Flawless By Sara Shepard

Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars

Synopsis: In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars-Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna--have been very bad girls...  Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya ... as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives. And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that. At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?

I was slightly hesitant to read this book because I didn't really like the first one but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Although the book wasn't one of the best I've read I really love the idea of it. Four girls bound together by secrets that they shared but also ones that only their best friend knew - their dead best friend. But then they start to get messages from the mysterious A. They all think that Alison must be back until the police find her body. The messages keep coming though. A knows all their secrets new and old and they are threatening to ruin the girls lives. They need to find out who A is but the girls have a lot more enemies than they knew. I don't know why but the idea of not knowing who A is intrigues me. I still much prefer the TV series but the books are growing on me.

I am not all that fond of any of the characters really. Aria is strange and normally I like that but this time it was just a bit much. It also annoyed me just how quickly she would betray her friend to get a guy. Emily is sickly sweet and very annoying for me, she just whines a lot and then doesn't make much attempt to get what she wants. Spencer is selfish and a bit cowardly unlike in the TV series where she's a hot head but I prefer a girl to have a bit of a temper. Hanna I think is my favorite but just because she actually has a consistent personality. The spoiled rich girl persona stays the same whereas the other girls seem to change constantly. All four girls seem to jump to conclusions much to quickly. The more minor characters I felt were a bit flat. Toby was more like a failed attempt at a bad boy but he just didn't work. Wren was the same. I think my favorite character was Alison, we didn't really meet her but she seems like the only developed character even if she is dead.

Overall this book was much better than the first but not really up to par with a lot of other books I've read. The Pretty Little Liars series deals with many important teenage issues and although it doesn't deal with them all well some of them it does and that improves the books significantly. Flawless was a fun, light read. I would recommend this book to people who are not in the mood for a heavy read but it does have a mixture of intrigue and mystery that will keep people coming back for more. I would give this book 3/5 stars and will probably read the next one.

My Favorite Quote:

“Don't get too comfortable. It's not over until I say it is. -A” 

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK