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joaniemaloney's review against another edition
4.0
I'm going to miss you, Anne Dowling.
For anyone who needs recs for a YA series or a mystery YA series, I would definitely recommend this. Anne's spirit, wit and curiosity is a superb combination for a heroine, detective or not. She settles for little but the truth once she puts her mind to it, and has her principles. There's the love triangle aspect to this series, but Anne is able to prioritize the case at hand over her boys. Sometimes I forget that she's still in high school despite all her sleuthing skills and maturity over the course of these books, and cut her some slack. I mean, there's been some obvious growth here. I'm proud.
What I enjoy a lot about this series, other than the main character, is the fact that there are consequences to everything she does. It isn't a magical restart on the next book but things are changed, for the better or worse, regarding Anne's circumstances and everyone around her. Relationships are affected with what she decides to do. It's far from easy decisions that she has to make, especially still not feeling like she really belongs at Wheatley, for all the friends she makes. In trying to find out about the truth, she inevitably loses trust through all the lies she has to tell. It's refreshing to see her grappling with all these emotions as a feasible teenager with all her strengths and weaknesses.
I really liked the ending of this book, and for this series. You can take this as a trilogy but for me, it's more like I've read one huge book about Anne's detective work. The threads are weaved tight together and it makes more sense to see it as one piece of work rather than three separate books. Her future's bright. A part of me was chuckling when they mentioned Dorchester because I started the Kenzie-Gennaro books by Dennis Lehane at the same time and because Anne's technically looking for a missing person, I couldn't help but wish there was a crossover as a fan of both series! It's not like they would even cross in the same circles but it's not like Patrick and Kenzie travel in the same circles as all of their clients. Although I imagine things would get pretty dark fast if those two were involved on the case. Sometimes I forget they're all in Boston, is what I'm saying.
I'd love to read more about Anne a few years down the line. I can't imagine her not getting better as a detective, and the maturity and experience would really help. She'd be great. The possibilities!
For anyone who needs recs for a YA series or a mystery YA series, I would definitely recommend this. Anne's spirit, wit and curiosity is a superb combination for a heroine, detective or not. She settles for little but the truth once she puts her mind to it, and has her principles. There's the love triangle aspect to this series, but Anne is able to prioritize the case at hand over her boys. Sometimes I forget that she's still in high school despite all her sleuthing skills and maturity over the course of these books, and cut her some slack. I mean, there's been some obvious growth here. I'm proud.
What I enjoy a lot about this series, other than the main character, is the fact that there are consequences to everything she does. It isn't a magical restart on the next book but things are changed, for the better or worse, regarding Anne's circumstances and everyone around her. Relationships are affected with what she decides to do. It's far from easy decisions that she has to make, especially still not feeling like she really belongs at Wheatley, for all the friends she makes. In trying to find out about the truth, she inevitably loses trust through all the lies she has to tell. It's refreshing to see her grappling with all these emotions as a feasible teenager with all her strengths and weaknesses.
I really liked the ending of this book, and for this series. You can take this as a trilogy but for me, it's more like I've read one huge book about Anne's detective work. The threads are weaved tight together and it makes more sense to see it as one piece of work rather than three separate books. Her future's bright. A part of me was chuckling when they mentioned Dorchester because I started the Kenzie-Gennaro books by Dennis Lehane at the same time and because Anne's technically looking for a missing person, I couldn't help but wish there was a crossover as a fan of both series! It's not like they would even cross in the same circles but it's not like Patrick and Kenzie travel in the same circles as all of their clients. Although I imagine things would get pretty dark fast if those two were involved on the case. Sometimes I forget they're all in Boston, is what I'm saying.
I'd love to read more about Anne a few years down the line. I can't imagine her not getting better as a detective, and the maturity and experience would really help. She'd be great. The possibilities!
bafahl's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars. Will miss Anne. Hoping we'll get to read more of her.
bookish_satty's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this part though not as much as the first two. Again a big disappointment was the love triangle which annoyed me once again but once Anne started exploiting the clues the story became more and more interesting. Hope to see another Anne story coming out in recent future.
stephanie8123's review against another edition
3.0
Sad to say, I was a little disappointed with the finale to the Prep School Confidential series. I felt like the first and second books of the series were an intense roller coaster, hit after hit, Anne was dodging shady people left and right. It was a page turner I could not put down! I loved how she was always ready, she's such a badass. That being said I don't feel like this final story with Ms. C and Dr.Mueller really did her any justice. The story was very convoluted and sometimes didn't make much sense, I don't know, it just didn't feel very compelling. The ending I was not so happy with, it just left so many questions about Brent, Anthony, her friends. It just really didn't feel finished for me. There is just a lot left to be desired, I wanted a story that was a testament to the Anne who was ready to stab a bitch with her nail file! So unfortunately it was a unsatisfying end.
emilyepew's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
achillespatroclus's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
peachy14's review against another edition
4.0
There was a lot of mystery and I really couldn't put the book down. I love the whole series but this is my least favourite out of the three (but it's still a good book).
beckylej's review against another edition
3.0
Anne has managed to stay mum on the murder of Wheatley alum Travis Shepherd all summer, but the disappearance of her favorite teacher is another matter. Of course, finding out what happened to Ms. Cross is tough considering Anne's been a. ousted from Wheatley, b. permanently grounded, and c. under constant parental supervision. All of that changes, though, when the Wheatley powers that be announce that they've decided not to expel Anne.
