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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If the series had ended with this book, it would have been a rather satisfying ending. I don't think that too many people would be entirely surprised by the ending, but there were still some twists that I wasn't expecting. Everyone didn't come back for this one, but several characters that we haven't seen for a few books make appearances. It is the first book in this arc where I haven't thought that one of the girls had a terrible plot. Spencer's is the least interesting, but it still isn't bad. Emily, Hanna, and Aria's were all pretty good. Even though I'm not all that interested in A at this point, the ending did still leave me wanting to know more about what was going to happen to the four lead characters.
I still can't get over how unlikeable the girls are in the books but this is one of the best in the second half of the series. deranged and unhinged ali makes it all worth it
fast-paced
This was a really fun read! The story once again went even more insane! This got intense and I could not put it down!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have complained endlessly about this drawn out series, begging Sara Shepard to cut her losses and end it. We've been given filler book after filler book, solely so Sara Shepard can milk the cash cow and ride the coattails of the show's success. However, I'm happy to report that Deadly was so fantastic that it nearly redeems all the crap we've put up with!
This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. The girls are under more stress than ever with Noel falling victim to A and winding up in the hospital. The girls decide that enough is enough and confess everything to FBI Agent Jasmine Fuji, who places them under FBI protection which allows them to sleep soundly at night for the first time in years. Unfortunately 'A' brings it all crashing down, using their L337 hax0r skills to convince the FBI that the girls sent each 'A' note themselves. The security details are removed and the girls face extradition to Jamaica for the murder of Tabitha Clark. College applications are rejected, Hanna's father refuses to see her, and Emily's family are so horrid that she actually attempts suicide.
On the eve before their extradition to Jamaica, we finally get definitive proof that Alison is alive. By sheer coincidence the girls stumble across Ali's hideout, where we learn that she's had a helper since the night of the Poconos fire. We learn that Helper 'A' is Nick/Tripp Maxwell, a Preserve patient that Ali had seduced and whom Iris had been infatuated with.
Despite the girls never having met 'Nick' they all know him: he was Jackson the bartender that loaded underage Madison with drinks, the night Hanna veered off the road and framed her for drink driving. He was Derrick, Emily's confidante and Gayle Riggs' landscaper over the summer. He was Phineas the drug dealer who nearly landed Spencer on drug charges. He was Olaf in Iceland, who plied Aria with alcohol and encouraged her to steal a priceless Van Gogh.
While I scoffed at how Nick must have been near omnipotent and omnipresent to pull the ruse off, I'm glad that Helper 'A' didn't turn out to be some complete stranger. While he was not a connection I'd have ever made on my own, he had been mentioned by Iris early enough to still be plausible. Looking back I recall that he was described as wealthy and incredibly smart, so he wasn't just some dumb lackey who was infatuated with Ali.
Speaking of Ali - could she have been anymore perfect? She's no longer the beautiful queen bee the girls remember her as; she's covered in scars with rotting teeth, protruding bones and brittle hair. She's exactly what you'd picture a bitter, vengeful, deranged teenage murderess to look like. I'd half hoped she'd show up with a reconstructed face full of plastic, but this was much better.
Frustratingly, Ali manages to evade justice once again. While Nick is arrested for the torment and attemped murder of the Pretty Little Liars, Ali escapes and makes it to a safehouse. It's revealed that Ali cared little for Nick, siphoning off his trust fund and sending video footage of him killing Tabitha Clark to the FBI. All the while Nick protects Ali by denying that she's alive, claiming that he acted alone to exact vengeance for Ali's death in the Poconos.
Because Sara Shepard still has more books to write, she leaves the ending ambiguous with Ali claiming that she'll live to kill the Liars another day. And y'know what? I ain't half mad. While I was incredibly surprised and satisfied by the answers we got in this novel, I want to see the Liars take down Ali once and for all. I want her carted screaming off to prison, madness plain on her face for all to see.
And I want to see the Liars pick up the pieces of their broken lives. I want to see where they turn now that no college will have them. I want to see how they're treated by the people of Rosewood, who were so quick to cast them out as pariahs. I want to see if Emily can ever repair the relationship with her family, when they've subjected her to such pain and humiliation over the years. I don't see this torturous ride as something one can ever truly recover from, and I hope Sara Shepard does the girls justice.
Overall: I have no doubt that Sara Shepard has lost readers along the way, but it's worth putting up with the absolute rubbish for the groundbreaking revelations we get in this book. Our patience as readers is rewarded and we finally get definitive proof that Alison is alive and hasn't been acting alone! And while we get solid answers and good closure, the ending is so tantalisingly ambiguous that I can't wait for Sara Shepard to write more. I need to see Alison die once and for all!
This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. The girls are under more stress than ever with Noel falling victim to A and winding up in the hospital. The girls decide that enough is enough and confess everything to FBI Agent Jasmine Fuji, who places them under FBI protection which allows them to sleep soundly at night for the first time in years. Unfortunately 'A' brings it all crashing down, using their L337 hax0r skills to convince the FBI that the girls sent each 'A' note themselves. The security details are removed and the girls face extradition to Jamaica for the murder of Tabitha Clark. College applications are rejected, Hanna's father refuses to see her, and Emily's family are so horrid that she actually attempts suicide.
On the eve before their extradition to Jamaica, we finally get definitive proof that Alison is alive. By sheer coincidence the girls stumble across Ali's hideout, where we learn that she's had a helper since the night of the Poconos fire. We learn that Helper 'A' is Nick/Tripp Maxwell, a Preserve patient that Ali had seduced and whom Iris had been infatuated with.
Despite the girls never having met 'Nick' they all know him: he was Jackson the bartender that loaded underage Madison with drinks, the night Hanna veered off the road and framed her for drink driving. He was Derrick, Emily's confidante and Gayle Riggs' landscaper over the summer. He was Phineas the drug dealer who nearly landed Spencer on drug charges. He was Olaf in Iceland, who plied Aria with alcohol and encouraged her to steal a priceless Van Gogh.
While I scoffed at how Nick must have been near omnipotent and omnipresent to pull the ruse off, I'm glad that Helper 'A' didn't turn out to be some complete stranger. While he was not a connection I'd have ever made on my own, he had been mentioned by Iris early enough to still be plausible. Looking back I recall that he was described as wealthy and incredibly smart, so he wasn't just some dumb lackey who was infatuated with Ali.
Speaking of Ali - could she have been anymore perfect? She's no longer the beautiful queen bee the girls remember her as; she's covered in scars with rotting teeth, protruding bones and brittle hair. She's exactly what you'd picture a bitter, vengeful, deranged teenage murderess to look like. I'd half hoped she'd show up with a reconstructed face full of plastic, but this was much better.
Frustratingly, Ali manages to evade justice once again. While Nick is arrested for the torment and attemped murder of the Pretty Little Liars, Ali escapes and makes it to a safehouse. It's revealed that Ali cared little for Nick, siphoning off his trust fund and sending video footage of him killing Tabitha Clark to the FBI. All the while Nick protects Ali by denying that she's alive, claiming that he acted alone to exact vengeance for Ali's death in the Poconos.
Because Sara Shepard still has more books to write, she leaves the ending ambiguous with Ali claiming that she'll live to kill the Liars another day. And y'know what? I ain't half mad. While I was incredibly surprised and satisfied by the answers we got in this novel, I want to see the Liars take down Ali once and for all. I want her carted screaming off to prison, madness plain on her face for all to see.
And I want to see the Liars pick up the pieces of their broken lives. I want to see where they turn now that no college will have them. I want to see how they're treated by the people of Rosewood, who were so quick to cast them out as pariahs. I want to see if Emily can ever repair the relationship with her family, when they've subjected her to such pain and humiliation over the years. I don't see this torturous ride as something one can ever truly recover from, and I hope Sara Shepard does the girls justice.
