Sara Shepard

Pretty Little Liars

The #1 New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit ABC Family TV show Pretty Little Liars and the upcoming HBO spin-off series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin! Never trust a pretty girl with an ugly secret. Set in ultra-trendy Rosewood, Pennsylvania, Pretty Little Liars centers around four beautiful girls who are hiding some very ugly secrets, and the one person who knows them all...and is not afraid to spill. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, The Cousins, and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, this paperback repackage of the first book in Sara Shepard's #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series--featuring a brand-new cover--will introduce new readers to the thrilling and magnetically compelling world of Pretty Little Liars, where everyone's got something to hide, and no secret stays buried for long.

For fans of the TV-series, the book presents an exciting opportunity to delve deeper into the original source material. Comparing the differences. 

The characters are distinct and well-developed, each with their own dark secrets and compelling personalities. 

There’s a main plot, obviously—figuring out what happened to Alison. Cool. But nothing much happened except Emily coming out and “Fitzgomery” or the infamous “Ezria.” 

So much was being mentioned but still so little told or shown. For example, 

Tali 🧸ִֶָྀི𓂃

Rating: 3.5 

Book VS TV-Series 

For fans of the TV-series, the book presents an exciting opportunity to delve deeper into the original source material. Comparing the differences. 

Characters 

The characters are distinct and well-developed, each with their own dark secrets and compelling personalities. 

Plot

 There’s a main plot, obviously—figuring out what happened to Alison. Cool. But nothing much happened except Emily coming out and “Fitzgomery” or the infamous “Ezria.” 

Show Don’t Tell 

So much was being mentioned but still so little told or shown. For example, “The Jenna Thing.”

--◈ 2.75 STARS 

This book would demand for a read on the next books in the series. One can't just read this book alone and stop afterwards since it was obviously unfinished and open-ended. I just don't know if I'm willing to continue on with the series because it has sooooo many sequels after this and it felt like the story would be kind of stretch. And it made me think that it was not worth it? I don't know. I guess I need to condition myself before I continue with the next books. I'm actually curious to find out more about The Jenna Thing, though, and who might be the one sending those messages to the girls, though I have a pretty good idea who it is.

Pretty Little Liars #6

JoAnna

Geoffrey Froggatt

I started this book series as I loved the television adaptation but was disappointed with how it ended. The first book in this series starts the same as the show, and centers around four friends left in the wake of their friend and ring-leader’s disappearance. I think that the suspense in this book was great for younger readers and a great introduction to the thriller genre. The storyline is enticing and it made me want to continue on to the next book. The characters are very different from the television show but I was able to differentiate them both in my head and enjoy this story on its own. The secrets that these girls have will have more weight for younger female readers.

Flawless (Pretty Little Liars)

Pretty Little Liars #2

Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, and Emily Fields continue to receive text messages from an unknown person, "A", and are more desperate than ever to discover the identity of "A", who is still taunting them with the threat of exposing their many secrets. At first the girls think "A" is Alison, because she is the only person who knew their secrets, but then they start to believe the person behind the threats is Toby, because some messages they receive refer to 'The Jenna Thing' and with Alison dead, he is the only other person who was a part of the incident, although everyone but Spencer is unaware of why he took the blame for what happened to Jenna. This book continues the juicy storyline from the first book and adds more layers to supporting characters and the protagonists. I much prefer the characterizations of certain supporting characters here than I did in the television show. This book is best read closely after the first book.

Unbelievable (Pretty Little Liars)

Pretty Little Liars #4

Four pretty little liars’ charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily’s been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria’s boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer’s afraid she was involved in Ali’s murder. But Hanna’s fate is far worse: She’s clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. These liars have tried to keep their scandals secret, but the truth is about to rock their pretty little world. This book is the fourth book in the series and the end to the first arc. I loved the reveal of A and the motive behind their torture of the girls. I think this book did a good job at unraveling and explaining the motivation behind the character responsible for their torment, and does a good job at setting-up the next arc while also being a finishing point for readers who wanted to stop here. This book is great for younger readers who want to dip their feet into the thriller genre.

