiday break stays on holiday break—right? But guess what. I saw. And now I’m telling.

Taking place between "Unbelievable" and "Wicked," "Pretty Little Secrets" is a very special "Pretty Little Liars" tale revealing the liars’ never-before-seen misadventures over their junior-year winter break.

Review:

I have to admit when I first sat down to read this book I went into it with pretty low expectations because I really have not liked the last two books in the "Pretty Little Liars" series and I went into this book expecting much of the same, but I was pleasantly suprised.

The plot. I found myself really likeing the plot (though I think it had a lot to do with the structure of the book). I thought that the story flowed a whole lot better than the main books in the series because each of the girls had their own short story but they all seemed to inter-twine rather than having each of the girls have their own chapters throughout the book to tell their story, and I liked that a lot better. Now onto the plot itself. I thought that the girls stories were a lot more interesting in this book than in the two previous books and it actually had plot twists! which I have missed in the last two books.

The characters. I liked how because of the short stories I got to focus just on one of the girls and see how they grew throughout their story and how they overcame their obsticles throughout the book. Though I didn't feel that their was much character devlopment throughout the book I definitely did see the girls grow in their stories and I found that I liked the girls a lot more than I did.

Overall I really did enjoy reading this book. I don't feel that the plot lines is back to the standard of what they were with the first seven books in the series, but this book has given me new hope for the series and even though this book was written before "Stunning" (which I didn't like) I am now excited to see what happens in the 12th and final book.

Frostbite: The Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead, illistrated by Emma Vieceli...

Series: Vampire Academy: The Graphic Novel (Book #2)
Published: May 24th 2012 by Razorbill
Pages: 144
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

The drama and romance continue in this 144-page full-color graphic novel adaptation of the second Vampire Academy novel, Frostbite, which was overseen by Richelle Mead and features beautiful art by acclaimed British illustrator Emma Vieceli.

Review:

I was really excited when I finally got my hands on my copy of this, because I had really enjoyed the first graphic novel in the series and I wanted to see how good of an adaptation this graphic novel would be. Novel to graphic novel adaptation. I thought that this was a really great adaptation of the book. I thought that they hadn't really left out any of the important parts of the book and it seemed to flow very well, the only down-side to the graphic novel was that I think that you would have...moreI was really excited when I finally got my hands on my copy of this, because I had really enjoyed the first graphic novel in the series and I wanted to see how good of an adaptation this graphic novel would be. Novel to graphic novel adaptation. I thought that this was a really great adaptation of the book. I thought that they hadn't really left out any of the important parts of the book and it seemed to flow very well, the only down-side to the graphic novel was that I think that you would have to be familiar with the story of "Frostbite" for it to make sense because it did seem to jump quite a lot throughout the story and I found myself flipping back pages just to check that I hadn't missed anything. the art. I thought that the artwork was amazing! I thought that Emma Vieceli did a really great job at portraying what was happening at that point in the book and also showing the emotion of the characters in the situation that they were in. Overall I thought that this was a great graphic novel, though keeping in mind that I am no expert (this is the third graphic novel that I have read) but I really enjoyed reading it and I am so excited for the "Shadow Kiss" graphic novel to be released!

The Golden Lily by RIchelle Mead...

Series: Bloodlines (Book #2)
Published: June 12th 2012 by Razorbill
Pages: 418
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

Review:

I had really high expectations when I started reading this book because with the now eighteen books that Richelle Mead has written and with me having read and loved all of them I know to expect an epic story when it comes to her books. So needless to say I had EXTREMELY high expectations for this book and even then, my expectations were still surpassed. The plot. I really enjoyed the plot, I thought that the story flowed very well, the writing was very descriptive, I seemed to get lost in the sto...moreI had really high expectations when I started reading this book because with the now eighteen books that Richelle Mead has written and with me having read and loved all of them I know to expect an epic story when it comes to her books. So needless to say I had EXTREMELY high expectations for this book and even then, my expectations were still surpassed. The plot. I really enjoyed the plot, I thought that the story flowed very well, the writing was very descriptive, I seemed to get lost in the story and before I knew it another 100 pages had gone and even though it wasn't as action-packed as I would have liked there was still a great fight scene towards the end. There were a lot of twists in this book that I didn't see coming which I really liked because I was kept guessing the whole way through which really made me want to see how the story ended. The ending I LOVED, though it wasn't a Richelle Mead traditional cliff-hanger, there was just something so open ended about the ending (and I mean in a good way not in the annoying "what happened to the ending of the book?!" way)that for me had just the same if not a better affect then a cliff hanger would have had. The characters. I loved the characters in this book because I felt I got to know them a lot better and it really refreshed my memory on the characters without reading about them for almost a year. I really loved Sydney's character I thought that she was a really strong, relateable character and also I think that she was probably the best character in this series to have her POV told. I also really loved Adrian's character, he had me laughing the whole way through this book and made reading this book that much more enjoyable. I also really loved seeing how Sydney and Adrain's relationship developed over the course of the book. I also really loved having Dimitri back in the series, though I would have liked to have seen more of him in the book, it just made me remember all the reasons that I loved his character so much in "Vampire Academy". Overall I LOVED this book and I thought that it was a great second book in the series, the characters were great, the plot was amazing and everything was just perfect, and now I just need to somehow get my hands on an ARC of the third book because I CANNOT wait until the third book is released!

Stunning by Sara Shepard...

Series: Pretty Little Liars (Book #11)
Published: June 5th 2012 by HarperTeen
Pages: 304
Rating: 2 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Full of darker secrets, juicier scandals, and deadlier plot twists, the latest arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling series continues to deliver fast-paced, tension-ridden drama.

After Alison DiLaurentis tried to kill them, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna tried to get their lives back on track. But these girls just can’t stay out of trouble. First there was their disastrous trip to Jamaica, and their summer breaks were no less eventful. Now a new A is stalking them, taunting them with the very secrets these pretty little liars have been trying to forget. But this A doesn’t just want to blackmail the girls—this A is out for blood.

Sara Shepard’s fan base only gets bigger as the hit ABC Family Pretty Little Liars TV show continues to draw new readers to the bestselling series. Everyone will be dying to find out what A does next....

Review:

So I have to admit I had extremely low expectations when I started reading this book in the series because I really didn't like the previous book and I am sad to say that even with those extremely low expectaions this book was only alright.

The plot. I thought that the plot in this book was very under-whelming and really nothing great. There was no big suspensful parts in the book and there wern't many suprising plot twists which I had come to expect when reading the "Pretty Little Liars" series (atleast up to book seven). But the writing did flow pretty well throughout the book so it did make the story a little easier and more enjoyable to read.

The characters. I really don't have much to say about the characters, I thought that there was no real character devlopment in the book it just felt like an extention of the last book where I felt that most of the characters fell flat for me, they didn't seem to have any real relateable personality like they seemed to have when I first started reading the series, which I think is a real shame because I really liked the girls when I first started to read the series.

Overall I thought that this book was a complete let-down and I didn't think that the plot or the characters were really that memorable.

Beastly by Alex Flinn...

Series: The Kendra Chronicles (Book #1)
Published: September 23rd 2008 by Harper Teen
Pages: 300
Rating: 1 star
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.

Review:

I was really looking foward to reading this book because I loved the movie (originally I had planned on reading the book before watching the movie but I never got around to buying it)but sadly I only got to page 101 and then I had to put it down. So this will only be a review on the 101 pages that I read and if I do pick it up later I will update the review. The plot. To be honest I really didn't like the plot, I thought that it was slow and dragged a lot throughout the part of the book that I re...moreI was really looking foward to reading this book because I loved the movie (originally I had planned on reading the book before watching the movie but I never got around to buying it)but sadly I only got to page 101 and then I had to put it down. So this will only be a review on the 101 pages that I read and if I do pick it up later I will update the review. The plot. To be honest I really didn't like the plot, I thought that it was slow and dragged a lot throughout the part of the book that I read and nothing really happened (and I do think that in reading a third of the story it should have already started to pick up a bit) and overall just didn't really hold my interest. The characters. I really didn't like the characters either, I thought that they were all written in a way that I didn't feel connected to them and they all just seemed very one-dimentional and unrelateable. Overall I was really let down by this book and I think this will be the first and last fairy-tale retelling that I read, unless I do pick it up again and it's amazing.