Anne is well aware that her digging will need to be even more hush hush this time around. Unfortunately, another Wheatley teacher is found murdered and Anne realizes that her little investigation has once again turned deadly serious.
Sooo I'd hoped - and expected, based on Prep School Confidential and Wicked Little Secrets - that Deadly Little Sins would tie in more with the previous two. Instead, this third installment may have jumped the shark more than even I can bear.
But wait, of course it ties in because it's Anne and it's Wheatley. Yes, that's true. But with the previous two, the mysteries are tied together by more than just the protagonist and the setting. There's a core group of suspects and baddies that have a very clear connection to both plots. Had that again been the case with this third title the plot would have been wholly more believable! And there is a bit of a link to the... issues of the previous two, but overall this one just feels like Wheatley is an unfortunate Sunnydale type magnet for crazies and killers. And Anne is the only one who notices.
Less shark-y is the actual wrap up in Deadly Little Sins. Some might find Anne's potential career choice just a bit too convenient or twee but I thought it was quite fun. It is actually along the lines of what I'd expect Anne to do post high school. I can't say that I loved the open ending as much, though. I'm not sure if there are plans to take Anne further with future books (something I wouldn't be opposed to) but it felt a little too obvious that that was the hope or intention. It left me feeling like there was still something to be addressed where there really shouldn't have been.
So a meh, on the fence result with the trilogy tie up. Deadly Little Sins is fun for fun sake but not as fabulous as the previous two.
Anne is well aware that her digging will need to be even more hush hush this time around. Unfortunately, another Wheatley teacher is found murdered and Anne realizes that her little investigation has once again turned deadly serious.
Sooo I'd hoped - and expected, based on Prep School Confidential and Wicked Little Secrets - that Deadly Little Sins would tie in more with the previous two. Instead, this third installment may have jumped the shark more than even I can bear.
But wait, of course it ties in because it's Anne and it's Wheatley. Yes, that's true. But with the previous two, the mysteries are tied together by more than just the protagonist and the setting. There's a core group of suspects and baddies that have a very clear connection to both plots. Had that again been the case with this third title the plot would have been wholly more believable! And there is a bit of a link to the... issues of the previous two, but overall this one just feels like Wheatley is an unfortunate Sunnydale type magnet for crazies and killers. And Anne is the only one who notices.
Less shark-y is the actual wrap up in Deadly Little Sins. Some might find Anne's potential career choice just a bit too convenient or twee but I thought it was quite fun. It is actually along the lines of what I'd expect Anne to do post high school. I can't say that I loved the open ending as much, though. I'm not sure if there are plans to take Anne further with future books (something I wouldn't be opposed to) but it felt a little too obvious that that was the hope or intention. It left me feeling like there was still something to be addressed where there really shouldn't have been.
So a meh, on the fence result with the trilogy tie up. Deadly Little Sins is fun for fun sake but not as fabulous as the previous two.
samantha_randolph's review against another edition
5.0
"Anne Dowling can never resist a good mystery, even if she is strongly toeing the line of expulsion because of trying to solve previous ones. When this emerging mystery seems to connect all the way back to her first semester at Wheatley, she will dig deeper into a past she never saw coming on top of juggling her confused feelings over Brent and Anthony and trying to not get expelled for good." Full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=46772
mggbhn's review against another edition
I read the first 2 books as ARC's so naturally I had to get my hands on the newest installment before it even hit Amazon. I read the book in one night as i did the other books. I loved the first 2, but the ending of this book disapointed me. *spoilers* -
We spend the first two books with Anne as she's trying to figure these mysteries while also trying to maintain a relationship with Brent and in some cases, Anthony. Also Anne's trying to not get expelled from her new school so she can be with her new best friend, Remmy. Then, in the third book everything is going as I thought it would, but then, at the end of the book, we find out in 1 chapter, that she was expelled from school, isn't going to college, sometimes talks to Brent and Remmy, and is going to a reform school where someone comes and offers her a job in the CIA.
I was really hoping for a happier ending for her because I feel like she deserved it.
I loved the first two books in the series so, so, so, much that I feel like the ending of this one let me down.
We spend the first two books with Anne as she's trying to figure these mysteries while also trying to maintain a relationship with Brent and in some cases, Anthony. Also Anne's trying to not get expelled from her new school so she can be with her new best friend, Remmy. Then, in the third book everything is going as I thought it would, but then, at the end of the book, we find out in 1 chapter, that she was expelled from school, isn't going to college, sometimes talks to Brent and Remmy, and is going to a reform school where someone comes and offers her a job in the CIA.
I was really hoping for a happier ending for her because I feel like she deserved it.
I loved the first two books in the series so, so, so, much that I feel like the ending of this one let me down.