Overall: I have no doubt that Sara Shepard has lost readers along the way, but it's worth putting up with the absolute rubbish for the groundbreaking revelations we get in this book. Our patience as readers is rewarded and we finally get definitive proof that Alison is alive and hasn't been acting alone! And while we get solid answers and good closure, the ending is so tantalisingly ambiguous that I can't wait for Sara Shepard to write more. I need to see Alison die once and for all!
Sooo.....this book. If I had to summarize this book, I'd basically say that it's the best since Wanted, in that things are productive and stuff actually happens and it's not just another one of the last five books where there's a fake A suspect and a bunch of filler storylines and yadda yadda yadda.
But I still want this series to end!!!! END.
I really love Mike so much. <3 I think he's awesome and quite possibly the best character on many levels.
This book also made me like Kate and Melissa, and hate Mr. Marin. Oh, and Emily's family. I can't believe that they would actually behave like that. What kind of people are they? Family is supposed to stick together. They really made me sad/angry/annoyed.
Once I got to the part of the book that the girls decided to finally come clean about A to the police, I knew that shit was about to go down (pardon my language). That's the point where I realized that this book actually had a chance of being better than its past few predecessors.
I mean, it went from the girls feeling safe after coming clean, to being arrested, to encountering Ali and Nick so quickly.
One thing that bothered me was that Agent Fuji's team only realized that the girls were innocent after the incident. Before that, they kept tracing the A messages to the girls' own phones. After Nick was arrested, oh wow, they finally realized that the source of the messages was being compromised. That bothered me a bit.
And also...about Ali...she's seriously THE biggest bitch/psycho ever. You have no idea how much hate I've gathered for her, even more so than before. I'm actually so glad that Emily said that she hated Ali, and I'm glad that the badass part of her was able to attack Nick, but Ali's the enemy. I got pissed that she was able to get away again. In an interview with Sara Shepard, she said that books 15 and 16 are supposed to be about the girls getting their revenge, so I really hope that there's actual revenge and that Ali actuallygoes to jail dies so that that there's finally closure. I seriously don't want an ambiguous ending. Okay, scratch that, I just WANT AN ENDING.
But yeah, this book was relatively good compared to the past few, hence my four-star rating.
But I still want this series to end!!!! END.
Spoiler
Okay, so I was right in that Nick was the A helper. However, I probably never would have guessed that he was also Tripp/Phineas/all those other people.I really love Mike so much. <3 I think he's awesome and quite possibly the best character on many levels.
This book also made me like Kate and Melissa, and hate Mr. Marin. Oh, and Emily's family. I can't believe that they would actually behave like that. What kind of people are they? Family is supposed to stick together. They really made me sad/angry/annoyed.
Once I got to the part of the book that the girls decided to finally come clean about A to the police, I knew that shit was about to go down (pardon my language). That's the point where I realized that this book actually had a chance of being better than its past few predecessors.
I mean, it went from the girls feeling safe after coming clean, to being arrested, to encountering Ali and Nick so quickly.
One thing that bothered me was that Agent Fuji's team only realized that the girls were innocent after the incident. Before that, they kept tracing the A messages to the girls' own phones. After Nick was arrested, oh wow, they finally realized that the source of the messages was being compromised. That bothered me a bit.
And also...about Ali...she's seriously THE biggest bitch/psycho ever. You have no idea how much hate I've gathered for her, even more so than before. I'm actually so glad that Emily said that she hated Ali, and I'm glad that the badass part of her was able to attack Nick, but Ali's the enemy. I got pissed that she was able to get away again. In an interview with Sara Shepard, she said that books 15 and 16 are supposed to be about the girls getting their revenge, so I really hope that there's actual revenge and that Ali actually
But yeah, this book was relatively good compared to the past few, hence my four-star rating.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Torture, Murder
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ashley marin best fictional mom in every form of media
It is a great sense of mystery. Ali is always one step ahead and all the details make sense. She is always thinking of a new way out or anything that can go wrong. Its always exciting to see what comes next. She also develops the characters well and their stories are well thought out. There are no gaps in the story. It is most important in mysteries.