Flawless (Pretty Little Liars #2)
By Sara Sheppard
3 out of 5
Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily have reconnected because of their best friend's, Ali, death. And the very personal and threatening texts they are all receiving. Each one of them is unwilling to share the their secrets, but they agree that they have to figure out who A is if they ever want to get past this. But then Toby Cavanaugh is back in town, and looking good. Three years away from Rosewoods prying eyes, and now he's suddenly back? Could Toby be A? He does have a reason not to like Ali and her band of friends.
As you know, I am only reading these books so that I can understand what is going on in the TV show. But, I have recently found seasons 1 & 2 online so I will no longer be reading the books. The book is good, but it is too confusing to watch season 1, while reading the book, and keeping up with season 3. I am in Pretty Little Liar overload! I can barely remember who is bad and who is good anymore. So one of them had to go, and the books are getting the boot! There are plenty of other amazing books out there for me to read, I don't have time to read what I can easily see. Sorry
Tiger's Voyage
By Colleen Houck
2.5 out of 5
Third book in the Tiger's Curse series. Ren's memory has been wiped clean on Kelsey, and he doesn't even want to be around her. As Kelsey deals with heartbreak, their journey must continue on to the next challenge. In this one the team learns how to dive from Texas born, boy next door Wes, who both the brothers detest. Kelsey, Kishan, and Ren also battle a brotherhood of dragons, and the evil Lokesh is hot on their trail at every turn. They will complete the task, but what about Kelsey and Ren's relationship. Will they be able to overcome their obstacles and love each other, or will Kelsey give up on Ren and go with golden-eyed Kishan?
I find Kelsey slightly annoying. She has no self esteem--she never thinks she is good enough for Ren or Kishan--she would rather use the golden fruit and the divine scarf to do all of the work for her--instead of cooking for herself or, god forbid, shopping. And she has no authority over her wants or desires. She just blindly follows after the brothers, doing whatever they want--gushing over their beauty and then feeling infinitely guilty for liking one more over the other. She panics over every little thing, but then she instantly begins to enjoy whatever it is that she was so scared to do. Plus, she is constantly surrounded by gorgeous men (based on descriptions) and yet she is not happy. She flirts endlessly with all of them but if it gets more serious than cute antics, she clams up. In my opinion Kelsey should get some balls, make a few tough decisions and stop being such a whiny bitch. Thank you for allowing me to rant about this, now I will tell you what I think about the actual book.
I really do like the storyline of this series. The idea of two princes captive in this curse that they are slowly working through and undoing makes for a very good story. I like the different personalities they meet along the way and the different challenges that the group must face together.The interweaving of myth and legend with the princes and Kelsey is balanced perfectly, I never feel like I'm reading a text book, but it also relates directly to what the group is doing. I really do like the story, and that is why I will read Tiger's Destiny when it comes out in September, but I just can't stand Kelsey. If I were her I would either have waited forever for Ren and not been afraid to tell both the brothers that I love Ren more than Kishan, or I would have ditched them both and gone for the gorgeous southern gentleman, Wes, the scuba instructor.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
3.5 out of 5
Freshman, Charlie writes a series of letters to an unidentified person, telling this person about his life and the how he feels about his experiences. Charlie is an outcast, with no real friends, and a social awkwardness that makes it hard to be friendly with his classmates. Then he meets Patrick and Sam, seniors who take Charlie under their wing, and show him how the live and survive high school. But is their life the kind of life Charlie needs, or will the smoking, drinking, and drugs push Charlie even farther out of social normality?
My fist thought about this book, without even opening the book was, "I thought it would be bigger" (insert that's what she said joke here). I thought that Perks of Being a Wallflower was a decent book. Everyone always talks about how great this book is because high school students can relate to it even though it is set in 1991, and yes, high schoolers can relate to feeling invisible and doing drugs and smoking and drinking, but it that really what you want high school students to identify with?? This book was ok, but I have read way better books in my life. And maybe this book is actually pretty good, but I'm still high off of The Fault in Our Stars and nothing seems as good. Maybe. I do just have to say that Patrick, Sam, and the rest of their friends are hipsters to their core and they're doing it way better than most of the posers these days.