In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where Burberry earmuffs keep diamond-studded ears warm, four very pretty girls have done some very wicked things. High school juniors Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria have paid dearly for their sins. A stalker named 'A' terrorized them for months and revealed their darkest secrets. But now that A's true identity has been revealed, the girls can finally go back to their pretty little lives. Only, once a pretty little liar, always a pretty little liar - and these girls just can't help but be bad. Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer starts stealing from her parents. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men. As the secrets get darker and the scandals juicier, the consequences turn deadly. After all, girls who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. And in Rosewood, someone is always watching.

Pretty Little Liars #5

Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men. Now that Ali's killer is finally behind bars, the girls think they're safe. But those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. This is the first book in the second arc of the book series. It was easy to pick up the story again, and Sara Shepard does a nice job of catching you up to speed at the beginning of each book. After finding out the identity of “A” and Ali’s killer in Unbelievable, the fifth Pretty Little Liars book feels like a new beginning for the series. But what’s this? There’s a new “A” blackmailing the four girls? And did they really catch the right killer? It’s more confusing than ever in Rosewood. The series is still fun, enjoyable and surprising with the twists and turns. This installment poses more questions than answers, but readers will be sucked back into the storyline and find themselves running to read the next book.

Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily have been lying ever since they became friends with beautiful Alison DiLaurentis. Ali made them do terrible things; things they had to keep secret for years. And even though Ali was killed at the end of seventh grade, their bad-girl ways didn't die with her. 
Hanna's on a mission to corrupt Rosewood's youth, starting with a very attractive sophomore. Aria's snooping into her boyfriend's past. Spencer's stealing— from her family. And pure little Emily's abstaining from abstinence. The girls should be careful, though. They thought they were safe when Ali's killer was arrested and A's true identity was finally revealed. But now there's a new A in town turning up the heat. And this time Rosewood is going to burn. The plot of this novel was very enjoyable, but the events do not really stand out much anymore. The series is just a nice, easy and distracting read, but after a while, the events are just not that striking anymore. The characters, however, are becoming increasingly more interesting. As the series progress, we get to know more and more of each character and their distinguishing features, which makes the story more interesting. Each of the girls goes through a personal development in the novel: new love (and all the struggles that go along with it), personal struggles at home, but also a positive development on the aspect of friendship. Highly recommend reading the first 8 books one after the other.

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, neighbors gossip over picket fences, and gleaming SUVs sit in every crushed-granite driveway. But recently, friendly smiles have been replaced with suspicious glares and accusatory whispers - and it's all because Hanna, Aria, Emily, and Spencer just can't keep their mouths shut. First they claimed they found a dead body in the woods behind Spencer's house, only to have it vanish without a trace. Then when the same woods went up in flames, they swore they saw someone who's supposed to be dead rise from the ashes. And even after all that, the pretty little liars are still playing with fire. Hanna's trading in her Dior trench for a straitjacket. Aria's trying to contact the dead. Emily's dumped her boyfriend and is skipping town again. And Spencer thinks someone in her family has gotten away with murder. The friends insist they're telling the truth about what they saw, but all of Rosewood thinks they're simply out for attention - and nobody likes a girl who cries wolf. So when the big bad killer comes after the girls, will anyone believe them or will they be the next to disappear?

Pretty Little Liars #7

First Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Spencer claimed they found a dead body in the woods behind Spencer's house, only to have it vanish without a trace. Then, when the same woods went up in flames, they swore they saw someone who's supposed to be dead rise from the ashes. And even after all that, the pretty little liars are still playing with fire. Heartless is the penultimate installment in the Pretty Little Liars series of (originally) 8 books. This book was very exciting and pulled me in so many different directions. I was questioning all I have learned from the series so far. Evil “A” has upped the ante and has the four girls from Rosewood wrapped around her finger. Another shocking cliffhanger will have you ready for the final installment in the original series: Wanted.

Deciding to come clean about a terrible mistake they committed during spring break, high school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer hope to end the blackmail of a ruthless stalker who retaliates by plotting a murderous revenge. 300,000 first printing.

Pretty Little Liars #12: Burned

This is the twelfth book in the Pretty Little Liars book series and the fourth and final book in the third story arc. In this book, the girls embark on a cruise overseas, and wherever the girls are, A is there too. Emily befriends a runaway, Hanna tries to make amends with an old rival, Spencer is sneaking around with a boy, and Aria begins to clash with Noel. I like that the books in the third story arc are featuring flashbacks to events that happened between the end of the second arc and the beginning of the third arc, it was a smart way for the author to flesh out the story and characters and weave in new backstories and histories into the newer main storyline. I like the premise of the girls taking a cruise to getaway from their problems even though their last vacation getaway ended terribly in Jamaica. While I liked the premise of this book, I felt like this book made me notice that the storylines and plot progression of the first four books in the third arc (books nine through twelve) aren’t as strong as anything that came before them. I feel like the secondary cast of characters aren’t as compelling or interesting than the secondary cast from the first eight books. I feel like the author drew storyline ideas out of a hat and lazily incorporated them into the story. A lot of the subplots from the last few books could have been interesting and compelling but they don’t feel like they’re done enough justice. In my review of the previous book, Stunning, I remarked that I liked how that book raised the stakes and increased the tension, and while I do feel like the author is raising the stakes of the series overall, the series is becoming more outrageous and cheap in quality. There were some outrageous and convoluted aspects and storylines in the first eight books, but those aspects felt earned and justified for the story. The last four books in this series feel flashy but passionless. The transition from the second arc to the third arc was okay, but slowly I began to feel like I went from reading a thriller mystery to a mystery soap opera. It feels like the author is stretching out the main storyline for as long as they can and using anything she can as extra padding to fill out the story and churn out more books. I understand that the formula of the book series means that the girls will go through many different suspects throughout the series, but I wish there was a way to make the reader believe in the possibility of these suspects, because when the reader knows that there are more books left in the series, they know that the identity of A isn’t going to be revealed so early on with so many books left, especially with the potential motives that the girls find. With sixteen books in the main series at the time of this review (excluding the prequel and companion books) and four main story arcs, I consider the end of the third story arc to be comparable to the end of the first story arc, as the third arc is the first arc of the second half of the entire series. While I do feel like the story in this book raised the stakes, it didn’t feel comparable to the quality of Unbelievable, the fourth book and final book in the first story arc. Despite being the best book in the third story arc, I feel like this entire third arc could have been executed better. It often felt random and didn’t feel like it came together properly in certain places. Despite this, I do plan on finishing the entire series and I don’t regret continuing on with this series beyond the original two story arcs.

Crushed, the thirteenth volume in Sara Shepard's #1 New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series—also a hit television series on ABC Family—is bursting with more scandals, secrets, and drama than ever. High school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have been tortured by A for too long. Now they're determined to take the fight to A . . . even if it's the last thing they do. As the rest of Rosewood prepares for the prom, the girls drop everything in their hunt for A. But with each new piece of evidence, A only seems farther away. No matter how close the liars get, A is always one step ahead—and ready to crush them completely.

Pretty Little Liars #13: Crushed

This is the thirteenth book in the Pretty Little Liars book series and the first book in the fourth story arc. This book focuses on the girls beginning to fight back against A. Hanna puts her campaign for prom queen on the back burner to volunteer at a burn clinic, where one of A's victims is recovering. Emily digs into Ali's past at the mental hospital with some very crazy consequences. Spencer contacts an amateur private eye to help her stalk her stalker, but when their sessions get a little too private, they may forget to keep their eyes on A. Aria's worried that A is even closer than she thought. When her dark secret from Iceland comes to light, she discovers that maybe, the one person she's been trying to hide the truth from has known all along. I liked how this book opens with a flashback to Aria’s experience in Iceland. I’ve had complaints about storylines from the second half of the book series, but I do enjoy the new secrets and backstories that the girls have. While I liked the ideas of certain storylines in the previous arc, I did feel like they weren’t all executed well enough to do them justice, they felt too random and a little disjointed. This book didn’t have that problem, and I liked all the individual storylines and how they felt like they fit and moved the main story forward authentically. I liked how the girls were making moves and beginning to fight back against A instead of running away from everything. I liked seeing the girls go on the offensive in the A game. I liked seeing Hanna volunteer at the burn clinic in order to interrogate one of A’s victims, I liked seeing Emily investigate at the mental hospital, I liked seeing Spencer hire an amateur private investigator, and I liked Aria dealing with the consequences of her impulsive actions in Iceland. This book was the first time in a long time that I loved all the individual storylines and the main storyline of a book in this series. I like how Emily bonded with Iris and how Hanna bonded with Kyla. Chase was an interesting character and I liked his storyline with Spencer. This book made me realize that Chase, Iris, Kyla, and Jordan were the best secondary characters introduced since Jenna and Mona were introduced in the first two story arcs. I like how unhinged Aria became by the end. I liked where this storyline went, but I do feel like it got a little ridiculous towards the end with certain storytelling plots, however I like where the story is going and I’m excited to see where the author will take us. This was my favorite book from the second half of the series so far.

Hanna, Spencer, Emily and Aria are trying to move on and forget about their old friend Alison DiLaurentis and all the torture she put them through, but someone is trying to keep her spirit alive. 300,000 first printing.

Pretty Little Liars #10: Ruthless

The tenth book (ignoring the prequels and side stories) in the Pretty Little Liars book series, and the second book in the third story arc. Aria's love life is on the fritz. Emily's exploring her wild side. Hanna's kissing the enemy. And someone from Spencer's past, someone she never thought she'd see again, is back to haunt her. But none of that compares to what happened last spring break. It's their darkest secret yet, and guess who found out? Now A is determined to make them pay for their crime, and the only thing scarier than A is the fear that maybe, they deserve what's coming to them. This book immediately reminded me how different the world of the books is to the world of the television adaptation by reminding me that Emily has three siblings, and the previous book introduced Spencer’s stepfamily. One thing that these books do repeatedly is have one of the characters almost catch someone watching them or lurking around, which is something that I felt like was done better in the television show adaptation. I like how the books depict the media’s reaction to the Alison DiLaurentis case and the liars themselves, and how there was an in-universe Lifetime movie adaptation of the events of the series and how the liars were featured on the cover of a prestigious magazine featuring an article written on the girls. I wish the television show adaptation featured the true crime community and the media’s reactions to the liars and the Alison DiLaurentis case, I feel like that would have added an interesting dimension and aspect to the show’s story. This book wasn’t as intriguing as the last one, and it almost wasn’t strong enough to be its own individual book, but the ending justified its existence and gave an important piece of information that will shake up the story going forward.

Sierra

All i am saying is i dedicated 6 hours of my life to finishing this book last night

Briar's Reviews

I am officially hooked onto Pretty Little Liars. this book was a fast read, and full of mystery and action. I could not put the book down and I thoroughly loved every second of when I read this book.

I got this book as an uncorrected proof and even this copy had me hooked and loving every second. 

Following the girls as they try to figure out what happened to A, and the typical high school soap opera drama kept me amused and hooked. I would suggested into anyone who wants a fast, addicting read. The novel series is a soap opera for teens and makes you connect with the characters almost immediately. 

Sara Shepard did an amazing job. The only reason I did not rate this book 5 stars is because I felt like we didn't get much closer to finding out about A from the beginning to the end.

Synopsis:
Who is A? Who tried to kill Hannah? Secrets will be revealed in the fourth novel (and final arc in the first quartet) of the Pretty Little Liars series. 

My Review:
The fourth book in Sara Shedpard's Pretty Little Liars gave a great ending to one of the many plot lines - who is the first A? I was very happy that this story arc came to a close, since the mystery of A was beginning to become more of a bother than an interesting plot line.

Some of the characters do seem whiny and annoying, at least by an adult's standards, but it is fitting in the setting of the high school teenagers dealing with a crazy murderer. 

This book will get you hooked from start to finish. With the tease of knowing who A is, you'll be grasping onto this book desperately and not wanting to let it go. Each character has a different chapter and it rotates so the reader gets many points of views within this final novel within the first quartet in Pretty Little Liars. 

This book moved at a good, fast paced and the plot line was well thought out. There wasn't much more I wanted out of this book! The plot arc coming to a close made the four books arc perfectly over. I can't wait to get the fifth book in this series! This book was not as slow in the movement of plot as the first three were! Sara Shepard seems to be getting better and better with each PLL book that comes out.

If you have watched the television series you must be aware that this series does not follow directly with the show. This series was made first, and thus there was changes. 

For readers who are not as impressed with this series as I am - every quartet is a great place to stop if you don't want to leave things off on a bad ending. Each quartet seems to have a good ending if you felt the need to stop, but there will still be a few unanswered questions. That being said, if you chose to stop here, it would help tie up most of the loose ends.

Five out of five stars! A good, quick read with great movements in plot!

Wicked was a fantastic novel by Sara Shepard that has me anxious for the next novel in this series!

If anything, this book felt to short. It was the same length as all the other novels, but it seemed to move to fast and not give enough information as to what was going to happen. I'm slightly lost as to where the plot will go, but I am definitely interested and hooked! Sara Shepard does an amazing job at making this book an addicting thriller!

Following these girls is also very interesting as we see them grow in each novel, and face more dramatic situations that are realistic.

Five out of five stars, due to the level of addiction Sara Shepard puts into these novels.

Talia Dominguez 

So i gt this fron a website nd its full of SPOILERS!!!

It is revealed that last summer while Spencer was taking AP courses at Penn, she began taking speed pills as a way to help with studying. After being arrested by the police for possession, she arranges for Hanna to help her frame her roommate, Kelsey, as a dealer, in order for Spencer to not face charges. Afterlanding the role ofLady Macbeth in the school play, the stress andguilt begintotake theirtollonSpencer,causing hertohave frequent hallucinations in which she is haunted byKelseyand Tabitha. She becomes paranoid and begins to believe Kelsey is "A" and is taking revenge on her for being framed.

Emily accidentally meets Kelsey at a party and is instantly smitten with her. She and Kelsey growclose, much to Spencer's disapproval. After Emily is hurt by Spencer's remarks about her love for Alison, she angrily tells Kelsey that Spencer framed her for the drug possession. Depressed, Kelseyoverdoses and attempts to throw herself into the quarry where Mona died, but Emily saves her and Kelsey is sent to the Preserve for treatment. While visiting Kelsey, the girls realize that Tabitha was also a patient at the Preserve and was the same age as Alison and Courtney.

Hanna's father her on to help with the socialmediaaspect ofhis campaigning.She meets a boy named Liam, who she falls for, despite knowing he is the son of her father's political opponent. They break up when she learns he has been seeingmultiple other girls while dating her, and reconcileswithMike. And after Aria is dumped by Noel, she seeks out comfortin Ezra, in hopes of rekindling their romance. However, things are strained between them,andAriaeventuallygoes backintoa relationshipwith Noel, after discovering Ezra and Klaudia being intimate.

The Liars attempt to circumvent "A's" threats by coming clean about their secrets,withvariedsuccess. Meanwhile, "A" becomes more violent, attempting tokill Emily bypushingheroffa smallcliff. "A" sends Spencer an email of Tabitha on the beachwitha headinjury,indicating that "A" was the one who disposed of Tabitha's body. "A "taunts the Liars, stating they will never discover "A's" true identity

okay...
So this book got more interesting than the previous one. my favourite aspect of this book was that it took place on a boat, which was such a refreshing and fun idea for a book, and also for these characters!

I also loved the relationships between the girls and their partners, I found them all super lovey in this one.

I enjoyed all the girls plot lines in this installment, as-well as the overall plot line in the book!
The ending was awesome, and I just really enjoyed how all that went down.

'A' got extremely creative with the text messages in this one, and it's my favorite book in the series so far, in terms of A messages. I absolutely loved them!


I'm excited to continue on with this series.

Kelsey Joëlle

really enjoyed the book. it's still fun to read the pll books.

I've always loved PLL, Ezria will always be my favorite ship of the books.

bonch cronch

Its a little derivative of the first. not gonna lie. I didn't have high hopes. 
but i still enjoyed learning little tidbits of the mess that is rich kids lives. 
was on the fence about continuing the series since i absolutely hate teacher-student relationships.
i figured i would give book 3 a chance since a lot of this book didn't have that relationship mentioned. the tv series goes a lot harder on it. which is gross. and makes me not want to watch the tv series.

still delightful to read about the kids getting blackmailed.
and whats this. an off screen suicide? i was not ready for that.
so naturally i had to keep going.

 Blackmailer Prediction 
still Mona.

 Ali's Killer Prediction 
Not one of the Girls.

i learned from PodcAst: A Pretty Little Liars Podcast, that the books were commissioned by corporate so they could turn it into a show. I think its because they had certain budget allotments. They had budget for book to TV series show and not original show or the executs didn't want to do an original and thought putting the blame on a book series was better.

Knowing that it was commissioned by corporate to "young adults" the writing makes sense. There are too many brands that are brought up. it sort of works because it takes place in an environment where having THE brand of things is important.sometimes its hella distracting but its better than the Cheetah Girls books.

The PodcAst also said that the author was an alleged shadow writer for tv shows. which also tracks as the writing is fast paced but goes out of its way to "stage" certain items. IDK if this author has written books before but it reads as stage directions at times. 

Overall. I enjoyed it. I didn't think i would and i don't like or connect with the characters. I enjoy the amount of irons in the fire. I enjoy bad things happening to bad people. while they are high schoolers and have a lot to learn about life, they are all rich kids that don't care about shit. its fun to see them squirm and have consequences. I liked it it so much i'm on book 4.

 Blackmailer Prediction 
Mona?

Four pretty little liars' charmed lives have turned into living nightmares. Emily's been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria's boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer's afraid she was involved in Ali's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse: She's clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much. If these girls don't start listening to me, Hanna's going to look like the lucky one.

Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable

if i had to guess, this was the book that had the closest deadline to writing it. 
there are a lot of straws that didn't get smoothed out. and instead of just letting them fade out they were brought explicitly to the attention of the reader in the last chapter.

Its not a satisfying ending. but a lot of things were wrapped up so I don't feel any need to continue to read anymore. 

I think the next books will be delving into Ali's relationship with her family. I'm mildly curious about but not really. What could be in the next books? All the major lies they were keeping were told by the blackmailer and their lives are on the course for a new beginning. There is no connecting thread for them anymore not that it was strong at any point. They frequently felt like they couldn't go to each other and themselves said that they don't consider each other friends anymore. 

 Next Book Predcition  
time skip to college where they have more "secrets" that a blackmailer found

 what i want 
Hannah and Lucas to try dating. Hannah learns to nerd elegantly.
Trista and Emily try dating and navigating being queer.
Spencer goes back to therapy and maybe try dating Andrew. but it doesn't work out because Andrew deserves better.
Aria needs therapy and to hang out with other art nerds.