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I am so close to finishing this series! I personally think this would have been a good ending to the series. This book, I think, is the best one I've read in the series. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. We actually got answers. So much went down, especially in the last 50 pages. This one was really entertaining and I am so happy I only have 2 more books left to read in the series.
Sara, the only thing that I don't like is that I have to wait until June! This book was one of the best in the series! You have done it once again and don't let anyone tell you different! The ending... the connections... EVERYTHING!
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good job Mike!! I never even thought of Nike being all those guys it was crazy. Also of course Ali will be back.
Kudos to Sara Shepard for keeping me guessing and flying through the pages, even after several lackluster and unnecessary sequels. Yes, this series has gone on too long and I highly doubt that it's creative inspiration that's keeping it going, but as long as the books are this engrossing, I don't care. I haven't read a book this quickly in a long time. The twist was completely unexpected, and I'm excited to see how the next book picks up.
It feels weird to honestly, truly say this but...I actually liked Burned. Out of the entire Pretty Little Liars series, I think this has to be the strongest novel so far. Which is sad because fourteen books in and you think I would've enjoyed some of the previous volumes, but I digress. Of course this book had some flaws, but there were actually parts I really, really liked.
Starting with what I liked, the dedications. Sara Shepard dedicated this book to the four main actresses of the Pretty Little Lias show. For some reason, I just found this incredibly sweet.
Moving on, we have the prologue. This is told more from Ali's point of view from the night in the Poconos when she tried to kill the Liars. It gives her account of escaping the house - and we find out for sure that Ali is alive, and she does have a helper.
Later on in the book, the girls turn over everything they have on "A" over to the police. They are then assigned security details, and Aria's is described as man in a minivan that seems more family oriented - a "my kid plays (insert sport because I forget what it was) here" bumper sticker, and Mickey Mouse ears on the car antennae, but the security man himself is described as being close to The Rock's stunt double. Maybe it's just because I'm a big wrestling fan, but I found this part so funny I actually laughed out loud. So kudos to Sara Shepard for that.
Finally, we also find out the identity of Ali's helper. I thought I had it figured out...and I was right, but not right at the same time. Honestly, I thought it was a very good twist, something I was not expecting.
From there, there were a few things I didn't like. Noel talks about having fallen under Courtney and Ali's spells, and internally Aria calls him a "sucker," but then goes on to say she understands where he's coming from. I thought the "sucker" comment was unneeded myself, really took away from the entire conversation.
Next we have Hanna. Mike figures out that "A" is back, and he and Hanna stand outside talking about it. Hanna says how much she dislikes her mother's house being easy to spy on, because of trees and such, but logic would dictate you should probably go inside to talk about it. I don't know, this just seemed like a stupid error on Shepard's part.
From there, we have Emily. Everything is crashing down on her, and in the end she feels suicidal, ready to jump off a bridge and end her life. To me, the entire suicide attempt felt forced. I could get why she would want to do it, absolutely, Emily has been through so much, but the fact Sara Shepard didn't work up to it, instead she went from "Emily's fine" to "Emily wants to kill herself" really, really screwed it up. She never really showed Emily being depressed, nor did Emily have any previous thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Instead, one day she just decided "I'm gonna jump off this bridge." None of it really made sense to me, and I honestly wish Shepard had written this correctly or not written it at all, because suicide is not something to be taken lightly, and as an author, I find it really disappointing she messed this up. Then again, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.
Overall though, I felt this was the best novel of the series to date. I think it was strong all the way through, minus the few errors I mentioned above. It had a good beginning, middle, and end, and honestly, I can't wait to see what book number 15 will bring.
Starting with what I liked, the dedications. Sara Shepard dedicated this book to the four main actresses of the Pretty Little Lias show. For some reason, I just found this incredibly sweet.
Moving on, we have the prologue. This is told more from Ali's point of view from the night in the Poconos when she tried to kill the Liars. It gives her account of escaping the house - and we find out for sure that Ali is alive, and she does have a helper.
Later on in the book, the girls turn over everything they have on "A" over to the police. They are then assigned security details, and Aria's is described as man in a minivan that seems more family oriented - a "my kid plays (insert sport because I forget what it was) here" bumper sticker, and Mickey Mouse ears on the car antennae, but the security man himself is described as being close to The Rock's stunt double. Maybe it's just because I'm a big wrestling fan, but I found this part so funny I actually laughed out loud. So kudos to Sara Shepard for that.
Finally, we also find out the identity of Ali's helper. I thought I had it figured out...and I was right, but not right at the same time. Honestly, I thought it was a very good twist, something I was not expecting.
From there, there were a few things I didn't like. Noel talks about having fallen under Courtney and Ali's spells, and internally Aria calls him a "sucker," but then goes on to say she understands where he's coming from. I thought the "sucker" comment was unneeded myself, really took away from the entire conversation.
Next we have Hanna. Mike figures out that "A" is back, and he and Hanna stand outside talking about it. Hanna says how much she dislikes her mother's house being easy to spy on, because of trees and such, but logic would dictate you should probably go inside to talk about it. I don't know, this just seemed like a stupid error on Shepard's part.
From there, we have Emily. Everything is crashing down on her, and in the end she feels suicidal, ready to jump off a bridge and end her life. To me, the entire suicide attempt felt forced. I could get why she would want to do it, absolutely, Emily has been through so much, but the fact Sara Shepard didn't work up to it, instead she went from "Emily's fine" to "Emily wants to kill herself" really, really screwed it up. She never really showed Emily being depressed, nor did Emily have any previous thoughts of suicide or self-harm. Instead, one day she just decided "I'm gonna jump off this bridge." None of it really made sense to me, and I honestly wish Shepard had written this correctly or not written it at all, because suicide is not something to be taken lightly, and as an author, I find it really disappointing she messed this up. Then again, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.
Overall though, I felt this was the best novel of the series to date. I think it was strong all the way through, minus the few errors I mentioned above. It had a good beginning, middle, and end, and honestly, I can't wait to see what book number 15 will bring.
Deadly de Sara Shepard.
Décimo Cuarto libro en la serie de Pretty Little Liars, Y TODAVÍA NO SE ACABA PORQUE ME HACEN ESO QUE LES PASA FALTAN DOS MAS.
Me gustó, por fin ya sé quien es A, y lo sabía, mas o menitos.
Décimo Cuarto libro en la serie de Pretty Little Liars, Y TODAVÍA NO SE ACABA PORQUE ME HACEN ESO QUE LES PASA FALTAN DOS MAS.
Me gustó, por fin ya sé quien es A, y lo sabía, mas o menitos.
I can't do it anymore. I really liked these books until I realized they will NEVER end. Now I'm just angry. I'll read the last one in the series when it is for sure ended, but judging from this dead horse Shepard keeps beating that probably won't be for another 10 years.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes