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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I’m a huge fan of the entire series! And everything by Sara, really.
Okay, here's the deal. I know I'm about the farthest away a reader can be from the target audience of the Pretty Little Liars novels, but you guys know that it's still one of my favorite series nonetheless. If you scroll through each of the books, there's a good chance you'll find a review of me gushing lovingly over it. That being said, this series needs to end.
I'm still trying to figure out if I'm beginning to like this series less and less because (a) it is, in fact, decreasing in quality, or (b) it's staying exactly the same, and I simply know all of Sara Shepard's storytelling quirks. After some thought, I think it's a mixture of both.
Maybe there was some quality to the first eight books that made me not notice, but as I was going through Burned, I found myself predicting the outcome for each of the characters as soon as they waltzed onto the page. I mean, at this point, any PLL reader should know that if Sara Shepard spends two-hundred pages attempting to make the reader believe a character is A, the big "twist" at the end will be that said character isn't actually A at all.
However, knowing storytelling patterns is one thing, but the plot progression in this series arch (books 9-12) has been laughably bad, and it was most noticeable in this installment. In my opinion, the original series (I'm now referring to books 1-8 as "the original series" since, when this whole mess is over, I'm probably just going to pretend books 9-14 never even happened) worked so well because there was a close-knit cast of characters whom I actually cared about, which is why the deaths and other plot twists were so shocking. At this point, though, Sara Shepard is just tossing in random extras in order to keep the plot moving along. However, I don't care that girl-I-met-thirty-pages-ago not only might have been unintentionally killed by Hanna but that she is also *gasp* the long-lost cousin of girl-who's-been-in-this-series-forever-but-only-gained-any-kind-of-relevance-ten-pages-ago or that boy-I-met-five-pages-ago is the ex-boyfriend of girl-who-was-unintentionally-killed-by-Aria. (By the way, when did it become so easy to kill people? These girls can't walk out to the mailbox anymore without killing someone or, at the very least, maiming them for life.)
This series worked so much better when the plot elements were fairly believable - Aria dating her teacher, Hanna having an eating disorder, etc. It's becoming horribly apparent that Sara Shepard doesn't know where she wants to take this story, especially since Burned didn't even progress the series' overall plot, except for a small development about Tabitha's death at the end (even though she, like so many others, was just an extra randomly thrown in order to create some kind of storyline). 'Tis a sad day when I have to give a book in one of my favorite series a two-star rating.
I'm still trying to figure out if I'm beginning to like this series less and less because (a) it is, in fact, decreasing in quality, or (b) it's staying exactly the same, and I simply know all of Sara Shepard's storytelling quirks. After some thought, I think it's a mixture of both.
Maybe there was some quality to the first eight books that made me not notice, but as I was going through Burned, I found myself predicting the outcome for each of the characters as soon as they waltzed onto the page. I mean, at this point, any PLL reader should know that if Sara Shepard spends two-hundred pages attempting to make the reader believe a character is A, the big "twist" at the end will be that said character isn't actually A at all.
However, knowing storytelling patterns is one thing, but the plot progression in this series arch (books 9-12) has been laughably bad, and it was most noticeable in this installment. In my opinion, the original series (I'm now referring to books 1-8 as "the original series" since, when this whole mess is over, I'm probably just going to pretend books 9-14 never even happened) worked so well because there was a close-knit cast of characters whom I actually cared about, which is why the deaths and other plot twists were so shocking. At this point, though, Sara Shepard is just tossing in random extras in order to keep the plot moving along. However, I don't care that girl-I-met-thirty-pages-ago not only might have been unintentionally killed by Hanna but that she is also *gasp* the long-lost cousin of girl-who's-been-in-this-series-forever-but-only-gained-any-kind-of-relevance-ten-pages-ago or that boy-I-met-five-pages-ago is the ex-boyfriend of girl-who-was-unintentionally-killed-by-Aria. (By the way, when did it become so easy to kill people? These girls can't walk out to the mailbox anymore without killing someone or, at the very least, maiming them for life.)
This series worked so much better when the plot elements were fairly believable - Aria dating her teacher, Hanna having an eating disorder, etc. It's becoming horribly apparent that Sara Shepard doesn't know where she wants to take this story, especially since Burned didn't even progress the series' overall plot, except for a small development about Tabitha's death at the end (even though she, like so many others, was just an extra randomly thrown in order to create some kind of storyline). 'Tis a sad day when I have to give a book in one of my favorite series a two-star rating.
To tell the truth, this book pissed me off beyond belief. Now, I don't know whether
it's because I opened my eyes, or just because this book plain SUCKED. Here's what I mean by opening my eyes - I recently read a terrible review about a pretty little liars book. Terrible as in the rating. Anyway, all the things on the review were true - and I wondered why I gave that book a 4 star rating if I agreed exactly with what the review was saying. I realized that I was I was just going through the motions - giving the books high reviews because of the first one. So, this review will be completely honest, completely my opinion.
Emily
In this book, Emily got on my very last nerves. Anytime someone paid just the littlest amount of attention to her, she completely fell under their spell. Now, I'm not saying that I thought Jordan was A or anything - not at all! But there's a fugitive on the ship, and you think someone might be stalking you and your friends. Is this really the time to keep secrets? Speaking of secrets - WTF?? How could Emily not tell the girls that she left the door open for Ali? Emily's obsession with Ali was one thing - giving an escape route to a murderer and keeping that from your friends is another.
Aria
I know I'm just bitching and moaning about how annoying the girls are, but after like a dozen books, I think I have the right to do a little of b&m. So, Graham says he wants to tell her something. Of COURSE Aria assumes that he is into her, and she runs away, even though she doesn't know that Graham was gonna tell her he was into her. Actually, it was the opposite. Graham wanted to give her some info on A, and she blew it completely. And when he grabbed her necklace, of course Aria assumed he was grabbing her boobs, even though he was asking about the necklace. Girl - the necklace looks like Tabitha's - and it was, actually - and since he was her boyfriend, he would get curious/suspicious. Not everything's about your junk, Aria. Okay, I realize I'm being maybe a bit too harsh, but I am seriously tired of all of their antics.
Spencer
Spencer was friken NUTSO. So, Reefer had NO idea about A or the Pretty Little Liars suspecting Naomi as A (more on that later), but nonetheless, when Spencer found the bolts and the screws and stuff that had been screwed with, she completely lost it. Saying how Naomi was out to get them and stuff. At first I was mega irritated because I thought Naomi had nothing to do with it, and it was all A, but when I found out that Naomi HAD done it, I felt better about Spencer. But still, Naomi was after Spencer, not ALL be girls. Whatever.
Hanna
Wow, Hanna, wow. You've really outdone yourself. Somehow I'm starting to not be surprised at how A has tricked you and stuff. Hanna was just STUPID. When she "confronted" Naomi, she was like "I know that you know everything." Naomi looked clueless. Of course, Hanna was like, "oh, Naomi's just a REALLY good actor, why don't I elaborate", and proceeded to tell Naomi all about how she was a factor in Madison's crash. Reeeeeal smart, Hannakins. Your lucky Naomi didn't run her hiney to the police station.
Most of all, it was how gullible the pretty little liars were that chapped my khakis the most. A is obviously smart and manipulative - she's framed so many people as "A". Like Tabitha. And Gayle. And the Pretty Little liars ate it all up. So when Naomi was handed to them in a platter, I was astonished that the girls accepted her as the culprit without a doubt. Did they REALLY think that A would be so easy to find? I'd think they'd be more open to thoughts of severe manipulation by now.
Okay, that's all. If you're offended by this review - don't be. Please. It's my honest opinion, and I feel good that I finally got to give a rating on a a Pretty Little Liars book with which I can give a affirmative review with.
Kisses, O
it's because I opened my eyes, or just because this book plain SUCKED. Here's what I mean by opening my eyes - I recently read a terrible review about a pretty little liars book. Terrible as in the rating. Anyway, all the things on the review were true - and I wondered why I gave that book a 4 star rating if I agreed exactly with what the review was saying. I realized that I was I was just going through the motions - giving the books high reviews because of the first one. So, this review will be completely honest, completely my opinion.
Emily
In this book, Emily got on my very last nerves. Anytime someone paid just the littlest amount of attention to her, she completely fell under their spell. Now, I'm not saying that I thought Jordan was A or anything - not at all! But there's a fugitive on the ship, and you think someone might be stalking you and your friends. Is this really the time to keep secrets? Speaking of secrets - WTF?? How could Emily not tell the girls that she left the door open for Ali? Emily's obsession with Ali was one thing - giving an escape route to a murderer and keeping that from your friends is another.
Aria
I know I'm just bitching and moaning about how annoying the girls are, but after like a dozen books, I think I have the right to do a little of b&m. So, Graham says he wants to tell her something. Of COURSE Aria assumes that he is into her, and she runs away, even though she doesn't know that Graham was gonna tell her he was into her. Actually, it was the opposite. Graham wanted to give her some info on A, and she blew it completely. And when he grabbed her necklace, of course Aria assumed he was grabbing her boobs, even though he was asking about the necklace. Girl - the necklace looks like Tabitha's - and it was, actually - and since he was her boyfriend, he would get curious/suspicious. Not everything's about your junk, Aria. Okay, I realize I'm being maybe a bit too harsh, but I am seriously tired of all of their antics.
Spencer
Spencer was friken NUTSO. So, Reefer had NO idea about A or the Pretty Little Liars suspecting Naomi as A (more on that later), but nonetheless, when Spencer found the bolts and the screws and stuff that had been screwed with, she completely lost it. Saying how Naomi was out to get them and stuff. At first I was mega irritated because I thought Naomi had nothing to do with it, and it was all A, but when I found out that Naomi HAD done it, I felt better about Spencer. But still, Naomi was after Spencer, not ALL be girls. Whatever.
Hanna
Wow, Hanna, wow. You've really outdone yourself. Somehow I'm starting to not be surprised at how A has tricked you and stuff. Hanna was just STUPID. When she "confronted" Naomi, she was like "I know that you know everything." Naomi looked clueless. Of course, Hanna was like, "oh, Naomi's just a REALLY good actor, why don't I elaborate", and proceeded to tell Naomi all about how she was a factor in Madison's crash. Reeeeeal smart, Hannakins. Your lucky Naomi didn't run her hiney to the police station.
Most of all, it was how gullible the pretty little liars were that chapped my khakis the most. A is obviously smart and manipulative - she's framed so many people as "A". Like Tabitha. And Gayle. And the Pretty Little liars ate it all up. So when Naomi was handed to them in a platter, I was astonished that the girls accepted her as the culprit without a doubt. Did they REALLY think that A would be so easy to find? I'd think they'd be more open to thoughts of severe manipulation by now.
Okay, that's all. If you're offended by this review - don't be. Please. It's my honest opinion, and I feel good that I finally got to give a rating on a a Pretty Little Liars book with which I can give a affirmative review with.
Kisses, O
2.5 stars
i don't know if it's the fact i've read 13 pll books in a row and im over it, or if it's the actual story, but boy oh boy these girls are becoming more and more stupid. their stupidity and overreactions to everything makes me laugh and hang my head in shame.
also, i found it very funny that the girls went on an 'eco-tour' on a big ship and the prize for winning the scavenger hunt was an apple voucher...
i don't know if it's the fact i've read 13 pll books in a row and im over it, or if it's the actual story, but boy oh boy these girls are becoming more and more stupid. their stupidity and overreactions to everything makes me laugh and hang my head in shame.
also, i found it very funny that the girls went on an 'eco-tour' on a big ship and the prize for winning the scavenger hunt was an apple voucher...
Burned / PLL 12
Me likey! It’s giving Sara Shepard just started to read Agatha Christie. It’s giving The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware ✨
Love the new setting!! These girls just stay making bad decisions lol
Me likey! It’s giving Sara Shepard just started to read Agatha Christie. It’s giving The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware ✨
Love the new setting!! These girls just stay making bad decisions lol
I PREDICTED THIS WHOLE FREAKING BOOK AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND. IS THIS THE LAST ONE? WHAT THE HECK! IT DIDN'T EVEN END
Ok this one brought my interest back into the series. It was starting to feel way overplayed (still does a bit), but now I'm trying to figure out who the new A (or As) really is. I have a few theories working, but anything is possible at this point! My biggest complaint... YOU CANT USE CELL PHONES ON A CRUISE! So that was a bit unrealistic... but what am I saying. This entire series is pretty ridiculous, so why should it matter if they use cel phone's in a cruise.
Love a good cruise ship setting but oh my, these girls get dumber every day. I'm running out of things to say about them because they keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Paranoia really can be a bitch.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this and it kept me hooked! Being set on a cruise ship was a refreshing change from the last couple of books, and this book had some really good twists! While the last few books in this series have felt as though they are just rehashing things that have already happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Ok, the ridiculousness of the plot line on the cruise ship grew on me- I enjoyed seeing each girl have a different storyline again all come together at the end!